Trying to write

Sometimes during a busy week at church I never quite find the time needed to just sit and pray over the text for the coming Sunday's sermon. And then, when I "steal" the time to do so I feel guilty - thinking I should surely be doing some kind of busy work or other that would mean I am "working"! So you see, clergy have the same issues as everyone else. Taking time to do the prayer and study needed to come up with an interesting or a new thought or two on Sunday can be a challenge.

And I think taking the time to really think about the parish and its needs is just as important. Someone once told me that a person leading a church needs to "go to the balcony" often. I think he meant you need to step back and take time to think about what is going on; what is needed; how to we get to where we want to be - and just where is it that we want to be?

Of course, all this happens in our own lives as well doesn't it? Think about how you got to where you are - or maybe you are in the middle of discernment right now. That takes prayer and thought. Raising your children is the same kind of thing - it involves so much more than anyone can tell you. So much more.

So here I am on a rainy Thursday morning, thinking about Jesus and the vines and the fruit, thinking about our parish and all the people who make up this church, and feeling so blessed. Maybe I won't write another word just now; but I feel blessed and that cannot be a bad thing.