Being that today was the first day of Daylight Saving Time and it was going to be light out until after 7:00pm I had plans to fire up the barbecue grill...a Weber charcoal model...and roast a turkey breast for dinner. Well, we didn't leave church until 4:00 this afternoon (more on that in a little bit) and by that time the rain had begun to fall again. It's been doing so ever since. So we went to plan B, the oven, which resulted in a perfectly cooked breast of turkey along with fruit dressing and a yam casserole. SWEET!
Let me back up a bit. Once again the week leading up today was insanely busy. Wednesday marked the beginning of the season of Lent, Ash Wednesday, which resulted in our first installment of the weekly soup suppers and Lenten services. It all came off without a hitch, but it made for a lot of extra activity. We had over 60 people for supper, and 86 in the service, which was quite amazing. On Thursday St. John's hosted the monthly circuit "winkle". What is a "winkle" you ask? It's a meeting of all of the Lutheran pastors in the greater Spokane area where we get together for a worship service, a Bible study, special presentation and a business meeting. The hardest part of being the host is to make sure that there is enough food for all of the guys. Lutherans travel on their stomachs you know, and most of the pastors have a good sized case of Dunlop's disease...the gut has done-lopped over the belt! The worship service was also a point of a bit of stress as I was the one to deliver the sermon. None of the guys jumped up in the middle of it and yelled "heresy" so I guess it went all right.
My goal on Friday was to take my first day off in 3 weeks. I can report that I was successful, although there were a few phone calls from the church to deal with. Our tennis experience in the morning was quite an experience...a good one. The posse was pretty much on top of our game, and the first game of the first set lasted a good 20 minutes...THE FIRST GAME! I was partnered with my buddy John, who is pretty much my age...only 27 years older than I. We started slowly, which is pretty much the norm for me, and found ourselves down 4 games to 1. Undaunted, we came storming back winning the set 7 to 5. That set lasted an hour, which left us with only 15 minutes of our hour and a half session to go. Now you may think that my math is off, but keep in mind that we are required to sit for at least 15 minutes between each set in order that the winners can brag about their conquest and the losers can dredge up creative excuses for why they lost. The rest of the day was dominated by a Costco run, including lunch, a nap and then a nice ungrilled dinner...again due to rain.
Saturday was my day to get down and dirty in preparation for the Sunday church service, and then watch over a funeral. I was not directly involved in the ceremony, but I was the one that ran the video. The deceased had succumbed to a 10 year battle with Alzheimer's. The officiating pastor was an old friend, and the eulogy was delivered by another boyhood friend. That boyhood took place over 70 years ago, so they each covered a lot of ground...enough ground to cover more than two hours! After the service Kay and I helped out with a luncheon, which was actually a supper due to the length of the service. After everyone had left we then had to set up for a brunch that was to be held after our service this morning. By the time we got home it was all I could do to set the clocks ahead and go to bed.
Did I mention that we didn't get home from church today until 4:00pm? After the service, and the brunch, we had a meeting of most the leaders of the congregation. The chief topic of discussion was the response to our occasional use of alternative instrumentation within the worship. Alternative instrumentation means guitar and drums. My I emphasize the word "occasional", like no more than once a month. That subject held the floor for over an hour, and the opinions were about as diverse and the political climate of the State of Wisconsin. I am happy to report that everyone was heard, but I don't know that everyone left satisfied. Following that meeting I was called away to a private discussion regarding our school ministry. If you ever find yourself with a year and a half to spare I will be happy to fill you in on the details. Suffice it to say that most of the afternoon was consumed with trying to contain that particular fire.
That brings us to this evening. It is now approaching 9:00pm PDT. I am looking forward to this week as the NCAA basketball tournament will be getting underway. My Alma mater, Wisconsin, will be playing Belmont (whoever he is) on Thursday, and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will take on St. John's (not my church) on the same day. I am hoping for a little more peace in our lives, but I really don't think I'll be holding my breath.
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