Alarms Ascending

May 10 was Ascension Thursday.  For those of you who may not share my faith tradition, Ascension is a big deal.  The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also known as Holy Thursday, Ascension Day, or Ascension Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven.  It is one of the ecumenical feasts of Christian churches, ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter, and Pentecost.  Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on a Thursday, the fortieth day of Easter, although some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday.

The Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Knoxville celebrated Ascension Day in conjunction with Evening Prayer on May 10.  I participated in that service as a Schola member.  Our Schola prepares Gregorian chants and Psalms, which were prominent in Thursday evening’s service.

It was a busy evening!  This followed the regular busyness of caring for George, which was particularly tiring on Wednesday of this past week.  Neither one of us slept well on Wednesday night, so I was running on fumes.

As George’s primary “pill Nazi” I am obliged to remind him (when I’m home) that it is “pill time.”  Having a smart phone helps with this, as I can set alarms for the six doses each day.  It is very important that people with Parkinson’s take their medications at the prescribed times, otherwise “freezing” episodes (where they cannot move) ensue.

Frequently, our friend and caregiver Greg is with him when I sing at church, and that was the case Thursday night.  Intellectually, at those times I know I do not need to have my phone with me (or powered on), but somehow I find it difficult to separate myself from what has become another appendage.  I guess it provides some sort of emotional comfort, but why that is, I cannot tell because hearing those alarms actually adds to my stress.

Well, just as you can imagine, I did have my phone with me in the choir loft Thursday night.  As we were chanting Psalm 96, (look it up if you are not familiar with the whole thing…) about the time we were chanting: “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness…” you guess it:  the alarm went off!  Had my ring tone been in the same key as the chant, it might not have been so bad, but it is always off-putting for musicians (especially singers) if random, stray pitches are heard.  Andrew, our Schola Leader, said in a stage whisper:  “Could someone cut that off??!!”  Afterwards, Sister Kathleen asked Andrew what the unusual music was!

So, my alarm ascended to the rafters and to the heavens at the very moment that we were to sing to the Lord and bless his Name.

It has been said that no one dies of embarrassment, and that’s a good thing!  Otherwise, I would be a goner.  I don’t know about Andrew or Sister, but I am confident that our God of forgiveness forgave the recalcitrant smart phone.