Long Day

As you can see below, today was the day I told the folks at Saint Middle School that I had been called to another church, down in the Capital of the Confederacy. The Vestry already knew, which meant - despite a vow of secrecy - a few others knew as well, since Ben Franklin's old saying is true : "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead."

Folks took it well, since they knew this day would come. That is the nature of serving as an interim. The time comes when you leave. A few were a bit teary-eyed, but all were grateful for my service there and happy for PH and me.

They will have a month to prepare themselves for my departure. Easter Sunday will be my last day. They will have a leave-taking party for me the following Friday, since Easter should be about the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, not about me.

In the meantime, there are pastoral issues to address, sermons to write, a few more Adult Forums (fora?) to prepare, Holy Week services to finish planning...

...and then there is the whole thing of where we will live, since the new place does not have a rectory. Logistically, it would be so simple to just pack ourselves up and go move into a rectory, but psychologically and financially having our own place is better. More of a sense of our own private space, you know?

So on Friday we went down and signed the Letter of Agreement with the new church, and then looked at 15 houses.

Yes, you read that right. 15 houses. In 7 hours. Thank goodness I took a lot of notes. Two houses seemed to be at the top of the list. Funny, because they were very, very different. In any case, we decided that one edged out the other, and this afternoon, we made an offer. We'll see if they accept it (prayers would be gratefully appreciated) or if we have to do the pushme-pullyu negotiations. Given the soft housing market, and the fact that it has been on the market for a while, I hope it will go quickly. If this one doesn't work out, the other house would be fine as well.

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm tired now. I'll let you know what happens...