Wednesday (St Hilda)

A little catch-up: I was in Dallas over the weekend to take part in the consecration of the new bishop of that diocese. An ancillary part of the experience involved linking up, sometimes just for a moment and sometimes for a more extended period, with a pretty long list of friends and colleagues. And since a number of Communion Partner bishops were present, we took the opportunity for some odds and ends of business. I got home Sunday night/Monday morning, around 1am. Then, after a brief sleep, Brenda and I boarded the 8:37am Monday departure on Amtrak to Chicago. We had tickets to the Lytic Opera's production of Alban Berg's Wozzeck, which was splendid (having first exercised our membership privileges at the Art Institute for a good portion of the afternoon, and enjoying a nice dinner at a restaurant near our hotel). Tuesday morning found us on the 9:25 southbound train, which put us back in Springfield around 1pm. Then, chores and errands, broken up by taking in the newest James Bond movie.
Now for today:
  • Task planning for the rest of the week at home.
  • Visited a new optometrist (new to me, that is) for a (much overdue) routine eye exam and selection of new glasses. The solution, for the first time, involves two pairs--one for general use and one dedicated to computer use. Getting old.
  • In the office, then, around 10.
  • Prepared to celebrate and preach the midday Mass.
  • Spoke by phone with a potential candidate for one of our clergy vacancies.
  • Dealt with a relatively minor, but pressing, administrative/technical issue.
  • Refined and printed a working draft of this weekend's homily (Saturday night at St Thomas', Salem and Sunday morning at St John's, Centralia).
  • Reported to the Lady Chapel for the midday liturgy, but there were no takers, so I struck the set and moved on. (This happens sometimes--fortunately, rarely.)
  • Lunch from McD's, eaten at home.
  • Attended to a fairly substantial piece of business related to the work of the Communion Partners (taking the form of drafting a longish and involved email).
  • Took a phone call from the rector of one of our parishes, and then spent some time chasing down some information for him.
  • Processed a short stack of emails, each one involving looking something up or articulating a proposal or some such.
  • Evening Prayer in the cathedral at a relatively earlyish 4:45, owing to dinner plans with a former parishioner who is passing through Springfield.

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