The Arrow's Path

I made it through the first service at St. Paul's, and I still have my job. As someone said to me after the service, "Well, Father...one down, ten thousand to go!" It was a little bit odd to do one's first official service on Ash Wednesday, but there was also some freedom in that. The Ash Wednesday service is a powerful liturgy in its own right, which takes a little bit of pressure off the "new guy." Priests have to go out of their way to mess up the Ash Wednesday service. I do have a few humorous anecdotes that surfaced on my first day, however. (I am sure there will be plenty more.) I will entitle them, "You know your in a small town when..." The first involved the day before Ash Wednesday. I was not officially on the job yet, but had got sucked in as I am living in the rectory next door, and everyone knows the "new preacher" is in residence. I got a frantic call on the church phone, which rings into my rectory office if no one picks up...

The good news is that I found my digital camera at last, and it was completely not the movers' fault for losing it or putting it in some weird box. I had taken it in my dress coat pocket to St. Mark's for the farewell luncheon/baby shower, and the camera remained there for the move. I put my dress coat on today for a visit down to the Retirement home for an Ash Wednesday service and found it. The bad news is, I now have my camera, so many pictures of the parish and Brookings will no doubt be making appearances on my blog hereafter. This is the parish church where I am now the rector: St. Paul's in Brookings, SD. This is the view from the main street through Brookings. The window alcove used to be an entrance, but was bricked up some time ago. They have now restored it back to an alcove in the main nave that looks very nice. This is the main entrance, about 20 feet from the rectory. This is the main worship area. Its pretty traditional, built around 1900. The Lenten Purpl...

I have finally moved in and got internet and phone service hooked up to the rectory in Brookings, so I should be back to blogging and facebooking regularly. My digital camera got misplaced in the move, so until I buy another one or it turns back up, I won't be able to post too many pictures. This is irritating because there's a lot of stuff I want to take pictures of and blog about. I must admit, however, I thoroughly enjoyed not have to fiddle with a computer the last few weeks. I like computers, but I thoroughly enjoy the times when I don't have to check e-mail constantly. Those days are now at an end, at least until I go on vacation.

My dog, Max, came into the office yesterday to say goodbye. Luckily, we got to capture this happy but also sad moment.

So apparently Steve tagged with a variant of the Facebook 25 Things chain letter. The variant interested me, so I thought I would try it. Apparently the premise is similar, but has to do with things I believe in general. I think I will try to be quasi-serious about this one. (Keywords: I'll try.) So here we are in no particular order: The 25 Things: The Archer's Existential edition. 1. I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. (might as well start out with the Creed. An oldie but a goodie.) 2. I believe in Jesus Christ His only son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell. The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. (Again, I'm apeing the Creed, but I believe it none the less. 3. I b...

You Are 70% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression. Could You Survive Another Great Depression?

So, it is basically one week and counting until I move. The plumbing drama is finally about over, knock on wood. We've listed the house with the realtor. The time draweth nigh...

So I had a lunch appointment with a priest friend of mine this afternoon. The previous afternoon, I had put a toddler car seat into the front seat of my car, as the rest of my car was full of this and that. I didn't think anything about it. I just tossed it in, back part front. I forgot to take it out when I was home last night. As I was driving across town today, I noticed that people were giving me dirty looks. People who follow traffic laws in Lincoln have that effect on people, especially if they actually do something as gauling as stop for a red light. Then someone began honking at me, mouthing obviously unkind words, and making hand gestures at me or to my automobile. The first time it happened, I was not sure they were talking to me as it was a trafficky section of town. When it happened again, I began looking in all my mirrors to try and figure out what the problem was. I was following traffic laws as far as I could tell. Flat tire? Was my car on fire? What is the deal? The...

So I think it finally really, really hit me yesterday that I am going to be a daddy. A parishioner asked me last Sunday if I wanted her toddler car seat that she used for her grandkids and did not need anymore. It was almost new, so I figured why not? I mean they make car seats for kids nowadays that could safely project them into space, and as such they aren't cheap. The parishioner came by the office with it yesterday. The seat was as advertised. As I was getting ready to close up shop yesterday, I went out to my car with it. As I was physically putting a car seat into my car for the very first time, it dawned on me. Whoa, I'm going to have a toddler in the not too distant future. Kyrie Eleison!

I thought the Superbowl was going to be hard pressed this year to top last years stunner of the Giants over the Patriots. They managed to put one together that was as good, if not better. I think over all, I'd say last years was a bit better as the underdog pulled it off. This year's edition was a yawner for about half the game. The ending was spectacular, but Pittsburgh had the game in hand for a while, and then almost managed to let it slip away. They didn't have an answer when the Cardinals switched to the no-huddle offense. They simply got the last meaningful possession, and that was the game changer. I was certain that that Steelers had found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but they pulled it out of the fire. I must admit there was some serious dirty play going on, especially near the end when fists for flying. I agreed with John Madden, which does not happen that often, on that one play near the end when he thought that one Steeler should have been ej...

