Some Freetime-Almost

I've been wanting to blog recently about a whole bunch of different things--that just happen to elude me right now--but I've been super busy putting together a congregational reflection for the process of finding a new pastor for the First Presbyterian Church of Rensselaer. The work is around 37 pages long and I'm finally finished! I had a committee of three other people helping and we worked really well together. Now all the needs to happen is the session of the church approves the document and then the committee on ministry for the Wabash valley presbytery needs to approve it. If any one of those governing bodies sends it back, the committee will have to re-work the document. Fun!

The musical is also consuming much of my time--well, my evenings. The character I play, Harrison Howell, now has a refined southern gentlemen's accent, though Maura says I sound like a failed southern women. Either way, it will be fun to act like a fool on stage yet have the character be in a complete haze in realizing it.

It's retreat season for Presbyterians (I guess) and the closer I get to the end of my seminary career the more I am being forced to attend these things. I'm not one for "retreats" of an organized fashion. I attended a mandatory (yes mandatory) retreat at the Geneva Center in Rockchester, Indiana on June 9 and 10. It was more of a series of committee meetings that what most people consider a retreat but I managed. On the tenth I was scheduled to meet with the CPM and discuss my progress in the past year. They love me! Here are the strength areas they said I had.

• Presentation as a less-anxious presence
• Openness to new experience
• Demonstrates a talent for creative solutions
• Energy and enthusiasm in church work
• Evidence a well-balanced lifestyle
• Eloquent and accessible in his responses to questions

And of course it wouldn't be a review if we didn't find some growth areas

• Needs to self-initiate inquiry as to future steps in discerning call
• Needs to prepare the responses to G-14.0303g requirements

Oooh! Not G-14.0303g! At any rate, what I enjoyed most about the "retreat" was walking the labyrinth they have on site and driving home on IN-16 at noon on a bright and warm Friday. On another retreat note I'll be heading to New York City on June 23rd for a retreat for Presbyterians all over the country. The retreat goes from June 23rd - June 26th and it will actually culminate with a meeting in NYC to have communion with people marching in the gay pride parade taking place that Sunday. How fun and deviant is that! I love it! What's even more is the Presbyterian organization that is putting this on actually paid for part of my airfare! In the eternal words of Fr. Dan, "Too fun! Too Fun!"

I finished with the first Foucault book in the History of Sexuality series and it was fabulous. I'm halfway through the second volume (which is 100 times easier to read) talking all about the ancient Greek philosophies (Aristotle, Plato, Diogenes, Socrates, and many more) concerning aphroditis. (Justin this second volume is right up your alley) I've also just read the first chapter in the book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. It was a pretty good start and I can tell it is going to be an extremely funny book to read.

Well, my lunch break is over. Back to the (bump and) grind stone.