Busy But Laughing, Even

I've gotten the first of four sermons written for this week. The Wednesday one is usually a very informal homily, so that's no biggie. Thursday's service will most likely be sparsely attended, but I still want to write something worthwhile.

Sunday is Advent I. The service will be an adventure because we will be trading out Eucharistic Prayer C for B, replacing the Gloria with the Archangelsky Trisagion, changing Prayers of the People to a different form, and inserting the Advent Wreath Lighting bits. I expect I will get some grousing from some folks, but it's a different liturgical season and it should feel and sound different from Ordinary Time.

Pledges are coming in. Not as generous as we had hoped for, but an improvement over last year, and several new pledgers. I hope folks are embracing our shared vision and are willing to invest in it.

Struggling with some difficult pastoral issues right now. Please say a prayer for folks for whom the next month will be a time of sadness and emptiness rather than joy, and pray for their priest, who sometimes has words and sometimes has only a loving heart to offer.