Yesterday was my first time participating in Holy Unction. The service is the blessing of oil for healing. Our parish celebrated the service with two other parishes. The building we were in had more pews than open space. In our building, we have a few pews but mostly open space. Our family usually stands in the open space. We found a spot in some pews, but because our kids were in a confined space, it was hard to keep them from fooling around together. So Shaeleigh and I moved to another pew. Eventually we moved again to the front because I was feeling claustrophobic. Pews are not made for standing. Orthodox services are not made for sitting. Now I see why many Eastern Orthodox churches don’t have any pews.
Because Shaeleigh hasn’t been baptized yet, I told her she couldn’t go up for the anointing of oil. She was sad. So I asked her if she would want to be baptized before Pascha next year, she said yes. I want to ask her again when we aren’t in the service to see if she will still want to, and if she does we will have to start making preparations for her baptism.
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