just a Friday

Now that I'm one of two pastors and I don't preach every week, I don't really know what to do with my Fridays. I still carve them out on my schedule as 'sermon-writing day' and, out of 9 years of habit, I rarely make appointments on Fridays, but then I find myself on a day like today, with no sermon to write, and I feel...a bit disoriented.

Don't get me wrong: I have stuff to do. But it still feels weird.

I think we have figured out how to handle the 'should we or shouldn't we' situation from the post below. After a meeting with the interested parties last night, we decided that our committee which works with these matters should come up with a proposal for how the congregation might go about endorsing a political issue. I don't think we can even start thinking about the possibility unless we all agree on the ground rules beforehand. And while it's a bit late for this election cycle, there are a few things we can do related to this particular referendum - not as public as some would like, but better than nothing.

Today I'm going to the funeral of a friend from elementary school. A strange reality. She died after a surgery - the cause is not yet clear, and it seems impossible to me that the girl who ran up and down the basketball court like a ball of fire is being buried today. I haven't seen her for years. Her mom was our CampfireGirls leader (mostly we sat in their basement and ate cookies, with the occasional craft project interjected).

After the funeral, I will be racing home to finish cleaning my house, as my in-laws arrive today. My mother-in-law, whom I love, is about the cleanest person you have ever met. And while I know she would never judge the cleanliness of my house, I can't stop myself from purging the place as if the President were coming whenever they're here for a visit.

A meeting with a baptismal family tomorrow. A graveside service for the father of a church member on Monday (switching day off to next Friday). An adult education class to plan for next week.

I suppose these aren't especially blogworthy moments - no great stories lately - but sometimes I lose sight of the promise that our ordinary days are infused with God's presence. So I'm trying to remind myself of that on this ordinary Friday.