Paying Attention in November-Sunday, Sunday

It was church, church and more church today....I started with the Presbyterians because my Soul Sister S's choir was having a Cantata and I like to go support my local friends when they are having stuff! Prior to going there I had stopped off at my place for a quick choir rehearsal for the Thanksgiving Eve Community Service at which we are singing, and to drop off my food for today's Harvest Feast. After worship with my Presby friends, I headed back for the feast. L was there with a new friend from CH. It was clear he was happy to be back among his church community and was getting a kick out of bringing us a new person. They both enjoyed the dinner and N says he liked our worship service and plans to come again.

After we were all well-stuffed, my fellow priest and team member M and I grabbed our vestments and headed up the highway to a neighboring town. We had been invited to participate in the installation of one of our colleagues, a Lutheran pastor, who is taking on a five point team ministry position. Our organist, who is also a friend of his, played organ and piano music for the service. M and I got to lay our hands on S with all the local Lutherans and it was generally just a lovely celebration. Afterwards, we all retired to the church basement for some good Lutheran coffee and an assortment of homemade Icelandic and other Scandinavian goodies, the names of which I cannot pronounce, never mind think about spelling.

So its been a rather ecumenical sort of day, full of music and prayers and fellowship of all sorts. God was present in the expected ways of course....in the prayers, the liturgy, the Eucharist at the installation service, in the moment when all of us gathered to lay our hands on S and bless his new ministry. There was then, as there often is in such moments a tangibility of Presence, a movement of Spirit energy that is just somehow more there. But God was also there in being able to look across the room and see L laughing with another member of my congregation, all dressed up in his suit for his first day back at church. God was there in the abundance of good food and laughter we shared as we ate together and enjoyed each others' company. God was there as we presented our Intercessor with a plastic-canvas cross-stitched United Thank Offering box that M and I found for her at Diocesan Convention. She tirelessly heads up our UTO drive year after year after year and when we saw the boxes we just knew she had to have one...they were just, well...cute like her! And right now I am finding God's peace in being home at last with nothing more to do, no place else to be for the rest of the day.