kobeintern

The very first Sunday of the internship was at the cathedral-church where I’m staying – Saint Michael’s Church. It is quite a unique church building with tatami matted pews!

The 07:00 Eucharist was held in the sanctuary instead of the chapel downstairs. I was asked to do both readings – Old Testament (Hosea 5:15-6:6) and Epistle (Romans 4:13-18), in Japanese. I practiced some and made sure I can recite it.

The second reader had not yet been assigned for the 10:30 service, so they asked if I would. In addition, a parishioner who was at the Welcome Party the week before, requested that I perform during the service. There was a bit of confusion about this, like where in the service, but finally it was finally settled that I would perform after the announcement immediately following the service so those who needed to leave or wasn’t interested in listening would have a chance to excuse themselves. Most everyone stayed.

I ended up playing the following:

1. Johannes Donjon’s Etudes de Salon No. 1 (Elegie) and No. 3 (Chant du Vent)
2. Taki Rentaro’s “Kojo no Tsuki” or “Moon over Castle Ruin” on the Shakuhachi
3. JS Bach’s Partita in A minor for Solo Flute, BWV 1013, 4th Mvmt (Allemande)

They all enjoyed the mini impromptu concert, and I felt I was able to break the ice with the parishioners, and I felt fully welcomed.

Afterwards, we had the coffee hour downstairs in the Parish Hall, chatted for a while with the Bishop and parishioners. Since it was past noon, Bishop Yashiro led a group to go eat Ramen nearby, and I followed. It was delicious!

There was an evening Prayer service like the past week, except this week was an Evensong, which Deacon Miyata led, where the liturgy itself was sung. Chanting in Japanese had a different feel, but we sang many service music I remember as a child in Japan, and it was nostalgic.