by Fred Moleck
Post–Labor Day
Somewhere in the archive of TableTalks, there is one that deals with the proscription against wearing white before Memorial Day and after Memorial Labor Day. I supported the quaint, though antiquated, practice of restricting white clothing only to the summer.
I still believe it is a good practice. Labor Day has come and gone now. Dutifully, I have retired my white duck trousers, my white tennis sweater, and my seersucker suit. Since I have no white bucks, they cannot be retired.
Of course, I bring out the seersucker to take with me if I am ever invited to a southern clime during the winter months. Since it is summertime all the time near the equator, white is OK! (That is a hint to any of my Florida friends who may be reading this.)
What has sparked my ruminating about white clothes/seasonal clothes is the ongoing conversation about ribbons on first communicants, which has occupied a considerable amount of space in the liturgy cyberspace network to which I subscribe.
It all was conducted with the same amount of seriousness that the discussion about the wine flagons controversy has stirred in the American liturgical leadership.
Mind you, I take seriously every question that comes into the office for worship because the question is always asked is never frivolous—even the question which asked for a clarification of the material the dog collar should be made of which the pet would be wearing at the St. Francis Blessing of the Animals event.
Vesture questions, first Communion and confirmation clarifications, RCIA-related annulment questions, an estimated number of conference attendees to determine the quantity of cookies, and on and on make up a significant part of our ministerial day and I haven’t touched on the musical ramifications of these situations.
But should anyone ask if there is a good piece to sing for the animal blessing, how about, “All Creatures of Our God and King,” verses 1 and 7?
The busyness takes on a new perspective when it is couched in a significant global event. When 9/11 first happened, the selection of psalms, hymns, and readings carried tremendous import. There were no trivial questions.
The modus operandi change radically and one hundred percent attention given to the construction of ritual and its music to mark the life-changing moment. Our job is to do it publicly. For those my age, the assassination of John Kennedy is a good example.
The death of the pope would be a similar occasion. Our job is as usual: “Be ready. You do not know the hour nor the time.”
Be ready.
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@earthlink.net