Thursday

  • Hung out at home the first part of the morning to await delivery of the treadmill I bought on Monday (though if winter never actually arrives it may turn out that I didn't need it!). Read Morning Prayer, processed a load of emails, and worked on a sermon for Epiphany V (5 February at St Mary's, Robinson, just after I get back from my England trip). In the office shortly past 10.
  • Devoted the rest of the morning, and part of the afternoon, to preparing for my Lenten series presentations at St Paul's, Alton ("Patterns of Ministry"). This got me deeply into Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Kittel's Theological Wordbook of the New Testament, and the Interpreter's Bible Dictionary. It was fun to do that sort of close Bible study. It's been a while, and needs to happen more often.
  • Lunch with a young aspirant to Holy Orders, discussing his seminary plans.
  • The afternoon had me bogged down for an inordinate length of time chasing down, by phone and internet, some anomalies in the statement for one of the credit cards I use for business expenses.
  • Took care of some administrative chores relating to my oversight of the ordination process.
  • Conferred with the Archdeacon one some appointments I need to make to positions created by the new Title IV canons on clergy discipline.
  • Evening Prayer, then off to Decatur to preach and celebrate the liturgy for the Eve of Epiphany at St John's. 70 people on a Thursday night. What's not to like about that? Most of the congregation then adjourned to a nearby Italian restaurant for a lovely meal.

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