Some of you know this story, and many of you do not. I’ll tell a very abbreviated version of it now. When I retired from state service in Oxford in June, 2014, I got on a plane some five days later with two checked bags and two carry-ons and flew 4,257 miles away to become a special education teacher for the 2014-15 school year in Lihue on the island of Kaua’i, Hawai’i.
Last weekend, in honor of Ellen’s birthday, we attended the Billy Joel concert in New Orleans. He put on a great show, he played all the hits, and his joy was palpable. But what I will remember most about the concert was not Mr. Joel himself, but the other musicians who played with him. Between “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” “River of Dreams,” and “Only the Good Die Young,” he and his band played a lot of covers (songs written or made famous by other artists).
Evensong is the highest of Anglican traditions, replete with chanting, and will incorporate the fullest extent of our choir which has been practicing for the occasion for some weeks now. If you have not been to a service of Evensong, do yourself a favor and make plans to attend this Sunday. If you thought the Super Bowl last Sunday was exciting, wait until you experience a service of Evensong this Sunday.