Tuesday (Ss Mary & Martha)

  • Weekly task planning at home over tea and breakfast.
  • Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
  • Nailed down (via email) the recruitment of a new historiographer for the diocese (a canonical position).
  • Spoke by phone with a priest of the diocese regarding a financial/administrative matter in his parish.
  • Arranged (via email) a meetup on Saturday with Fr James Muriuki, the new priest-in-charge at Redeemer, Cairo.
  • Attended a two-hour meeting of the Finance Committee of the diocese--an annual event in which we midwife the draft budget for the next calendar year, and push it along to the next stage in its development, which is next week's Diocesan Council meeting.
  • Lunch at home, leftovers.
  • Processed a flurry of emails that had arrived while I was away at lunch, and one that was already on my list (pertaining to this weekend's visit to St James', Marion).
  • Last-minute revisions, formatting for delivery, and printing of this weekend's homily.
  • Attended to a canonical request from a priest for permission to officiate at the wedding of two persons with living former spouses. I have never denied such a request. Those concerned (the couple, the priest) invariably express good intentions and honest expectation that "this time it's different." I do believe in abundant ubiquitous grace and in second chances. But I always do this with a twinge of conscience and regret. Part of me wonders whether it might be better to just encourage folks in that situation to just get civilly married, and, after a decent amount of time (a year? two years?) have the marriage blessed in the church. 
  • Hand-wrote notes to clergy and spouses with August and September birthdays.
  • Evening Prayer in the cathedral.

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