Catechesis

Well, the sermon went well. I was initially nervous, because on top of everything else, this is the first time I haven't preached with a manuscript in front of me (wrote it on the laptop, and then had no way to print it!). But when the time came, I was very comfortable standing in the aisle with my little handful of notes.

The small group who came to worship was very gracious about my homiletic efforts. Bubba (yes Virginia, there really is a Bubba) told me he was concerned when I came out that I'd be "talkin' Yankee jargon," (by which he meant I'd be speaking too fast to understand), but was grateful to note that I managed to "preach almost normal." I'm taking this as high praise.

We spent time after the service chatting with the dozen or so people who stayed for coffee and cookies, which was fun. Then we spent a good couple hours with Pam, who heads up the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program, which is what is used here for Christian Ed up to about 6th grade. It's a wonderful program, and she just comes alive when she's sharing it. We ended the morning by going out to lunch, and soaked up some more local culture (I had a catfish po' boy, which was terrific).

Tonight is choir practice; and we're all singers, so this'll be fun.