Two Weeks and ticking....

And I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by, and how much I still have to do to be packed and moving by June 15. Preached my last sermon here Memorial Day weekend --a large congregation despite the holiday, and a very emotional time for us all. Used the "Moment for All Ages" to pass out small awards to some of the folks I've worked most closely with the past two years -- UU-theme lapel pins, mostly, but slightly nicer medallions for both the Past President and the Outgoing President, and some very nice chalice earrings and a pendant for Jackie, who has been my personal Pastoral Care Coordinator this past year and more. And then at the very end I had several brightly-colored basketballs to pass out to the Governing Board, the Board of Trustees, the Finance Council, the Membership Committee and the Worship Committee, each of which was labeled with the name of the committee and the dates 2007-2007, and autographed by me, with the instructions that the members of the committee should all autograph the ball as well, and then keep it as a memento. I know, kind of a silly gesture (especially since I haven't really had a chance here to go into my basketball schtick the way I generally do with other congregations). But I think they got the message about teamwork and recognition , and I think the kids got it too, who were there to witness all this up close, and especially to see the actual awards with their own eyes.

The sermon was basically a summary of the major themes I've been preaching about for the past two years, with a bit of a Memorial Day twist and reference to the arrests outside our church the previous Monday. Wanted to emphasize the importance of mission, and of the seven key areas of Worship, Education, Fellowship, Hospitality, Outreach, Social Justice and Pastoral Care, as well as the three mottos or slogans we've been using to promote our identity: "Portland's Original Faith Community," "Heart(h)fire," and "A Warm & Welcoming Place in the Heart of the City." But it began and ended with the theme of Leadership, starting with Lyle Schaller's 44 parallels between ordained ministers and commissioned military officers, and concluding with the "Be*Know*Do" model of leadership in the "Three Meter Zone," where a leader's knowledge and the performance of the team both follow the character and bearing of the leaders themselves. You can read the whole thing HERE if you're so inclined; just click on the link and away you go.

Of course, the other big thing on my mind this past week (besides packing to move, figuring out how or whether I'm going to be able to COBRA my heath insurance, and generally dealing with too much to do in too little time and my poor health to go along with it) has been Walter. Finally met his court-appointed attorney and his counselor from the University of Southern Maine at a bail hearing last Wednesday. Of course, nothing changed; Walter's bail is still $1000 -- not a huge amount in the greater scheme of things, but for Walter it might as well be a million. And, of course, he really doesn't have anyplace to go other than the street anyway, which in some ways makes me feel relieved knowing that at least as a guest of the county he receives his daily "three hots and cot," he's relatively safe and supervised, and he isn't drinking. I guess my hope would be that we can find him a bed somewhere in a rehab program, then raise the money for his bail, and make sure he finishes rehab before starting school, all the time still awaiting trial. But that's an awful lot for me to take care of personally in the next two weeks. Especially with all the other things I've got on my mind.



Anyway, I'm probably going to have a lot more to write about Walter later, but for now I just need to keep scrambling to get it all done: the farewell parties and final leave takings, acknowledging the grief over the loss of "what might have been," the sobs and hugs and all the rest. Timetable right now is a June 15th departure from Portland, followed by a few days in the Boston area before heading out to Nantucket the middle of the week. I'll be preaching there on Sunday June 21st, and then hanging around for as long as they can stand me before heading back to the mainland and down to Greenwich CT to stay with my brother until June 30, when we will all be flying to Seattle and then driving to Camano Island for the 4th of July. I'll be staying on that island for another couple of weeks after that, and then traveling down to Portland Oregon on or about the 15th of July, to attend a party celebrating my daughter's marriage and the expected birth of my first grandchild at the end of August. But rather than waiting around in Portland for that to happen, I'm planning at that point to head on down to Sacramento and beginning to unpack my new life as a Californian. When the time comes, it's a relatively quick and cheap flight back to PDX anyway.

Finally now, a quick bonus photo from Mother's Day, and the Christening of Anna Sophia. I love this photo, just like I loved officiating at the event itself, and everything that goes along with it. Another thing I'll miss about full-time long-tenured parish ministry.