Women's International Day

Today, at St. Michaels's Church, we celebrated International Women's Day. Since our priest, Fr. Sam, had to be at another church, he turned this service over to the women. He helped, of course, in the planning to keep us within the parameters of acceptablility.
The Vice-Principal of St. Michael's School, Archanna Dey, was the leader.She put in manyy hours trying to get everything just right, including as many women as she could in the service.
She also wanted a "special song" to be sung by small group of women, mostly teachers from the school. She adapted the song People Over the World to make it Women Over the World.
Fr. Sam got out one of the hymnals friends from St. Mary's had sent to us, and together we searched for some appropriate hymns to include in the worship service,
trying them out on the new keyboard, a gift from the UK. It was fun playing around with the different tones, tempos, and styles available on this little Yamaha. Then Archanna asks me to pick out the tune for Women Over the World. This, I cannot do. I can play the right hand, the melody, and only about two octaves to the right of Middle C, so we enlist the help of the music teacher at St. Michael's, the go-to-guy when we want music, real music at the church. He jots down the notes and then Archanna asks me to play the keyboard with the "choir!" Are your hysterics over? Have you picked yourselves up off the floor yet?
Those of you who know me and have been to my home, know that I love music and that I have all kinds of instruments: a piano, guitar,dulcimer, several recorders, a tambourine, and even a little African harp like thing, but I can't play any of them.
But being a Franciscan, I have to rise to the challenge and like I said, there is tempo, style, and voice on the keyboard menu, so all I really have to do is play the melody with my right hand and let technology do the rest.
So I practice alone and with the "choir" but there is never one complete run-through of this song. Archanna has added an extra part which is a verse a half note higher and will be sung just before the ending to end the song. There are five members of this group and so five different variations on the theme. Each time we start out, I am never sure where we are going with this song, but I finally realize that I can just hold a key down (organ mode) and let them go off in whatever direction they want and it's okay.
The music teacher has agreed to play All Creatures of Our God and King and Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God. I know, it's Lent and we shouldn't be singing Alleuias, but cut us some slack, OK?
Now the music teacher has a really good ear and claims all he needs is the key and he can take it from there, no notes necessary. Before the service, I hand him the hymnal already turned to All Creatures, but he just wags his head and says no problem.
No Problem IF everyone knows the tune, that is. We don't.
Archanna has also requested that those of us in the service wear saris and bangles (bracelets). I had to arrive early so someone could wrap me up in my sari and Archanna loaned me lots of bangles to wear.
So we are all set to process in our saris and bangles and we even have a girl Crucifer. Normally we don't have a Crucifer at all.
Archanna nods to the organist who gives us only chords. Archanna has a lovely voice, but in her nervousness starts us out about an octave lower, forgets the tune completely after the first two lines, and no one knows where in the world we are including the organist, but we process anyway. Thank God for short runways. That misery ended quickly.
Soon it was time for the "special song" and my debut as the only right-handed keyboardist with a two octave range in the world. I traded places with the real musician, click on the buttons I need and I am ready, but the organist thinks I have forgotten how to do this, so he helps me out by undoing the settings. The girls are still getting situated so I have time to reset. We begin. It's not bad, but when we get to the place where the added segment should be, Archanna decides, on the spot, not to do it thinking the women have forgotten how it goes and moves the final line of the song. Quickly I catch on and catch up. Then it's over. Alleluia! sorry.
Seek Ye First went much better because Mr Keyboardist played the melody along with his beloved chords. Guess he caught on from the processional hymn.
The rest of the service went well with Rita Dutta, the bishop's wife, delivering a short homiliy about the International Women's Conference she and Bishop Dutta had attended at the UN in New York the week before.
We processed out to Showers of Blessings, yes that's right, and it was a rousing processional.
What did you do for International Women's Day?