"Lo, the day of days is here...Alleluia...." And I actually had very minimal responsibilities in yesterday's service: welcomed everyone to church (as I do every Sunday), supervised the announcements, lit the chalice, introduced the opening hymn, and then led our unison affirmation before inviting the children up to hear a story and wheeling myself down the ramp to the front row. And yet even that little part I couldn't quite handle correctly. First mistake was that I welcomed everyone to our worship service at the First Parish in Portland Oregon...a mistake I've been able to avoid making for almost two years now, but which eventually caught up with me. Big laugh at my expense as i explained that before moving here I'd lived 14 years in the other Portland, and was moving back again that way soon. There was also a special Easter introit that I nearly skipped over completely; thank God (no, G-D! that Charlie (our minister of music) was there to catch my mistake and pick-up quickly as soon as I had finished the Chalice Lighting, but before I had an opportunity to introduce the first hymn.
The most interesting thing though was that i had prepared a little insert for the bulletin on behalf of the Committee on Ministry, talking about these next two months and the plans we are making to celebrate my intense yet all-too-brief two-year ministry here, and to say our goodbyes in ways that will be meaningful to everyone. And I had what I can only describe as a Mark 13:11 moment -- just opened my mouth and the spirit spoke through me, and afterwards...well, it's been a long time since anything like that has happened to me. It's no wonder I nearly skipped the introit.
In any event, the rest of the service was lovely and inspiring, just as it should have been. Children's Story, Candlesharing, a prayer and the offertory, and a very simple and straightforward message from Will (appropriate to the fact that we still had the children with us) about the "Three Questions" - the answers to which are "Whoever is here, Whatever we can, and Now."
Brother Erik left for Connecticut about 3 pm, while my Father and his wife arrived from California about 5. A smooth changing of the guard, as it were. They'll be here for about three weeks, most of which time I'm going to be spending getting radiation treatment. Started out with a so-so Easter dinner at the Eastland -- slow, expensive, and otherwise unremarkable -- and yet once again, I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed that hotel, and how much I'm going to miss it when I'm gone. And now, it's Monday AM and time for me to be facing yet another week as a cancer survivor. This week, I think, should be a good one.
About Me
- The Eclectic Cleric
- Portland, Maine, United States
- Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, sailing summers in the San Juan Islands and warding off the gloominess of the incessant winter rains by reading voraciously and drinking more than my fair share of Seattle's Best espresso. Five (count 'em) college degrees, making me an honest-to-God Crimson Dawg Duck Beaver Viking. Have served Unitarian Universalist congregations in both Midland Texas and on Nantucket Island (which made the 2004 election VERY interesting), as well as numerous other smaller UU fellowships along the I-5 corridor in Washington and Oregon. More recently, I relocated from the affluent faux rural suburbs of "the Neighborhood of Boston" (just beyond the Old North Bridge and through the woods, about five miles from the site of Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond), to the bustling shores of Casco Bay at the southern edge of "Down East." But my ministry at the First Parish in Portland ME was cut short by a diagnosis of Lung Cancer in February, 2008. I currently live outside of Sacramento CA, retired with a permanent and total medical disability, as I battle with my disease and continue to ponder what God has in store for me next.
4 comments:
I loved your Portland, Oregon and Portland, Maine intro. ;>)
I like the answers, Tim, but what exactly are the three questions? (remember I'm Catholic, I'm at a big disadvantage here) Happy Easter and it's delightful you've been able to post so often lately. Alleluia! Ann B
The Three Questions is the title of a Leo Tolstoy short story, in which a King wants to know the answers to the following three questions: What is the best time to do something? Who are the best people to listen to? and What is the most important thing to do? Here is the link to the Wikipedia article.
Ah, here I thought it was some UU tradition -- yet another gap in my Bellevue public school education! Now that I have time to read for fun I'm gonna put "The Three Questions" on my list. Peace, Ann B
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