Sunday, Sunday

Well today was Greg the placement rector's birthday and we had 10 minutes to guess what he might have liked from the shop. thus sorted we got a safe card last night and signed it up. I was ready to go at 7.45 and Greg and I headed off to the cuurch and met with the terrible 3 from the nursing home and lunch the other day. Priscilla having hugged and teased Greg til he blushed sat down, her work done for the day. The 5 of us had Morning Prayer and then got quickly robed for 9a.m. Communion and as soon as that was over it was straight through for the main service of the day. I administered the chalice at Communion and read the epistle and the prayers at the service of baptism at the 10.30 service which lasted and hour and a half as it was including end of year presentations to Sunday school and those graduating college and senior school from within the parish. The church is probably a little bigger than Kilternan and mainly wooden, it is really very pretty. The congregation are so welcoming and so many people came up to me and said- You are coming to our house for dinner. By the time I get home I will be adding an extra seat beside me to accomodate the excess flab! Jonathan is expected by most of these people so he may have to come along. He is really being superb and charming and patient with all that he is having to do as a result of my placement.

After lunch when we were joined by Greg's Mum and Dad who had travelled from about 60 miles away for his birthday, they stayed for the day. Greg and I headed back to the hospital where we arrived in ICU to find that Harold is officially braindead and arrangements were underway to harvest the organs. His partner came in to see him before signing the necessary consent forms, the doctors having done their job in fulfilling the legal requirements. It was awful but there was no point in staying as we weren't needed so we headed out to his Mums house to briefly touch base with her. The funeral will be later this week.

St John is a town that has massive industry and there is one major oil refinery processing crude right in the centre of the city. There is a fog that rolls in from the bay in the Summer and today it was particularly bad in the city - not out where the rectory is. Pollution is generally not too bad but I could taste the fog today.

We will be here for Canada day and there are plans afoot to bring us into the city for the celebrations. One of the parishioners has bbeen assigned this task. We were talking to her today and she is intending to let us decide what we want to select from the available entertainment. Greg leaves to do navy chaplaincy duty on Sunday so we will not see him from then but he has set up the schedule to cover it.

Following dinner with the family including grandparents inlaws and cousins, here I am blogging before bed. Jess was in contact from California by text and seems to be enjoying herself. Off hospital visiting most of tomorrow and that includes one in Fredericton abbout 1 and a quarter hours away. and dinner out tomorrow night. Love to all X