Teens without cell phones for a week? - Rector's Rambling for July 19, 2015

If past experience is any indicator, when you are reading this on Sunday morning you will have a parish priest who is over-tired, with a hoarse throat, and yet walking two feet above the ground.

I am writing this before the St. Michael’s Conference for Youth.  My experience is that the clergy don’t get enough sleep because we are up earlier than the Michaelites; and then after they go to bed, it takes a little while for us to debrief from the day.

We also sing A LOT during the week at both Morning Communion and Evensong, and the hymns are all the old favorites which the clergy tends to over-sing (you can almost see Dr. Lewis’ head nodding as I write this about clergy in general).

But, I am sure I am also excited about having spent such a great week at the Conference, teaching the children and being a part of their growing in faith!

The other great thing about the St. Michael’s Conference this week is that the students are away from their cell phones, and the clergy use them at a minimum.  This is a welcome break from the madness of trying to keep up with e-mail and various social networking Web sites.  As much fun and as informative as they can be, it is always nice to step away from them for a welcome break.

Next week we have our seventh annual Founders’ Day celebration.  We will sing appropriate hymns from the period of the founding of St. John’s, and will use the original liturgy used during the first 30 years of this parish.  Afterwards we will have an ice cream social in the garden, weather permitting.

It is hard to believe, but 154 years ago this summer, this church building was opened two years after the founding of the parish.  Within a week after the opening of the chapel in November of 1859, the vestry began making plans to build the church because the chapel was already too small for our growing congregation.  When this building opened, the United States was just beginning her Civil War!

Bishop Biggers will be with us on Sunday, August 9, so be sure to mark your calendar.