- Planned tasks and processed several emails at home.
- Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
- Continued to process written materials about last night's meeting, and debriefed on the matter with the Archdeacon.
- Planned the order of service for the annual Liturgy of Collegiality (aka Mass of Chrism), which will take place in the cathedral on Tuesday in Holy Week. (This is when the clergy renew their ordination vows and the Bishop consecrates oil used in healing and baptism.) Consulted with the Dean on some of the details.
- Took a phone call from Bishop Ed Salmon, chair of the Nashotah trustees, regarding the special project I am working on.
- Lunch with the Archdeacon at a Thai-Vietnamese restaurant. Tasty.
- Spent more time than I wanted to looking at flight schedules to determine whether I can attend the consecration of the next bishop of Western New York (Buffalo). Finally came to the conclusion that it is not prudent, given my visitation obligation the next morning. Just can't completely trust air travel in small markets when there is no leeway for unanticipated events.
- Met with Jim Hillestad, who handles property and liability insurance for the diocese. He's also no stranger to my office, as his father was my predecessor twice removed. This was just a meet-and-greet. No substantive discussion.
- Worked on my sermon for this Sunday (St Luke's, Springfield).
- Evening Prayer in my office.
The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Ten years ago, minus about six weeks, I served as the supply priest for Trinity, Lincoln six days before my consecration as Bishop of Springfield. Today I was there for the final regular scheduled canonical parish visitation of my episcopate. (I have a few more gigs on my calendar: March 7 in Mattoon, the Chrism Mass, the Triduum at the cathedral, May 30 in Cairo, and June 27 back at the cathedral--May 2 is available and not yet spoken for--but the every Sunday routine of my life for the past decade (in a larger sense, for the last 32 years) is at a major flex point.) As much as it could have been in the midst of a pandemic, this morning at Trinity was luminous. We confirmed eight adults, six of them qualifying as "young." My homily had to compete with the sounds of active young children. (I would much rather do that than have no kids in church.) Trinity is one of the exciting points of light in my ministry in the diocese. I took my time getting out of Lincoln because I wante...
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