Good Friday

Tea with Brenda at our Hilton Garden abode, with a modest biscuit so the people at the blood bank wouldn't scold me later for not having eaten,. Then in to the office. Processed some lately-arrived hard copy items on my desk. Returned a phone call on a pastoral issue. Walked across the alley and spent a good long while in prayer, both before the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar of Repose, and in the starkness of the church proper. The Solemn Collects from the Good Friday liturgy proved to be a fruitful launchpad for prayer. Then back to the hotel to change into "civvies," and on to the Mississippi Valley Blood Center, where I had a noon appointment to donate red cells. (Yes, I had an appointment to donate blood at noon on Good Friday; the richness of the situation was not lost on me.) The process took about an hour, after which I took Brenda on some shopping errands to Kohl's and Target. Around mid-afternoon, we had a modest meal of fried rice at HyVee. Back to the office, where I hand-wrote notes to clergy and spouses with May birthdays and anniversaries. Back to the hotel to change clothes once again. Upon returning, conferred with the Dean over some of the details of tonight's liturgy. Had a chance to quietly but quickly walk the Stations of the Cross privately. Tonight, the Dean presided and I preached. Once again, the BCP liturgy did the job. It bore the freight of the occasion. Afterward, Brenda and I had a proper meal at one of the restaurants that cluster along Dirksen.

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