Ash Wednesday

  • Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
  • Prepared for my role as celebrant and preacher at the 12:15 liturgy.
  • Interacted with a handful of folks via email over the sudden death yesterday of a Nashotah House student.
  • Laid the foundation for each of the five Lenten teaching series presentations I'll be giving at St John's, Decatur.
  • Framed the infrastructure for the first of those sessions.
  • Took some time, along with the others in the office, to watch the removal of two very diseased trees from the front of our property along Second Street. We're fortunate they haven't already fallen on somebody.
  • Re-engaged the movie-editing learning curve, but discovered in the process I still have some re-recording to do of the last session of last year's Lenten series.
  • Presided, preached, and imposed ashes at the 12:15pm cathedral liturgy. About 30 were present.
  • Updated my contact information on the 2014 Canterbury pilgrims. We have 12 youth and four chaperones (including YFNB) signed up to go. Composed and sent them all an email message. It's time for us to begin forming community.
  • Plotted and scheduled the several preparation steps connected to the sermon I will deliver on Ascension as a guest preacher at Christ Church, Fitchburg, MA.
  • Plotted and scheduled several tasks pertaining to getting ready for this year's Chrism Mass.
  • Attended to a specific Nashotah House-related tasks.
  • Left at 4:30 to go home, retrieve Brenda, and head out to Decatur, where I presided, preached, and imposed ashes at the 6pm liturgy at St John's. Back home around 8:20.

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