Travellings back and forth

Hey y'all! I've been traveling a good bit lately; down to MD a few weeks ago for the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference where I was part of the music team with Mark Miller and DeLyn Celec. I had a great time helping to lead the music throughout conference, but had a very different experience at conference this year. It was probably due to the fact that I was working and unable to re-connect with people at conference. OR maybe it was because of some of the conversations we are still having. Or maybe it was because it was held in the Marriot at the Inner Harbor, where dinner cost $42 a person, and the ordinands were ordained under crystal chandeliers while people were starving just blocks away...Anyway, BW conference was OK. I drove back up to Jersey Friday night so I would be at worship on Sunday, then turned right back around and drove BACK to MD for Lauren's graduation party and graduation!

The graduation party was, of course, a great party (all my mom's parties are great, even though she worries about them). I got to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a while, ate some yummy food, chatted with my pastor for a while, and played some kickball (!). The party "officially" ended at 8, but some of Lauren's friends stayed much longer, first helping us clean up and then staying to watch her open her gifts. It was really nice to see her interact with her friends from church and school. She has blossomed so much, and seems to be in touch with who she is. I know she's going to excel at Centenary in the fall. : )

Graduation was a bit chaotic because Megan experienced her first migraine- except we didn't know it was just a migraine- and ended up in the ER with my father. Lauren was a really great sport about the whole thing, and after being kept over night and having a bunch of tests run, Megan is fine. Thank goodness.

I stayed longer on Wednesday than I had originally planned, and headed back for Jersey once Megan was discharged from the hospital. She had so many pastoral visits- Mark went Tuesday night, then George came on Wednesday afternoon, and Mark came again right as she was being discharged. That is good pastoral care Hiss pastors! Two thumbs up!

I was only in Jersey for a few days- well, a week really- and then I had to go BACK down to MD (that 3 trips now!) for my DCOM meeting. It was pretty intense at times, but they certified me (thank you God!), and I was able to drive back up to Jersey tear-free. When I got home Evan and Lauren G. had dinner ready, and we celebrated a bit before Evan and I had to pack for the New England Annual Conference, which we were going to the next day.

We left early Thursday morning and got up to Gordon College, MA around 1pm. We registered (there was no line!) and got to our room in minutes. Everyone stays in the dorms; each dorm had two twin beds, and two rooms shared a bathroom. The lay representative from Jacksonville UMC (Evan's church in ME) and his wife had the room next to us, and helped pay our way to conference. They are a hoot! and made conference a lot of fun. NEAC was very different from BWAC, in many ways. One of the initial and most obvious differences was the size of the conference. Whereas BW has thousands of clergy alone, there were 1,300 registered TOTAL at NE- that included clergy, laity, and guests! Because it's so small, NE can have their conference at Gordon College, with the sessions being held in the chapel. THE CHAPEL! We walked in, and at the base of the stage was a fountain that a clergy member had made; it had the Methodist cross and flame on it, and water ran down the wall. The theme was "rivers" and it carried throughout the entire conference. Bishop Weaver is very pastoral- he preaches and prays in a gentle manner, and presided over the conference fairly and judiciously. The worship was all great (although the music wasn't as good as Mark Miller's), and it involved youth, children, retirees, and district superintendents (at one service, they came into worship dressed up with different flotation devices and running under bead curtains- it was so much fun!). They used water, beads, strips of fabric, and blocks of ice to enhance the worship and voting sessions. Oh, AND they have "prayer-liamentary" motions; at any point in the debates over legislation someone can make a prayer-liamentary request and the bishop will stop the conversation to offer up a prayer. I can't describe how this helped ease the tension during debates. It was so different from BW; it was more like church, more like community. Oh, oh! did I mention that there were mission opportunities right there during conference? Mission as in, not only giving money, but a station where ramps were being built to be distributed throughout Northern Maine to people in need of them.

