What I have been up to lately

My apologies to faithful friends who have been checking this blog and been disappointed by the recent lack of news. It has been a busy week. Several old friends of the family have been hospitalized and then “called home to glory” in the last couple of weeks, meaning hospital visits and funerals to attend. Then there was my talk to the Catholic Clerical Union on Tuesday to prepare, which took a great deal of time. The CCU is an organization of Anglo-Catholic Anglican priests who meet monthly for mutual support and continuing theological education, and our CCU meeting here in the diocese of Fort Worth last Tuesday drew about 30 priests. I was their featured speaker this month on “Athanasius and Orthodox Unity.” It was nice to meet many of the clergy of the diocese, and I was honored to be invited to speak. Then yesterday I was supposed to serve as chalice bearer at the monthly St. Vincent’s School Eucharist (the rest of the month our chapel is Morning Prayer). But our scheduled sub-deacon didn’t show up and I got a “battlefield promotion” to sub-deacon on the spot two minutes before we started! (Not to worry, for us sub-deacon is a lay position in which any licensed lay reader can serve so no canons were violated.) It was a bit nerve-wracking having to do the job without proper training, but I survived without completely embarrassing myself—I think! Tonight I teach my class on Medieval spirituality at the cathedral, then tomorrow I teach an extended class for my middle school students on Buddhist worship and meditation practice (its grandparents’ day, hence the extra-long lecture to inform and entertain our senior visitors). Starting tomorrow I will be away from home for a week. I will be attending the national Society of Biblical Literature/American Academy of Religion meeting in San Antonio from Friday through Tuesday morning. Then I will be driving down to Houston to spend Thanksgiving with my dear friends, fellow Rice alums Becky Jo and Mike Leppala and their kids. It should be a good time all around. Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!