XVIII Pentecost (Proper 24)

A long and demanding day, but a wonderful one. I left home before sunrise and arrived back after sunset. My official visit was to St John's, Decatur: Masses at 7:30 and 10, with an open forum between the liturgies, and lunch with the vestry following the final coffee hour. What a drop-dead gorgeous church St John's is. The liturgy had lots of energy; we confirmed four adults, and three others reaffirmed their vows. Morale is good in the parish; Fr Swan is doing excellent work as priest-in-charge. Then it was off to Holy Trinity, Danville to preach at their annual Our Lady of Walsingham pilgrimage. (Holy Trinity is the site of an OLW shrine.) It was an ecumenical event, with two local Roman Catholic priests and several of their parishioners present. Fr Scanlon put together an excellent Vespers liturgy, and we duly made our public witness with a procession up and down the block in front of the church. Great food and fellowship afterward in the parish hall. Pulled back into our Springfield driveway about 7:45, thrilled with the day, but exhausted!

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