Hazelnut Reflections

busy weekend

Friday:

The congregation I'm serving as supply during their interim has made cheese straws as an annual fundraiser for something like 40 years. I signed up for one of the straw-making sessions and turned up on Friday afternoon. Good thing I wore my good support shoes--it was hard work. The dough had already been made, but we had to press the dough through a star-shaped press. The more experienced people made beautiful straight lines, mine were a little more, ahem, creative. I had a great time, worked hard, and came home smelling like cheese straw dough. I used to work in a restaurant/bakery when I was a teenager, and that smell seemed eerily familiar.

Sunday:

Supplied at Guthrie, hung out for coffee and for lunch at the diner. Drove home. Went on date with husband to visit family in hospital (this is a running joke with us, about all the times we've had 'dates' in surgical waiting areas and other scenic locations). Then we headed over to the cathedral for the pre-convention Regional Meeting. Crucial business to be done here--electing our regional reps to the Search Committee and Election/Transition Committee for the new bishop we're electing in 2007. I was worried that, given the times we live in, there might be acrimony, but it was a fairly uneventful afternoon. I got a little socknitting in between the number of ballots it took to elect one individual from a list of 15 or so candidates. As our dean pointed out, just a preview of the episcopal election to come. The real problem was that the setup of the hall, while it ensured "clean" balloting, violated official Episcopalian personal space. It was a little tight in those chairs and awfully hot on what was otherwise a chilly day.

Thoughts: The Standing Committee is using a combination of electing and appointing to make up both committees. I'm glad there's a democratic component to the process, but in all cases the strongest candidates came from the larger congregations. The smaller congregations in the large metro area didn't have much of a chance. I'm sure this Standing Committee will round out the committees. I'm not displeased with the result, just an observation of what happened.

End of the day: dinner at local brewpub, stopped by husband's church, poked heads in on youth group, acquired pumpkins and chocolate caramel apples. Went home, draped a few plants with sheet to ward off frost, collapsed on couch.

posted by Emily @ 8:56 AM