Update

Now I know I've been too busy (traveling) when I went to update the church website just now, embarrassed because it hadn't been updated since August 22nd, and discovered that I had actually updated it on this computer September 5th but for some reason (forgotten during the two trips since) it was never uploaded.

A little extra pressure to update came this week with the delivery via e-mail of the latest Christus Rex, the Province's newsletter. Always an enjoyable read, it contained a funny from St. David's Summer Youth Retreat -- I suspect from the dimensions that that's a combined Book of Common Prayer (1928) PLUS the King James Bible (with Apocrypha) in her hoodie. A book no American Anglican should be without.

Also noted in the Christus Rex was a Pastoral Letter from Archbishop Provence to the province last August. Apparently I missed it somehow; he notes therein that for the time being he has taken some of our Canadian Anglican brethren under his wing until they can organize their own provincial structure. They likely have an uneasy and difficult time ahead; please pray for them.

Prayers for Fr. Davis' recovery

Dear reader, please say a prayer for Fr. Davis' recovery. He returned Wednesday, from a regional clericus in Portland OR, a bit under the weather and canceled Wednesday evening's Rector's Forum (which I would have missed anyways, being on an airplane at the time). Things have gotten worse: apparently he'd contracted a quite virulent flu, which he characterizes as bringing on "fever, chills, coughing, aches, sneezing, dizziness, congestion, etc." Needless to say he was still quite ill today, and we had that rarest of Sunday morning services: Morning Prayer. Rather a bit of stumbling, we are now again so out of practice, and the to-me-abhorrent response to "Here endeth the Epistle" (drawn from the '79: "Thanks be to God" -- its undertone being "the Epistle has finally ended, thank God!"*) appeared after the conclusion to the First and Second Lesson. But Fr. Davis plans to catch up with an extra session soon and the one I would have missed, on Anglican church history, I just might be able to attend. At least if it is held this week, because after that I am away most weekdays until December.

* Yes, on this issue I am a grump.

A Prayer for Healing.

O ALMIGHTY God, who art the giver of all health, and the aid of them that turn to thee for succour; We entreat thy strength and goodness in behalf of this thy servant, that he may be healed of his infirmities, to thine honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Black&White Sunday

Where I work we have a very long-standing joke (back into the 90s) that when several of us wear shirts of the same (or similar) color, one will say to another, "I see you got the message, today is [say] purple shirt day." Something of the sort happened today when several of the ladies showed up wearing black & white. (One is actually navy, but so dark it might as well be black.)

Mapping the APCK, ACC and UEC

A few weeks ago a guest requested a photo of the map I had mentioned, showing where our communion of APCK, ACC and UECNA churches are located. I took a photo the following Sunday but (and I hope I will be forgiven) things got crazy after that and I only just got the photo off my camera this afternoon (along with a LOT of other photos including my trips to St. Louis and Lucerne). So here is the map, "enhanced" so the pushpins stick out more. Blue represents APCK churches, white UECNA, and red ACC. This map is one or two years old, so it is likely to be a little out of date. (Click on the photo to see a larger version.)

Touch and Go

It's not quite as bad as the last time(s) I used this title but still... I got home from a week of meetings in St. Louis late last night, with less than 32 hours home before I'm back in the air(planes) for a couple of days of meetings in Switzerland.

But still... I left on the last trip with Sunday's bulletin in my pack so I could update the website and perhaps add a blog entry or two during the week but between meetings, limited Internet access and work, there was no chance. I have no illusions that things will be better between departure and return. But I've left the bulletin there regardless, and maybe I'll get an e-mail update from Fr. Davis...

It's Kathy's Birthday

I've just used/abused the Blogger capability to delay postings to announce that today is Kathy's birthday.

How many? Well, less than mine. And in less than a handful of hours into it she will be dropping me off at the airport from which I will go away for a few days, with a very brief return followed by another trip, this time overseas.

Do post a note here to wish Kathy a happy birthday. I know she would appreciate it!

