Thursday

For obvious reasons, the bulk of my attention is focused on what's going on in the 36 Eucharistic Communities of the diocese. But I'm also aware that a great deal of important ministry goes on "in the world," and sometimes this ministry is shared by clergy of our diocese specifically as a manifestation of their ordained status. So I was pleased to spend several hours today with the Revd Mollie Ward, who directs pastoral care and supervises Clinical Pastoral Education at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center in Normal. I was privileged to be able to sit in on a didactic session with her current cohort of four CPE residents, the subject being "multiple intelligence" theory. After a walking tour of the beautiful BroMenn facility, we had lunch together in uptown Normal. I came away gratefully with a new awareness of how one of our own priests is a respected and accomplished member of the team at a busy hospital in one of the key cities of the Diocese of Springfield.

While en route both to and from the Bloomington-Normal area, I conducted two more vetting interviews with potential candidates for the vacancy at St John the Divine in Champaign.

Got back to the office around 3pm. Divided the next two-and-a-half hours more or less equally between developing material for Part II of my "Proclaiming Good News" teaching series at St Thomas' in Salem and spending time with biblical commentaries by way of preparing to preach at Redeemer, Cairo on 13 October and St Stephen's, Harrisburg the following morning.

Evening Prayer in the cathedral.

Spent a good portion of my evening processing email.