The first night we were there Evan's DS Pat MacHugh had dinner with us. I was amazed a DS would take the time, especially during conference!- to have dinner with one of her candidates and his partner. She was so nice and pastoral, wanting to know about how we liked school, how we met each other, what my call to ministry was...and thanking US for eating with her! She prayed for our continuing discernment as we go through the candidacy process and decide where we will serve. She also told us about the new opportunities that are opening up in the Northern Maine District; from a new cluster, to a church plant within the next few years, to looking to find new ways of doing parish and extension ministry. It was all very exciting to listen to, and is something that I need to continue to pray about as Evan and I begin planning our future together.

We made it back to Jersey Saturday night, just in time for me to finish prepping for the service on Sunday that I led and preached at. This past week has been the first in weeks that I haven't had to travel anywhere farther than the Target on Route 10, and for that I am extremely grateful!

So, that's what I've been up to lately! Hope you've enjoyed -and thanks for- reading! Peace.

Ch. 1

I was talking to Evan earlier today, and we both mentioned that I had written anything for a while. "What should I write about?" I asked him. "Write about...write about us!" he said. "I like to hear your version of it." So here we go. I'm going to write it in several installments, so that those who want to read don't have to tackle a huge narrative in one sitting. (It will also give me a longer project to keep my occupied- teehee). Hope you enjoy!

It was the fourth day of orientation, and my brain was pretty fried. Perhaps it was from all the information it was trying to retain about this place called Drew, or maybe it was just because it was late August and as a result quite hot and humid outside. I had dressed comfortably for the long day, pulled my unruly bangs back, and had put on some make-up, still trying to create a good first impression to the people I would spend the next three years of my life with. For the first time that week dinner was not provided, and our orientation leaders thought it would be fun to introduce us to some of the restaurants in town. The group was larger than they had planned, so half went to a typical bar and grill along the main road, while the rest of us went to the adventurous sounding David’s Rumba Café. Tables had been squeezed together in this small, quaint family-run restaurant, and the owner and waitstaff were ready for us with smiles and pads of paper for drink requests. I sat between one of the orientation leaders (DBY) and a new friend. Leena was a classical violinist, so we would have plenty to talk about if conversation lulled. Across from me sat Shannon and a young man who did not return after the first semester. Conversations abounded, new people were introduced to us as they joined our ranks at the tables, and suggestions and decisions were made in regards to food. “This is my room-mate,” DBY said, and I glanced to see a cheerful enough man on his other side. His hair was wild and shaggy, beard unkempt, and he sported an old tie-died T-shirt. I couldn’t figure out how old he was, and it was too hard to hear, so I turned my attention back to the conversation at hand: Shannon was debating marriage with the young man in front of me.

The food was delicious, and I ate a ton of it! Chips and home-made salsa, maduros and some other form of fried plantain, black bean soup, and the most amazing burrito I have ever had in my life. The Cadillac. All too soon, but still hours later, we were dividing up the tab, figuring out who owed what, how much should we leave for tip…it was suggested that some of us go back to DBY’s apartment for drinks, and I accepted the invitation. I went up to Shannon’s room and together the three of us (her roommate Lauren joined us) went down to the boy’s room. Let me start by saying I have never been much of a party-er, that I have an insanely low alcohol-tolerance, and that new people (especially men) make me nervous. So I was very proud of myself for attending this last minute gathering, and for slowly sipping the glass of Argentinian wine Lauren gave me, listening to my new school mates talk. On the couch, reclined against a pillow, was DBY’s roommate. He seemed like a combination of a hippie, and a serene buddha; he immedietely struck me as the type of person people wanted to be around. He was like honey that bees flocked to, honey that is sometimes benevolent, but sometimes dangerous. I really wasn’t sure that I wanted to get close enough to figure out what kind of honey he was. I didn’t stay long, just long enough to have my glass of wine, before asking to be escorted home. DBY led me through the woods and showed me my house from the parking lot. I walked the rest of the way by myself, thinking about the new people I had met, and wondering what types of friendships would develop –or not –between us.