variousness, if not variety

Sunday evening, supper's behind us, Super Bowl's over, high time that I got back to my poor neglected blog.

This morning I preached and presided for the first time at my retirement/interim parish, St. Curious. The Rambler family worshipped at St. Curious for almost 20 years, but exited 15 years back when Crimson took up a curacy elsewhere. So there are people in St. Curious who have been friends for 35 years. Part of the challenge is not to look past the new members in search of the familiar and beloved faces.

I've heard the question -- how does 1/4 time work? first answer -- "beautifully" -- but I don't think that's the point. I give the parish one day a week = 3 blocks, or 3 units. I'd just as soon NOT take all three on the same day...but I'm careful not to allow them to fall on 3 separate days either, because THAT very quickly = full-time work. In addition to the "one day", there are the Sundays, by negotiation with the Rector; and we've worked it out that I'll preach when she's presiding, preside when she preaches, and take responsibility for both halves when she needs to be elsewhere, as she did this morning. And when there's a fifth Sunday in the month, I'll take it off altogether.

Oh the joy of NOT being in charge...just preaching, presiding, proofreading and pastoral contact; and limited involvement in Christian adult education.

Now St. Curious has been through a grisly, grisly time in the last few years. The rightly trusted and beloved Rector who was in office back in '95 subsequently moved on to another post, and the interim appointment was ... painful. No doubt, for the appointees as well as for the parish. And the leadership that followed on that period was NOT a good fit for the parish either...

so there is reassurance and consolation and encouragement and cheer-leading to be done over the next few months.

Hearts are high at the moment, I think. Pray for us.

Meantime -- Most Holy & Undivided is commemorating St. Arnold tonight, and giving thanks to God for the good creature commonly known as BEER...assisted by the presence of various junior members of the Rambler clan.

But not the matriarch. Sigh.