Tent City 4

Fr. Davis announced today that the anticipated St. Bartholomew's dinner for the homeless of Tent City 4, currently just down the road on Avondale Road, will be held October 22nd, their last night before they move to a new location (St. John's Vianney, Roman Catholic?).

It's not clear whether I will be able to be there to report directly; I've missed previous dinners due to travel. Right now my calendar is clear... but... that's no guarantee.

15 weeks!

After a night of very poor sleep (mostly travel-related I think -- the last nightmare had something to do with not being able to get to my destination for some reason or another) I did not want to get up and go to church. I really wanted to stay in bed and rest before the week-and-a-half of business travels, domestic and international, that start way too early tomorrow morning. But I had signed up to read the Epistle today so I went. And did what I could to preserve my voice (and improving physical condition).

But the shock came when I opened the particular Prayer Book from which I preview my Epistle readings: the bookmark was set at Trinity Sunday. And today is the 15th Sunday after Trinity!?! Have I really gone from when I read most every Sunday (when home, which was most of the time) to a 15-week gap?

Seems it is so, and Larry confirmed. Between my travel and illness, and St. Bartholomew's happily plenteous supply of Lay Readers these days, I truly haven't 'read' in months. It was a delight to be "back" despite the physical effort though why, I can't say: It's easier to sit in the pews with everyone else, but to serve just means so much more to me.

And I am still signed up to read for Bishop Provence's visit October 10th. I haven't talked with him much since I ceased to be Senior Warden but it will be a complete delight to serve with him.

All for nothing

Working over my travel schedule for this fall I suddenly realized that the pile of travel documents for the next four trips (flight itineraries, hotel reservations and the like) was incomplete. Digging in I found it was lacking documents for an upcoming trip to speak in Las Vegas -- which I thought I had already booked.

And as it turns out, I had. Except I had the wrong travel (and check-in/--out) dates! I remember being delighted for once being able to book a Sunday afternoon flight out, but as it turns out the date was wrong. I needed to fly out (and return) later than that.

But hey, I get that whole weekend at home, instead of checking in at SeaTac airport prior to Sunday Mass.

Confirmation Class

The Confirmation Class started last evening, for folks to be confirmed or received into the church. The members are all older than my class of eleven-year-olds, way back when (that church was also much larger). I probably would have gone to sit in if I had not been home feeling a bit ill.

Fr. McGrath had a practice I liked, one that worked well for the size of our classes: each session of the class was sponsored by a different parish family. The family would make the light supper (or was it lunch?) for the class, and join in the meal and the session following. Especially when we were receiving new members, it was a good opportunity for them to get to know a few of our families.

I will be away for the next two. After that, we'll see.

Spanish Preschool

I had heard about this over the summer, so it wasn't really a huge surprise to see the sign for the Spanish Academy in front of the church Sunday. They have been expanding in the area and were looking at Woodinville -- and loved the situation we have with the Fr. Leen Education Center. It will be good to have more "activity" around the church on weekdays. And, it turns out, two of our young women are apparently graduates of this academy a number of years ago.

Geoffrey? He wanted to be in the picture.

Publick Baptism

I guess it's the disconnect resulting from too much travel and illness that I did not know Jack's baptism was scheduled for today -- or that it was even scheduled at all. As Fr. Davis joked, he should hand me a visitor's card! (We don't have such.)

But it was a delight to see the extended family present -- great-grandparents? Some all the way from Florida?

The Baptismal service itself was one I'd never seen before, and it required a four-page addition to the bulletin for us to follow. Although I confess I prefer the 1928 BCP, though I am neither a theologian nor a liturgist, I liked this baptismal service much more than the '28 which seems more oriented to adult converts. It turns out the service is from the 1662 BCP!

Maybe we need to mine our roots further for what I think is an inevitable new version of the BCP, if for no other reason than its calendar runs out in two or three years. (If/when "we" engage in a new version may I request appointment to the group, Archbishop Provence? We need to hold the line.)