Cindy's week of bits and pieces...

On Wednesday of this week, a parishioner approached Cindy and coyly drew her aside. Almost in tears, yet laughing as well, she asked Cindy if she could put to good use two little tins of tuna. The tuna had been on special at the local supermarket and the lady had bought them thinking they would be perfect for lunchtime sandwiches. When she went to open one she noticed a picture of a cat on the tin and closer inspection revealed they were cat food!! Knowing Cindy has a cat, she hoped they could be put to good use. Cindy wondered how many other little old ladies had purchased the tins and eaten the contents blissfully unaware it was pet food. Mmmm several little parish ladies had 'gone to God' this winter, maybe??? Too terrible to think about.

Advent approaches...

The Church Calendar is rapidly moving towards Advent. Preparation begins early in the sacristy. With a sigh Cindy thought of those big Christmas boxes that are put out every year for parishioners to fill with gifts to be taken for needy children. Over Advent weeks, they are filled to overflowing and then need to be taken into the city to the appropriate distribution point. It becomes a mammoth task. The parishioners are generous. The gifts keep coming…and coming! Even on Christmas Eve. Now how do people possibly expect the gifts to reach needy children when they leave them in the box after midnight Mass?

Such is our affluent society. Cindy is organizing a parish cultural tour to Papua New Guinea in May 2007 and has been advertising for people interested in coming on the trip. Just today, Cindy answered her doorbell to find a parishioner there with a big happy smile and a large box full of pencils, exercise books, coloured pencils, and biros to take to PNG next year. What could Cindy say but "thank you", because she is grateful. However Cindy how has another box to store at her home for the next seven months. She will add it to the bandages, leg splint and surgical equipment that has already been donated. By time she leaves for PNG, she may have no room in her bag for clothes!

Tuesday morning this week, Cindy found on her doorstep a large autumn leaf about a foot in length. She had NO idea who had left it there. Just today she has learned that a parishioner left it there thinking it would make an interesting symbolic altar decoration during Advent. Great. Fr Cunning will be thrilled upon his return from holidays to be presented with a dried autumn leaf and be told there are dozens more where that one came from if he wants to use them for Advent.

A visiting priest came this week for a funeral. With Fr Cunning away, it was not easy to find a priest available to bury this parishioner (she was dead of course!). However the funeral was beautiful and everyone went away happily crying leaving a stream of used tissues to be collected later by Cindy using a pair of kitchen tongs!!! What diseases might lurk around church seats? Cindy wondered how long will it be before there are so few priests that lay people may be allowed to celebrate funerals in the church itself? Why do our priests spend so much time burying people when many of the living desperately need their spiritual ministrations?

The importance of volunteer labour for the parish...

Funny things happen around churches. Cindy remembers years ago when her children were much younger, an Easter Sunday morning. On the church doorstep was a beautifully prepared basked overflowing with large chocolate Easter Eggs (obviously left by an Easter bunny parishioner). Now you know Cindy is a Chocoholic because she told you last week. Parishioners came to Fr Cunning after the Easter Masses and gave him more chocolate eggs. They were everywhere. It happened every Easter. He made a comment to Cindy "All these eggs, I'll take them over to the presbytery". Not once did he ever offer some eggs for Cindy to take for her three children at home. She worked for the love of God, not money, and her budget was meager. Had she asked him, he would have been exceedingly generous she is sure, as he is a kind person. She just would not lower herself to ask. Cindy was left to wonder what background he had that he would assume all the eggs were just for him and not immediately think of sharing them with his sacristan who had slaved for many hours and days in the church preparing for all those Easter Ceremonies. The following month he brought some to the Mass of Anointing and shared them with the oldies at a luncheon following the ceremony.

Perhaps it was incidents like the Easter eggs that helped Cindy realize she had become part of the furniture at the church. A good sacristan has everything perfectly in place for each and every ceremony, but she does not have to be seen for goodness sakes. Especially if she is a woman with breasts, heaven forbid. After all the Catholic church is pretty much male territory.

Cindy has been reflecting long and hard this week as to whether she has become very cynical over the years? Volunteers do so many of the things that need doing at the church. Plumbing, electrical, electronic, repairs, cleaning. Volunteers keep fresh flowers on the altar, open the piety stall after each weekend Mass, and serve cuppas after every Mass as part of the parish hospitality. Volunteers hand people newsletters and a smile before weekend Masses also. Volunteers clean up the mess after each Mass — newsletters made into paper planes, hymn books, children's books, prayer books, spectacles, car keys.

Just this week a lady came to the sacristy asking if there was a blue cardigan there. She had come to the church about eight months earlier for a funeral and left it there. Here she was back for another funeral and lo and behold!!!!! Cindy had the cardigan amongst the many other items in the lost box. The lady was delighted.

Yes, Cindy cannot remember any more the days long ago when she just came to the church for Mass and went home again. Now, when she walks in the door, she notices if the holy water font has been filled, if the candles have been trimmed and lit and if the volunteers turned up to clean the floors that weekend. Her eagle eyes notice everything. She wonders does she really pray when she is there!!!!!

In the big picture, not a lot of things we do in life make sense. We can burn ourselves out over projects and activities but in the end - as Thomas Aquinas was supposed to have said on his death bed - "it is all dust".

If JOY does not dance in our hearts, then maybe we need to seriously consider how we spend our time and what are our priorities. It is easy for God to be lost from our hearts amidst the frenetic activity of the weekend Masses, especially if there is a special collection (seems to be one every other weekend) and the seats have to have pencils and envelopes ready for people to fill with pots of bountiful donations. After each Mass the envelopes need replenishing and pencils retrieved from under the kneelers.

I wonder what further funny little things will happen in Cindy's life this coming week?

Cindy the Sacristan is the first new character to be written by one of our other readers whose imagination has been fired by Cliff's Menagerie. In reality these are real-life memoirs of one of our members who would prefer to remain anonymous.

[Cindy's Archive]