The Year: 2016

2016 was quite a year, was it not?

The first usual pilgrimage of the year has been to Minneapolis to attend a workshop at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. They bring in some stellar speakers for these events which center around liturgy and music.   This year they decided to evaluate the program and skip the January event until they decide on a new format or remodel the existing. It was a disappointment but a trip to Minneapolis in January can be a weather event. So far we’ve been lucky making this pilgrimage, but there is always the first time!

The winter months fill up rapidly with OLLI classes. We have an active OLLI (Osher Life Long Learning Institute) program here. They offer a wide variety of short term classes with excellent teachers and no tests. Some classes are just a one session two hour event.  Others might meet once each week for four weeks. I’ve had few disappointments along with many rewards and have learned many things. 

Since I was once again un-retired there were twice weekly pilgrimages to the Church of the Good Shepherd where I served as supply priest almost every Sunday. It was a pleasure to serve them while they searched for a new rector. It was also a pleasure not to have to drive out of town on Sunday mornings, especially when the weather can be a bit nasty or really nasty, as the case may be.

The South Dakota Symphony performs a concert nearly every month. Saint Joseph’s Cathedral has an arts program which is excellent and provides several concerts each season. Both Calvary Cathedral and First Congregational have arts programs with several concerts. The hi-def broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera are superb. These musical events fill up the calendar quite nicely and each concert provides another pilgrimage experience.

During March our Benedictine Community here hosted the meeting of all the priors. These pilgrims came from Victoria, B.C., Brandon, Manitoba, and Tempe, Arizona. It was the first time we had all gathered together and it was a wonderful time, although too brief. 

With our friend Victor in Cabo San Lucas

After seeing the church community at Good Shepherd through Holy Week and Easter, a pilgrimage to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was a welcome break. My traveling companion and high school friend Craig has a time-share there and graciously invited me to meet him there. It’s always a relaxing time and was even more so after the hustle and bustle of Easter in a parish setting. We didn’t do much aside from eating, reading, and relaxing on the beach. Nice!

One of my Denver friends!

The very end of April was the first pilgrimage to Denver for this year. The national meeting of the Society of Mary was being hosted by the parish I had served in Denver. Going to that meeting provided an opportunity to stay at the new home of close friends whose marriage I had solemnized. It was an opportunity to see many friends from my time in Denver. I enjoyed the reunions. Since I was coming to Denver the weather took the opportunity to snow for four days. Once again the prediction was proved true: when I come to Denver or leave therefrom it snows.  Nevertheless, the parish did a lovely job of hosting the meeting although the weather prevented any visitors from even seeing the mountains from a distance let alone traveling into same.

In the middle of May, the annual pilgrimage to Salina, Kansas, for the chapter meeting of the Society of the Holy Cross took place.  There was no snow, thankfully.  It is always good to see the brethren again for this yearly get together.

The second week of June brought the annual Dakota Sky Piano event. This is conceived and organized by one of my former choir boys. He brings in brilliant pianists for a series of recitals, master classes, and workshops. It is a great gift to the community.

Following Dakota Sky the second Denver pilgrimage took place to attend the ordination to the permanent diaconate of one of my former parishioners whom I had encouraged to enter the ordination process. He had requested that I be one of his presenters. No snow this time! Rather, on the day of the ordination, the temperature approached 100 as we entered the non-airconditioned cathedral. There were celebrations surrounding the event and more opportunities to spend time with friends. The ordination took place on Saturday. On the following Sunday, the rector gave me the honor of celebrating the sung mass with the newly ordained deacon assisting. I also blessed the new home of my friends in Littleton where I was again given housing for all the festivities.

Relaxing in Omaha

In August, my friend Craig came to visit for three weeks. During that time we made several pilgrimages to Omaha, to Mitchell (to see the “world’s only” Corn Palace and the archeological dig, to Fargo and Morehead and to Minneapolis and St. Paul. We had a good time and Craig was able to see some things he had never experienced when living in South Dakota way back when.

Brunch with Denver friends.

In September the third pilgrimage to Denver took place. No snow once again! Our chapter of the Society of the Holy Cross hosted the national synod at St. Michael and All Angels. Brethren from across the United States came in for the meeting. Again, it was great to see friends that I only see at that yearly meeting. As with any national meeting with which one is in charge, it is also nice when it is over and the last one in attendance leaves town.

October is the month of annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.  Three friends from Denver flew to Sioux Falls and rode with me to the pilgrimage. Two others flew to Milwaukee from Denver and met us in Sheboygan. Other members and friends of my Benedictine Community traveled to the pilgrimage. We enjoyed meeting together once again and seeing old friends that constantly attend the event. It is a lovely weekend in the midst of the prime time for autumn colors in Wisconsin. 

The two rulers of the house.

In the midst of all this traveling to and fro, Max, my younger cat, was diagnosed with a kidney stone and with other G.I. problems. One vet said a stone in a cat’s kidney seldom moves so it really doesn’t cause any pain. He’s gained back the weight he lost and more! After trying several different regimes for the other problem it just stopped one day out of the clear blue. Makarios, the elder of the two felines, was diagnosed with diabetes. After several months we are still working on getting his blood sugar stabilized. He doesn’t mind the insulin shots twice each day. He’s not really keen on the bi-weekly visits to the vet to test his blood. 

At the end of October, a friend and I made the pilgrimage to Minneapolis to Mt. Olive Church for an event they dubbed a Manztage. Paul Manz, a great organist and composer, was the cantor in this church. In his honor the church hosts this event from time to time. There were lovely liturgies, a hymn festival and wonderful speakers. My Mt. Olive pilgrimage was fulfilled. It was considerably warmer than January in Minnesota. A very moving weekend.

The Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

December was the time for my retirement from church again. It also was the time for a cruise on the Eastern Caribbean with my friend Craig. The nine day cruise was very relaxing. The ports visited (Tortola, Turks and Caicos, St. Martin) were not particularly exciting. We’d exit the ship, walk around a bit and return to the ship. San Juan, Puerto Rico, was an exception. It was interesting walking around Old San Juan. We meet some interesting people on the ship. Our dining companions were very pleasant. The entertainment was outstanding. The weather, except for one afternoon was excellent. It was a nice “retirement” cruise. We returned on December 23, just in time to be home for Christmas. 

It was a great year, in spite of all the awful politics, filled with wonderful memories of places and friends. 

Right now it is 2 degrees here with wind chills around -15. It would feel really good to be back on the cruise ship with temps in the 80s and 90s.