Life Goes On
Yeah, so I know it's been a while. Sorry. There just hasn't been much exciting to report! I've been over here long enough that things others might find interesting has become commonplace--as lots of things in life do. I'll try and give you an update as much as I can.
It's church council season. Yay! Church councils have the potential to be very, very long. Thing Administrative Council and Council on Ministries all rolled into one. We only meet three times a year. Blimey. Had one on Monday night that lasted over two hours and another on Wednesday that lasted just under two. Usually, as you might expect, it's the stupid stuff that we get caught up on. Monday night it was a 20 minute discussion about what to do with some old carpet that we have. Wednesday night, we spent 20 minutes on insurance. So fun times. I've got two more church councils coming up in a couple of weeks. God save the church from meetings.
It's Harvest time over here. Not only are the farmers harvesting their crops, but we celebrate that in church. And each church has a harvest festival. I've done two already. I'll beg forgiveness from my seminary professors, but I have a confession to make: I've abandoned the lectionary for Harvest this year. I'm using the texts appointed for Thanksgiving (US style) and I'm using them multiple times. Have Harvest service, will travel. It sure has freed up some time in my week, especially on Saturday nights, since I've not had to write a new sermon each week.
Some weeks, the whole day off thing just doesn't work out as it's supposed to. Yesterday was the 'world's biggest coffee morning' and of course, I had to pop round to one of those. And some other things crept up that I needed to deal with, so I didn't get my usual day off. I recognized this fact early enough and so kept Tuesday free. Upon further examination of my diary (planner/calendar), I noticed that Wednesday morning was also free. Hmmm....a day and a half with nothing planned. Stick around Norwich or head further afield? Decisions, decisions. I took off. Not literally, but I did take a train to Canterbury for the day. Probably not the greatest of ideas, but it worked out. Felt like a mini-holiday. It's a 4+ hour train ride down to Canterbury, which includes a journey on the Tube in London. So by the time I got there, it was already after noon. But I made the most of it.
So Canterbury is the place where the Archbishop of Canterbury is based (shocker, I know). For those of you who don't know, the Archbishop of Canterbury (currently Rowan Williams) is the head of the Anglican Communion (which is all the churches that started from the Church of England...like the Episcopalians in the US). Wherever a bishop or archbishop is based, there is a cathedral. Woohoo! Big church!! And, I managed to secure accomodation in the Cathedral Lodge which is within the Cathedral precincts. It was awesome. I walk into my room, look out the window and see the Cathedral. Amazing. So of course, I visited the Cathedral while I was in the city--three times. :-) Once as a tourist, twice as a worshiper. I went to choral evensong (absolutely gorgeous) and an 8am Holy Communion service. Mom asked me what I liked about the services. I told her, "the fact that I didn't have to lead them." It was fantastic. I also walked around the city centre, did a couple of touristy things, but then came back on Wednesday. It was a good trip. Felt like I'd been away longer than I had, which is always a sign of a good holiday.
That's about all I know to report right now. Would love to hear from any and all of you....let me know how you're getting on.
It's church council season. Yay! Church councils have the potential to be very, very long. Thing Administrative Council and Council on Ministries all rolled into one. We only meet three times a year. Blimey. Had one on Monday night that lasted over two hours and another on Wednesday that lasted just under two. Usually, as you might expect, it's the stupid stuff that we get caught up on. Monday night it was a 20 minute discussion about what to do with some old carpet that we have. Wednesday night, we spent 20 minutes on insurance. So fun times. I've got two more church councils coming up in a couple of weeks. God save the church from meetings.
It's Harvest time over here. Not only are the farmers harvesting their crops, but we celebrate that in church. And each church has a harvest festival. I've done two already. I'll beg forgiveness from my seminary professors, but I have a confession to make: I've abandoned the lectionary for Harvest this year. I'm using the texts appointed for Thanksgiving (US style) and I'm using them multiple times. Have Harvest service, will travel. It sure has freed up some time in my week, especially on Saturday nights, since I've not had to write a new sermon each week.
Some weeks, the whole day off thing just doesn't work out as it's supposed to. Yesterday was the 'world's biggest coffee morning' and of course, I had to pop round to one of those. And some other things crept up that I needed to deal with, so I didn't get my usual day off. I recognized this fact early enough and so kept Tuesday free. Upon further examination of my diary (planner/calendar), I noticed that Wednesday morning was also free. Hmmm....a day and a half with nothing planned. Stick around Norwich or head further afield? Decisions, decisions. I took off. Not literally, but I did take a train to Canterbury for the day. Probably not the greatest of ideas, but it worked out. Felt like a mini-holiday. It's a 4+ hour train ride down to Canterbury, which includes a journey on the Tube in London. So by the time I got there, it was already after noon. But I made the most of it.
So Canterbury is the place where the Archbishop of Canterbury is based (shocker, I know). For those of you who don't know, the Archbishop of Canterbury (currently Rowan Williams) is the head of the Anglican Communion (which is all the churches that started from the Church of England...like the Episcopalians in the US). Wherever a bishop or archbishop is based, there is a cathedral. Woohoo! Big church!! And, I managed to secure accomodation in the Cathedral Lodge which is within the Cathedral precincts. It was awesome. I walk into my room, look out the window and see the Cathedral. Amazing. So of course, I visited the Cathedral while I was in the city--three times. :-) Once as a tourist, twice as a worshiper. I went to choral evensong (absolutely gorgeous) and an 8am Holy Communion service. Mom asked me what I liked about the services. I told her, "the fact that I didn't have to lead them." It was fantastic. I also walked around the city centre, did a couple of touristy things, but then came back on Wednesday. It was a good trip. Felt like I'd been away longer than I had, which is always a sign of a good holiday.
That's about all I know to report right now. Would love to hear from any and all of you....let me know how you're getting on.
posted by RevSarah at 8:26 AM
1 Comments:
Oy. Church Council.....words cannot describe my frustration at the moment. I called my sister last Monday after 2 consecutive meetings over 3.5 hours related to nothing that I feel effectively inspires ministry. So, I do the best I can with my team without any direction or guidance beyond the wishes we express during our work. I'm glad I have three weeks before another and that I get to do something more fun in the meantime--two Road Rallies!
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