Girls and Acolyting.

Acolyting in the Divine Service is incredibly fulfilling. No matter how hard you try to hold it down, you are always in grave danger of a gentle warming of the heart. It is good. It is the closest we get to perfection on earth.

Young men who join the Corp are being introduced to the service of Our Lord. They have the opportunity, should they so desire, to continue on to preforming a greater service in the Office of the Holy Ministry. Every single one of my guys will have that choice.

Winston--my dear friend and predecessor as Captain of Acolytes--is going to be a pastor, which is no great surprise. I believe my middle brother is also intending to be a pastor. Once you become accustomed to the Service...it is not so easy to leave it. Even when I sit out for a month or so--allowing the younger guys to get more practice--when I next serve there is a sense of return, of things being in their right place. It is right.

At this time, I am afraid that I do not intend to become a pastor. I have interests in other directions and I have seen to many men--whom I love--scorned and abused by wicked congregants(who want their own way) and sniveling bureaucrats(who want their own way). I do not think I would respond to either of these well, as my current response to such petty annoyances that cross my path is bitter sarcasm and sharp words.

There will, however, be definite pain upon leaving the service. My brothers, Jonathan and Winston, have no intention of parting themselves from the service. The only reason I haven't joined the choir yet is because I realize that my last day in acolyting will probably be my last as a servant at the Feast of Our Lord. The very thought is painful, almost enough to bring tears. At least I have a choice, and my choice might change with time and maturity.

You might wonder where this is going: I am there.

I have a choice. If I am to be separated from the service I take that cross on myself. I have been trained in the service, I love the service, and I can stay if I want.

Girls cannot stay in the Divine Service. Why would you encourage a young person into a service they could never continue, no matter how much they desired it? We are being trained in the workings of the Divine Service, yes, but also in the love of said Service. In my eyes, it is nothing less than base cruelty to allow girls a place in the ordering of the Feast, only to yank it out from under them. I have a choice; they cannot have a choice. Is the desire to kindle a want for something that cannot be? We are little prospective pastors-in-training. Are you intending the young ladies to pastors? No? In that case, what on earth are you doing to them???

There you have a tiny bit of the Human dynamics side. I'll get back into the workings of acolyting later.