A minor

Full Days

A friend of mine once joked that I wouldn't have as much time for blogging when I had a full-time job. (Since I wasn't there when he made the joke, he felt bad and contacted me the next day to confess and ask my forgiveness, which I granted even though I wasn't offended in the least.) I guess there's a sense in which the last few weeks have proven him right. Or maybe not; I had a full-time job in Moscow. Maybe he should have said that I wouldn't have as much time for blogging when I moved away from Moscow. I dunno.

Today I met with Father Riley, which went very well. I think he will be a huge help in the future as I pursue chaplain ministry. He's a chaplain with the rank of Colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard, and prior to chaplaincy, was enlisted active Army, did a year in Vietnam, etc. When the subject came up, he made no bones about his view of the election of Gene Robinson. He said he had reluctantly gone along with certain things over the years (eg, women's ordination and changes in the liturgy), but he drew the line at such a clear compromise of the authority of Scripture. I showed him all my cards and said that, with all respect, I thought the decision of the ECUSA General Convention was "abominable," to which he replied, "Well, we're not going to have any disagreement there." It's nice to know an Episcopalian with a spine.

This week I attended Rich Lusk's Sunday School class. He's teaching on liturgy, looking at biblical and traditional antecedents, and explaining the upcoming additions to Auburn's liturgy. Good stuff. Tonight Hollie and I also went to our second session in a six-week parenting class Steve Wilkins is teaching. The class is loaded with biblical and practical insight, and we look forward to the next few weeks.

In other news, on Sunday, I reluctantly accepted a part in an upcoming play. I don't know what came over me, but I agreed to be Dr Faustus in a shortened production of Marlowe's Faustus, to be performed at Auburn Avenue's Reformation Day (or as I like to call it, Halloween) festival ::gulp:: next Saturday. This is what I get for always liking that play and agreeing to do stuff that I haven't the time or the gifts to do. I guess I should go work on my few hundred lines. Apologies in advance to those of you who have to sit through my "acting."