Cheerios meets "Pomp and Circumstance"

I was feeling a bit run down after wholeheartedly entering the Bangalore life. Perhaps biting off more than I could chew, not to mention digest. So, I begin a new chapter in learning to vegitate...

Most of Sunday was a day of rest for Adam and I. Sunday morning we walked to church with our new ex-pat neighbors and friends. I believe we were both looking to find a sense of peace and regularity after a busy first week... and peace I did find in an unconventional way. Peace through change.

We arrived at St. Mark's Cathedral at 10:30 a.m., a Protestant parish. Feeling a bit feverish, I prepared myself for what I was told could be a two and a half hour service. Warmth of a different kind spread about the room as we watched families gathering for a baptism and nodding yes in prayer. Greetings came in forms of namastes from locals in front of us, welcoming us to their place of worship.

During communion, everyone got up at once and filtered into lines to receive the host and wine, walking in bare and stocking feet to the altar and kneeling before the priest. All were welcomed. If you had yet to receive First Communion, children would receive a wrapped candy instead. I wonder if these kids try to delay their transition from candy to bread as long as possible! Especially if the candy is blessed:)

One of my favorite observations during the mass (as I admittedly was drifting in my attention) was of a sweet little girl in front of me. She had big round deep brown eyes and she continued to steal glances my way. In front of her was a tupperware container of Cheerios! I guess it is the universal church tactic to keep kids quiet in church. 

This is where the commonalities of what I am used to at church at home stopped. To signal the end of mass, the organist began to play Pomp and Circumstance. I did not know whether to leave the church or to throw up my graduation cap. Out of curiosity, I googled Pomp and Circumstance and found out that this familiar tune was not always associated with graduations.

Pomp and Circumstance was composed by Edward Elgar in 1901and the title comes from a line in Othello by Shakespeare. It was originally used not in a graduation, but in the coronation of King Edward VII. The trend to use this music for graduations happened when Elgar received a doctorate from Yale University in 1905. The music was played here at the beginning, not the end of the ceremony. (I don't know how to make a footnote on blogger but you can read more at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1273081).

I then of course wikipedia-ed (can this be a verb, too?) King Edward VII and found that he was also an emperor for India. So there you have it. Your trivia for the day. It is kind of like the eight degrees of Kevin Bacon...How is Pomp and Circumstance related to India? or not?

Wow, what a girl does with time on her hands.

Aside from cereal and graduation ditties, I did step away from this church service with a far greater message. I hope to carry it with me through this journey of India and beyond. During the homily, the priest stated very clearly "As humans, we resist change. As humans, change is hard. But when we let God take control, change is easy."

It is my wish on this journey to let God take the wheel (he knows how to avoid cows on the street better than I would anyways). In his hands, I can best embrace the constant change this life brings me.

Namaste.