Friday, November 07, 2003
It's been three months to the day since my last post, which pretty much guarantees that nobody is reading this unless in archive.

I started this mostly to chronicle my stay at General Convention, which is why I haven't posted since then ... that and being really busy. But as my sabbatical approaches (Jan. 1), I realize that I should really get back to this so I can hit the ground running when it comes.

I have mixed emotions when I think about my sabbatical. I really need the time off and I'm excited about this test for our community. But I will miss people-- especially the seniors. That's where I'm really living in denial. THis is pretty much my last semester with them, but it's easy enough to pretend its not.

What I'm really looking forward to is being able to give my family so much more of my time and attention. And also just getting recentered and setting some better patterns for living. My friend Marshall -- also an Episcopal priest -- has been practicing akido for years and it has been something I've always wanted to try. He's hooked me up with a dojo here in town that looks promising so I think I'll try it out.

As for Africa, that's in flux. It looks as if it's not going to work for me to go work with Blair and Kevin with TEAM in Tanzania. THey won't be heading back until August, which is too late. BUT ... my friend Leon Spencer, who is the ED for the Washington Office on Africa, has as a friend a bishop from a different diocese in TZ, whom he has put me in contact with. David has also made contact with a man from Ghana who might be looking to have me come teach at a seminary there for 6 weeks (that is if Ghana doesn't think I'm an apostate heretic after how I voted in Minneapolis!).

Mostly, things look promising. New horizons are opening up all the time. The ECM community is reaching a point of stasis -- which is a good thing. We've been on a growth trajectory for 8 years, it's time to settle into a routine for a while and get our land legs. For me, it's a time to really take stock of the past 8 years and figure out where God is calling for the future in a whole bunch of ways. That's exciting, too.

Well, I've broken the spell and finally posted something more. Give me a shout out if you've actually read this! |
Mike at 11/07/2003 11:42:00 PM