Yesterday ~ Monday ~ I had a lovely brunch with a seminary friend, a chaplain at a Presbyterian Retirement Center. Lots of talk about aging and spirituality, about trying to help our older folks, and their adult children as well.
I planned Sunday's worship ~ an entire service filled with Taize' music, which we've been learning for the past month ~ and spent a lot of time reading and staring into space, as this week's sermon is going nowhere fast.
And I worked on two retreats, one for my own church, set for a month from now, and one for an ecumenical group of women in Dearborn the next week-end, thanks to an invitation from RevGal Terri.
Today ~ lunch with a large group of women from my own church, and home visits to three older ladies. I learned a bit more about the terrors of being almost 93 and having just suffered a fourth heart attack from a delightful woman who just wants to leave her son's house and go home. I also got to know yet another woman in the church who has lost a son ~ that makes at least three of us ~ in this case, a 23-year-old in a work accident 35 years ago. That particular lady told me that she is delighting in the anticipation of the birth of a great-great grandchild this spring! She has five surviving children, eleven grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren. She also told me some of the consequences of her son's death as far as her friendships of the past 35 years are concerned. Ay-yep.
Tonight ~ Bible study at church, which presents challenges untold. Some weeks ago I finally figured out the foundational one: For many of my congregants, the Bible is the Big Book of Answers. For me, it's the Big Book of Questions. They're always hoping for definitive answers to life's dilemmas; I'm always seeing yet another question lurking in the corner. Makes for an intriguing dialectic.
Tomorrow ~ lunch with one of the Methodist pastors here. This seems to be the Week of Lunches. And a visit to a new mother. OK, I admit it; I have an ulterior motive. A year and a half, and I have yet to baptize a baby. Maybe this baby would like to join me at the font?
That's my week so far. How's yours?
I spend a little too much time wishing I was more disciplined, and not quite enough time actually being disciplined.
ReplyDeleteI have some financial reports to work on, which I actually enjoy doing once I'm doing them - but I put them off, and put them off.
I am at a decision point about my future - and am contemplating a return to school. It is both exciting, daunting and a little frightening.
I'm totally overbooked for Thursday - what the heck? How does that happen?
Nothing earth-shattering.
Thank God.