- Task planning at home. Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
- Consulted with the Archdeacon on sundry administrative and pastoral matters.
- Took a phone call from Fr Swan regarding Hale Deanery matters.
- Consulted with Treasurer Jim Donkin concerning the re-structuring of a loan at St Michael's, O'Fallon.
- Arranged for the licensing of Fr Ralph McMichael to serve as Interim Vicar (half-time) at St Michael's, O'Fallon.
- Processed the items that had accumulated on my desk since last Friday, and processed a load of emails.
- Worked on my sermon for this Sunday (Palm Sunday) at St Matthew's, Bloomington. Communicated with Fr Halt regarding some of the details of the liturgy.
- Walked (on a beautiful spring day) to an Italian eatery downtown for a meatball sandwich, then stopped to purchase some 99% cacao chocolate bars. They're a specialized taste. Not sweet in the least, but not bitter either. And very smooth. (Made by Lindt.)
- Met with Kathy Moore, our diocesan coordinator for youth ministry about ... you guessed it ... youth ministry issues.
- Processed more emails and digested some newly-arrived correspondence regarding a parish where the waters are troubled.
- Worked on the Lenten series presentation I am scheduled to give at St George's, Belleville on Thursday night. Topic: Living Into Our Messianic Hope. (The whole series has been on the concept of messiah.)
- Evening Prayer in the cathedral.
- Drove to Lincoln (about 35 miles up I-55) to meet with the Vestry and Search Committee of Trinity Church. I got to know them a bit, connected with their process, laid out their options, and then left them to discuss amongst themselves. I look forward to helping them find the right match.
- Got home around 9, got a bite to eat, watched a little TV (an episode of the new Showtime historical drama The Borgias) and then dashed of a blog post about Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and liturgy in general.
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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