Huh. Didn't see that coming.

In the middle of the potluck today, I answered the phone (since the secretary is off today at her husband's surgery). And it was a pastor I have never met, calling from a large and growing congregation, to say that my name had been mentioned to him - twice - as a possibility for associate pastor.

Huh.

I've been trying to discern how to leave for awhile now, and I haven't been very good at it. Maybe because this is my first call, and though I've been here for eight years, it's still difficult to know when to go. I've asked the good Lord, from time to time, to be more direct, but the good Lord has largely not obliged me in this, which is understandable.

But at this call (which I moved upstairs, away from the parishioners, to field more appropriately), my heart did this little leaping thing that it hasn't done about church for awhile. This little skipped beat, like a spark. I wonder if that's something to pay attention to.

What made my heart leap even higher was how he finished this sentence: "this congregation is theologically..." and I was waiting for "conservative," because although I happen to know the city where this congregation is, I don't know anything about this church, and what I know about its location might lead toward - well, more red than blue, if you get my drift.

But - oh, miracle of miracles - he said, "...progressive." Which made me smile. And then he said, "in fact we are the only church in our area which is Reconciled in Christ," which, if you are Lutheran or know the lingo, means it is openly a welcoming place for gay and lesbian folk. Which really made me smile. Because trust me, that attitude ain't happenin' where I am in the foreseeable future.

So now I will need to go home and talk with my beloved about this. Which should be interesting (and I mean this in the way that Midwestern people use this word, like, "That tattooed, pierced boyfriend my daughter brought home sure is interesting"). My beloved is quite attached to our current geographical location. And I am too, to be honest. But my possibilities for new call around here are very limited. And he knows that too. It's not the best time to be thinking about moving from the perspective of his job. And I know that too.

See, good Lord? Here I am, still asking for something more direct than an actual phone call. I might be getting close to "too demanding," I think.

Huh. Some thinking and praying to do. If you read this and have time to pray for me and my beloved, I would appreciate it very much.