Opening service

Lift high the cross
the love of Christ proclaim
till all the world adore his scared name
Come, Christian people
sing your praises, shout!
if we are silent even rocks cry out!

I had dinner then I quickly boarded a bus heading to St. John's Cathedral for the opening service. Sitting besides me on the bus was a delegate who just arrived, and was given a room which was already occupied. On the bus also Justice Stephenson and I had a nice talk on the way to the church, and he pointed out a few interesting sites in the commentary of the cathedral.

I quickly did what every Anglican should have done and took a seat in the church without reading in my bulletin that we gathered at the river. When a delegate form my diocese said to me, let's head down to the river, I initially thought ok why, and then read my bulletin.

We went down by the river, and the youth delegates were gathering there. We were told to form a circle around the primatial party, and then told to clear a way for the Lieutenant Governor. The service begun with a smuggling ceremony, which was soon interrupted by an arrest with mace of a visitor in the park, unaware of the important events which were taking part.

We entered the cathedral and it took a few minutes before we were fully in the church. Once we were the Vice Regal salute begun and we proceeded with the service as usual, with the Primate's Address in the place of the sermon, and the recession forgetting to leave the church until the hymn was over and people were starting to clear out.

The reception was across the park in a Ukraine Church, and of course it had to storm to get us very wet while going across the park.

Over all it was a wonderful service and an experience I will never forget, never alone recover from.