Friday (Martyrs of Memphis)

This was "one of those days" when it felt like I could never get traction on any one thing because something else kept intervening. I wanted to get a walk in, but it was raining (about which I will not complain, as we have badly needed it). News then quickly came of the death last night of Elisabeth Bettman, wife of one of our retired priests. So there were emails and phone calls and the like in response to that sad development. Trying to clear my inbox of emails took an inordinate amount of time, it seemed. Much of it had to do with next week's trip to Quito, Ecuador for the regular fall meeting of the House of Bishops. I made it home for a lunch of leftovers, then back to the office, where I managed to focus long enough on one thing to get a sermon hatched for my visit to Chesterfield and Carlinville on the first Sunday of October. Then I worked on trying to fill an upcoming vacancy on the Commission on Ministry; time will yet tell whether my efforts were successful. I also got my 2012 visitation calendar roughed out. It's not ready for publication yet, but getting there. After Evening Prayer in the office (wedding rehearsal going on in the cathedral), I headed out to a nearby retreat center for the working retreat of the Department of General Mission Strategy. We had a productive start, and I look forward to tomorrow. This is the work that will begin the process of charting our course as a diocese. There are no templates, no "best practices" to emulate. We're discovering fire and inventing the wheel. It's that fundamental. Scary ... but exciting ... and the Holy Spirit is with us.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spring 2018 House of Bishops, Day 3

Image
We have new stricter social media rules now in the HOB--no photos taken during a session without the permission of those in it. So ... I'm having to be more creative about finding pics for the blog, because I'm not going to take a panoramic group shot and then contact everyone whose balding head shows in the photo! Once again, the day began with Eucharist. This time, though, I took a pass, and opted for a vigorous walk on a brisk morning. Having looked at the liturgy sheet in advance, there were enough triggers that I knew the net spiritual effect for me would be negative. #selfcare  I will say, however, that HOB worship has gotten incrementally less problematic during the tenure of the current Presiding Bishop, and I give props for that. When we convened at 10:15, there were the usual announcements, then a whirlwind set of summary reports from bishop members of the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) and the Task Force on the Study of Marriage. The full report
Read more

The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Image
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
Read more

Saturday (St Charles, King & Martyr)

Substantive phone conversations with the rector of Lincoln, the President of the Standing Committee, and the Canon-to-the-Ordinary. Attended the live-streamed memorial service for a former clergy colleague, and continuing friend, with whom I was in serious conversation about coming to the diocese less than a year ago, who died quickly of COVID at age 66. Then, earlier than I actually needed to, but wanting to get out of town ahead of the snowstorm, I packed up and headed south to Lincoln, where I had time to do some significant reading before hitting the sack.
Read more