I posted on my facebook status update yesterday morning that I "was told the plumbing drama would end today." Huh huh. Right... I knew better. As I was driving up my street yesterday after getting off work, I noticed the plumbing truck was still there. It was not the normal flatbed plumbing truck that had been there on and off the last few days. It was a van. I knew as soon as I saw that, seeing as it was after 5PM, that something was not right. I hoped I was mistaken and maybe they were just finishing up or something. Huh huh. Right... I knew better. So I walk into the house. My wife was not on the main floor. Maybe she was down in the basement with the plumber looking over the finished project? Huh huh. Right... I knew better. She comes up the stairs, and I could tell by the look in her wild eye that something was wrong. It can't be that bad, can it? I mean they are done with all the drilling and the water was turned back on the previous night. Huh huh. Right... I knew ...

Last week, I was interviewed as part of a religion beat article on area Campus ministries and churches by the Nebraska student newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan. Due to that interview, I had a few interesting conversations via e-mail with the Daily Nebraskan religion beat reporter, and I got her interested in the Study Lounge that St. Mark's runs. She came and interviewed a bit on Sunday evening, and the article came out today . Congrats to Kelly and the Study Lounge folks. Good press and no one appears to have been dreadfully misrepresented or misquoted.

The following is my final newsletter article for St. Mark's. -The Archer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sabbath Snapshots" There is a certain view in the main chapel at St. Mark's that virtually no one, save perhaps the celebrant at the Eucharist, gets to see. Since I have been ordained a priest, I have gotten on several occasions for the Liturgy of the Word to sit at the prayer desk facing the pulpit when I am the presider at mass, and I have come to appreciate this particular point of view. If you look up from the prayer desk from the vantage point of the priest, you can peer out of one of the windows on the east side of the chapel and see the very top of a lonely tree that resides in the University parking lot next to the church. The view from this angle is by no means a spectacular or Epiphany-inspiring view, and you have not really missed much if you have never noticed it. Really, all you can see is ...

Apologies to my blog readers. I have been wicked at not blogging as regularly as I usually do. I try to average one blog entry at least every other day. I just have not had the time of late due to many complicated factors in my personal life. My stress level is through the roof these days. We're getting ready to move and all that. I hate moving, so that's one element. I'm also having to spend virtually every off hour working on my house to get it in shape to sell. The latest in the saga is the plumbing issue in my house. What began as a minor leaking shutoff valve in the basement (basically about a ten dollar part) has morphed into having to redo the entire water main to the house. To fix the value, we needed to turn off the water to the house. Usually that is a simple matter of going to the water stop box on the street and simply turning off the water to the house from the main. Turns out a previous owner when putting the driveway in simply cemented over the stop box. So w...

Fr. Jeffrey Steel on his blog notes that Bishop Tom Wright's Christmas sermon has been posted on the Durham Cathedral's website . It's quite good and worth reading.

I was interested by one of the student reporters who does the "religion beat" for the Daily Nebraskan a few days ago. The Daily Nebraskan is the University of Nebraska student newspaper. The article came out today , ironically on the day of the inauguration. I am always a bit leery of giving media interviews to journalism students, as you have to cross your fingers and hope they don't horribly misquote you. I had a good feeling about this interview though as we had a rather lengthy discussion. Anyway, see what you think... -The Archer

Well, this is surprising... -The Archer You’re St. Melito of Sardis! You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins. Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers !

The episodes of Battlestar Galactica finally begin again tonight. The Sci Fi Channel has run the Battlestar series in odd mini-arcs, sort of like half-seasons with apparently long hiatuses mid-season. Season 4, which was billed as the final season, began back in the fall and ended in mid-September. All that was ever listed on the website during this period was "New Episodes coming soon..." At Christmas, the air date for the final mini-arc finally was posted. If you have not been keeping up with the series, its probably too late now to just in because its a very complicated storyline. If you have never watched the series though, I highly recommend getting it from Netflix or something and starting from the beginning. Make sure you watch the original 4 hour movie pilot before jumping into the regular Season 1 Episodes. The movie pilot is very helpful and found in the Season 1 DVD set, but is on a disc by itself. Its easy to want to just jump in with Episode 1, which is a fabulo...

The three finalists for the Heisman trophy this year are all staying in school and not bolting for the NFL. Oklahoma's Bradford is returning for technically his junior year of eligibility. He was eligible to go pro, as he redshirted a year. Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow both return for their senior years. As the article I linked to above points out, this is the first time all three finalists for the Heisman can and will return for the next season. Usually they are either seniors who cannot return, or else they bolt for the big money of the NFL and go pro early. I think that's politically shrewd on their parts, if nothing else, as they will cement their long term prospects of running for governor of their respective states years down the road. Tennessee great Peyton Manning stayed for his senior year, and I am virtually certain that because of that, he can return to Tennessee one day and win any political office he cares to run for. I have no idea if he'...

This little meme is making its way around Facebook and other places. Apparently the rules are as follows: "Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you." I resisted for quite some time but can't do it anymore. 1. I love bacon. 2. I call Facebook "The Oracle of All Social Knowledge." 3. If idle hands are the devil's workshop, I think Facebook must be the operating system of hell's entire computer network. 4. I one time filled out an application by saying my occupation was "foole." I added an "e" at the end to hack them off. 4a. I actually got what I applied for, which was disturbing in itself really. 5. A guy came up to me trying to sell me alien abduction insurance, and I ran away. 6. I collect...