reverendjaneausten

A change of pace from the sermon at Vigil for those who are interested! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Easter Sunday St. Mark’s Hazard March 23, 2008 Children’s Sermon [Alexa, 8; Megan, 8; Bella, 5; Blake,4] I want to tell you a dog story, this Easter. One day, I was driving, (I am ALWAYS driving!!) and I was going up a hill. On the other side of the road, coming down toward be was a big white truck, going very fast. Standing right in the path of the truck was a puppy. {Big eyes here!!} So I checked in my rearview mirror, and pulled over. I opened my door and called him and he landed right in my lap! So what was I supposed to do! Of course, I took him home. Mr. Shannon was VERY PATIENT. But he did not think we could keep him. We tried to take him to the shelters; they would not take him. They all said I was not in their county, although I knew where I was!! So he has stayed with us for a while. But we could not figure out his name. We...

The Easter Vigil was amazing. We only had 15 but it was still a powerful experience. It was my first to plan and their first to experience, so there were some [quietly] amusing "flexibility" moments [translation: learning for next time} but the church was beautiful in candlelight. We did not have it quite as late as I would have liked but it was nearly dark when we all got inside. There were actually three little children there, so at the great Alleluia they got to ring bells, which they loved. They were SO good during the long service. One of them was a visitor so did not take Communion. The moment when God passes through me in a blessing and is acknowledged by the soul in a child's eyes has to be one of the most profound for a priest--at least this priest. I had the A Team with me- Graff as Crucifer and Shannon as Server. Because in the flurry the elements were on the credence table and had not been put out for the children to bring up, so I let the two smallest c...

Tomorrow I get to preach at the Community Service. As the new priest at St. Mark's I am also the new kid to the Ministerial Association, so they all thought. . . . I do not think anyone there reads this blog, so a late night posting is probably safe in terms of it being a spoiler. So here is the sermon if you are interested! Sermon: Community Service Mother of Good Counsel Catholic Church March 19, 2008 (Hebrews 12: 1-3; John 13: 21-32) Somehow, when the Ministerial Association welcomed me into the fold and asked me to preach this week as the “New Kid on the Block,” the end of Lent seemed decades away. As a time of attempted self-denial, Lent usually seems to drag, but not this year. It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through Holy Week. How did six weeks pass so quickly? (Of course, time is a funny thing. I expect it does seem like 22 years since Hazard has been in the Sweet 16, but our middle son turned 22 this week and that seems like a blur.) In real time, a...

One of the churches I serve is in Beattyville, where the Kentucky River is formed. I had a lovely meander today on the 3/4 mile pathway that overlooks that. I needed a nice pre-Holy Week mini-Sabbath. Yes, those are cows!

Rats. Ever since I left Seabury I have planned to be at the Commencement this year. Today I discovered that it is the exact same day as the LTS Graduation. I am already having a great deal of difficulty in knowing where my physical self is supposed to be at any given time. I double booked for lunch Friday. I scheduled a meeting that moves around the Diocese to be here in Berea the day we are driving back (and returning at least 8 hours after the meeting ends,) from vacation. And now this. We need a "Sven" around here- you know, like in that amusing AT&T commercial that shows a house hold "Sven"- a Swedish organizing guru who wakes up the household, reminds them of their stocks, e-mails and appointments, and provides suitable clothing to meet the weather forecast. The end of the ad advises you to get one of the AT&T smart phones if you can't get your own Sven. I was never terribly good at this domestic aspect, (and would be terrible with a smart phone- I ...

Of course! But at the moment, after lovely 60 degree days last week, we are plunged back into winter. One of the drawbacks to driving two hours to get to church is that such weather suspends services. Better for me and for the folks there not to traverse the hills but I miss being with them. Happening was rescheduled as well--or hopes to be. There is no set date yet. That was especially disappointing because the bread for Eucharist turned out well, all of the youth had their talks done, and the Cathedral Domain was decorated joyously. It was going to be the best ever!! It still will be. We hope to do it after Easter. I cannot even show you what it looks like here though, because for some reason, my photograph loading gets a server error message every time. Besides, my Midwestern friends would just roll their eyes anyway, even though it is big doin's for us!!

I will get back to posting with photographs as I know that is much more interesting. Perhaps tomorrow I will get a picture of the tether ball Graff and I installed today. We had to take out an apple tree that had died so the hole was just there. . .the poor child got the tether ball set LAST Christmas and it is only now in the ground. But it was such fun working together, and it will be great to come home and PLAY! I had a wonderful guest preacher today who very kindly thanked me for the service and said that I was very elegant as a worship leader. Have I finally achieved the graceful presence I always hoped would come in my 40's? Whew- barely made it if so! ;-)) But it is likely an aberration, and just a kind remark to savor on days when I am much more like the 5 year old Janey who was expelled from ballet.