Saturday, November 2, 2019

A trip to the capitol and an ordination.



It just occurred to me that it’s Saturday night and I should post a blog! Seems like only yesterday it was last Saturday and I had a whole week to think and pray and write.  

It has been a wonderful and busy week. On Monday I attended an OLLI class on cyber-crime which was informative.  I learned primarily that one should report to law enforcement not just ignore a known crime committed against you. The two presenters did a great job of trying to get a bunch of oldsters to understand what is going on in the world wide web.

Last March I had to have a new water heater installed.  The day the city inspector was to come and give the stamp of approval to the installation was also a day when we had a city emergency due to weather. It could have been snow or flooding or something else.  I don’t remember. They didn’t keep their appointment. When the repair person came to tighten the fittings on the water heater (to eliminate the gas smell I’ve tolerated for the last 8 months, he rescheduled the inspector who arrived on Tuesday and affixed his seal to the aforementioned appliance. All is well and the water heater is certificated or certified or legal.

Having signed all the necessary documents pertaining to Last Will and Testament and Powers of Attorney last Thursday, Wednesday was the day to haul of the paper work to the trust company who will be my agent when I depart to the Church Expectant. It is a good feeling to have all of that out of the way and know that no one will have to worry about anything I’ve left behind. While I could agonize over certain possessions and who could inherit them, the trust company is completely neutral and will just sell the lot. It’s an easy way to deal with these things.

Thursday I attended another OLLI class at the water purification plant for the city. It was very informative. I’m grateful to live in a place that takes great care with its water supply and has built in redundancy so that we do not have to worry about the water we drink. The redundancy thing has to do with several back-up plans, equipment, etc., so that if something goes wrong there is always a piece of equipment to take the place of the errant thing!

Friday brought an early rising so one of my Benedictine sisters and I could travel to Pierre in the center of the state for a meeting of the diocesan clergy with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Bishop Michael Curry made a name for himself worldwide when he preached at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. He’s always been a fantastic preacher and it was great to hear him speak to the clergy of the diocese. 

We made good time on our travel west and north and arrived in exactly three hours. The rest of the day, following the PB’s meeting was free so I went to visit the Cultural Heritage Center which has a fantastic display of information and artifacts from the days when the native Americans lived on this land, through the coming of the European settlers.  I had been to the Center previously but with 36 choir boys in tow.  This time I could be interested in the exhibits rather than what the young gentlemen were doing.  

I had a chance to meet with a former parishioner who is on the national church staff later in the evening which was good time to to catch up on a lot of things.

Today, the eleventh bishop of South Dakota was ordained in Pierre in a lengthy and joyous ceremony. Now we finally have a bishop rather than a “bishop elect.” Now we can move forward to an exciting time for the church in South Dakota.  I have great hopes. It was a joy to be present at this event. https://m.facebook.com/episcopaldioceseofsouthdakota/

After returning to Sioux Falls, I grabbed a snack and went off to hear the St. Joseph’s Cathedral choir sing Gabriel Faure’s Requiem Mass.  It is such a beautiful piece and stunning in the acoustic of the Roman Cathedral.  

Needless to say I’ve felt fine all week. I continue to rejoice that the effects of chemotherapy have been negligible.  It has been a gift. 

We will see what next week will bring. 


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