Saturday (William Tyndale)

  • Up and out on a long walk by 0720: west on Lawrence to MacArthur, north to Jefferson, east to Ninth, south to Sound Grand, west on Second, and back up to the office after a stop for breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe. 
  • After getting cleaned up and dressed, brief devotions in the cathedral, followed by Morning Prayer in the office.
  • Cranked out another 220-word reflection on a passage from the daily office lectionary for November 2019, #18 of an eventual 30. I'm enjoying spending some quality time with I Maccabees.
  • Cleared my desk of various bits of detritus: signing some, filing others, disposing of most. 
  • Checked in with a group beginning to gather across the alley for a reunion of those attended Episcopal Church Camp of Illinois.
  • Picked up something from the dry cleaners, headed out Clearlake for a burger and frozen custard at Freddy's, then onward eastbound on I-72 through a torrential downpour most of the way to Champaign. 
  • Arrived right on time for a 2:00pm meeting with the Mission Leadership Team of the Chapel of St John the Divine. We had some sober and difficult, but irenic conversation. When I got back in my car, it was 4:25.
  • Drove south on I-57, through only occasional gentle rain this time, arriving at my destination for the night--the Hampton Inn, Marion--right at 7:00. Check in and stepped across the way for some dinner at Applebee's. Plenty tired.

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