Aaron

I really love what they did with the classic vestry mirror. This is where us clergy love to look at our pretty selves all dressed up for the party. At St. Gregory's they etched the poem below into the mirror to use as the "Vesting Prayer" they say before every service...

AARON.

HOLINESS on the head,
Light and perfection on the breast,
Harmonious bells below raising the dead
To lead them unto life and rest.
Thus are true Aarons drest.*

Profaneness in my head,
Defects and darkness in my breast,
A noise of passions ringing me for dead
Unto a place where is no rest :
Poor priest ! thus am I drest.

Only another head
I have another heart and breast,
Another music, making live, not dead,
Without whom I could have no rest :
In Him I am well drest.

Christ is my only head,
My alone only heart and breast,
My only music, striking me e'en dead ;
That to the old man I may rest,
And be in Him new drest.

So holy in my Head,
Perfect and light in my dear Breast,
My doctrine tuned by Christ (who is not dead,
But lives in me while I do rest),
Come, people ; Aaron's drest.
-George Herbert

Nice, heh? Beats the heck out of the traditional vesting prayers. I used the old ones for a few years (even before serving at the Anglo-Catholic St. Mary Mag's), but find the theology to be somewhat out of synch with where I am now (a bit too donatist). So lately I just make something up as I vest, but I really like the idea of etching the mirror with something like this....

-t