Friday (O Emmanuel)

  • Morning Prayer in the cathedral chapel (since there were people still putting the finishing touches on Christmas decorations).
  • Responded fairly substantively, and in Spanish, to an email greeting from a Peruvian bishop whose consecration I participated in when I was there in July 2015.
  • Processed some responses to the vetting request I made yesterday about the teaching document on ministry that I've been working on.
  • Responded by email to one of our clergy regarding some parochial concerns.
  • Read and responded to a handful of Ember Day letters from our handful of postulants.
  • Re-registered the YFNBmobile with the Illinois Secretary of State's office.
  • Attended to a small administrative issue pertaining to my Nashotah House duties.
  • Lunch at home. Leftovers.
  • Kept a 1:30 appointment at home with a notary tasked with getting us to sign a stack of documents that signify the closing of a new home mortgage loan. Refinancing was a prudent thing to do at this time.
  • Back at the office, I reviewed the contents of the credenza behind my desk, culling and reorganizing. This is more or less a routine annual chore, the sort of thing that always takes longer than it seems like it should.
  • Took a good long look at a catechetical resource from the Church of England called Pilgrim. There's always a quibble or two, but I rather like it.
  • Friday prayer: the venerable spiritual practice of a "holy hour" spent in the sacramental presence of our Lord in the cathedral.
  • Evening Prayer in the cathedral.

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