Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Up and out in time to retrieve Bishop Godfrey from his hotel right at 6:30am and then head north to Lincoln. I presided at the 7:30 Eucharist and he preached. Between services, he showed some slides to a group of interested parishioners about the ministry of the Diocese of Peru. Takeaway line: "We don't just serve the poor; we are the poor." Indeed the growing Anglican presence in Peru is happening among those whom the more "native" Roman Catholic Church seems to be ignoring or overlooking or taking for granted. There's one community of 80,000 people--the highest city in the world, at an altitude of 18,500 feet--where the diocese of planting what will be the first church in town, of any brand or stripe. At the later liturgy, Bishop Godfrey again preached, while I presided and confirmed two adults. After a repast in the parish hall, we returned to Springfield for some down time before gathering again for dinner in our home, along with Archdeacon Shawn and Mary Ann Denney. Before winding up the day's activities, we had to assist the Bishop with rerouting his travel plans, as a winter storm in the northeast has rendered his scheduled visit to the Diocese of Albany impossible. So he's staying on in Springfield on Monday and heading to Jacksonville, FL, his next port of call, early Tuesday morning.

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