Saturday

  • Up and at things at a usual weekday hour. Morning Prayer at home, then in the office just before 9. People were already gathering for the quarterly Diocesan Council meeting. Although I was not part of the altar party, I did make sure all was prepared for the 10am Eucharist. 
  • Managed to sneak in just a dollop of work toward a new customary for Sunday worship at which deacons preside. It should hit the presses sometime in the coming week.
  • Wonderful Mass, with Fr Brian Kellington as celebrant and Fr Dale Coleman as preacher, assisted by Deacon Tom Langford and Kevin Babb.
  • Presided over my first Council meeting as Bishop. I acknowledged to the group the irony that I spent most of my nearly 22 years in parish ministry assiduously avoiding anything that would require me to attend Diocesan Council meetings. But for about a year, in the Diocese of Louisiana, I was successful.
  • After the Council meeting, I met with four representatives (all with seats on Council) of the Concerned Laity of the Springfield Diocese (CLSD). I am encouraged by their enthusiasm about contributing positively to the life of the diocese.
  • Then I met with Ruth Wene, the Rector's Warden of the Chapel of St John the Divine in Champaign. They will shortly be going into search mode, so there was some important spade work to be done.
  • Then I joined the meeting of the Commission on Ministry, already in progress. Afterward I touched base with the Archdeacon on various matters for a few minutes and then loaded some vestments into my car. Drove through Taco Gringo for a couple of enchiladas. By the time I got home it was a little past 2:30.
  • After a respite to eat my lunch (such things invariably in front of a TV; thank God for on-demand programming), it was time to assemble what needed to be assembled for our overnight trip to the Belleville area, to which we headed, slightly later than we'd intended, around 3:45.
  • Delightful dinner with Fr Dale and Deacon Jody Coleman at a Mexican restaurant in Fairview Heights. Then on to our hotel.

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