Weekend recap

Saturday morning was spent in some housekeeping chores-- a bit of cleaning, and a lot of laundry (the job that never ends).

After lunch, Bruce and I went to see The Terminal. Tom Hanks plays an eastern block tourist, stranded for months in a New York airport by immigration bureaucracy. I don't know what I was expecting-- the plot premise could have led the film to be very lame; but I really enjoyed it, far more than I thought I would. It's a fun flick, and worth seeing.

Then Todd, Joelene and Cece joined us for dinner that evening, which was great. I was glad those good folks could take the time out of their packing frenzy to come down. I'm used to the drive from Evanston to Dyer, but it is a bit of a trek; takes a bit better than an hour, and that's if Chicago traffic is behaving. So I'm tickled on those occasions when someone's willing to make the pilgrimage. Joelene and I also spent some time in my sewing corner in the basement, turning old slacks into new shorts for Cece. I don't often have anybody down there-- it's kind of a place that the intorverted side of my soul hides, sometimes, and I value that. Joelene's so easy to work with, though, that it was fun to have the company.

Sundays start early for me, because morning worship at St. Mary's is at 8:00 am. I need to get there early enough to lay out bulletins, program the Synthia (the portable keyboard) with the hymns for the day, set up the lectionary book, etc. I also like to be in the space alone for a while, for some prayer and quiet prep time, especially before I preach. So that means I'm out of the house and on the road before 6.

Then yesterday, instead of going home, I headed up to Seabury to help with some Montana-bound packing. Cece was at a friend's house all day, so we made some serious inroads in her room-- much easier on the whole family, if she didn't have to watch things being sorted and boxed up. It wasn't entirely work-- we took time out to go to a baby shower for another Seabury student and his wife. I also got to see the snapshots from Todd's ordination, and hear a few family stories, which was fun. A good way to spend some time with folks dear to me, before they ship out to the hinterlands. The hard part was saying goodbye; but Todd noted as I left that, with blogging and email and such, it'll be like they never left. I hung on to that, if only because it's easier to drive with clear eyes. And it worked. Sort of. Well, partly, anyway.

In the evening I trotted down to Rogers Park, to worship with a group I'm part of, in the process of starting a new church in that area. It's the beginning of a unique adventure, newly christened: the Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler. It really deserves it's own post, and I will do that, later; but the short explanation is the church will be intentionally ecumenical-- not nondenominational, but multi-denominational, made up of and maintaining connections with 3 Christian traditions: Episcopal, American Baptist, and Evangelical Covenant. It is an intentional effort to live into the call to "one faith" that we all proclaim, without setting aside the traditions that have formed and shaped us as disciples, committed to Jesus Christ and to one another. As David says, we are "attempting to put 'willing flesh' behind the willing spirit of ecumenism."

Okay, enough for now. Off to take the boy to the dentist, and then to meet with my bishop. The fun never ends!