Tuesday (Ss Mary & Martha)

  • Weekly task planning at home over tea and breakfast.
  • Morning Prayer in the cathedral.
  • Nailed down (via email) the recruitment of a new historiographer for the diocese (a canonical position).
  • Spoke by phone with a priest of the diocese regarding a financial/administrative matter in his parish.
  • Arranged (via email) a meetup on Saturday with Fr James Muriuki, the new priest-in-charge at Redeemer, Cairo.
  • Attended a two-hour meeting of the Finance Committee of the diocese--an annual event in which we midwife the draft budget for the next calendar year, and push it along to the next stage in its development, which is next week's Diocesan Council meeting.
  • Lunch at home, leftovers.
  • Processed a flurry of emails that had arrived while I was away at lunch, and one that was already on my list (pertaining to this weekend's visit to St James', Marion).
  • Last-minute revisions, formatting for delivery, and printing of this weekend's homily.
  • Attended to a canonical request from a priest for permission to officiate at the wedding of two persons with living former spouses. I have never denied such a request. Those concerned (the couple, the priest) invariably express good intentions and honest expectation that "this time it's different." I do believe in abundant ubiquitous grace and in second chances. But I always do this with a twinge of conscience and regret. Part of me wonders whether it might be better to just encourage folks in that situation to just get civilly married, and, after a decent amount of time (a year? two years?) have the marriage blessed in the church. 
  • Hand-wrote notes to clergy and spouses with August and September birthdays.
  • Evening Prayer in the cathedral.

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