I spent four weeks out of parish life, and came back to the Cathedral this morning at 8 AM. It's still here (what a surprise!) and nothing much seems to have happened. The life of the church has gone on in my absence -- not necessarily as it would have proceeded with me in the saddle. Some years back a colleague accused me of being a control freak. It may be that I exhibit some of the traits of that creature (I will admit to being a bit of a fuss-budget!), but I really have to plead "not guilty." It feels good to know that the parish can go on functioning without me pushing every button.

The vacation time actually started as study leave, as my wife and I attended the National Worship Conference in Regina, a joint conference of our church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It was a good conference, if not particularly earth-shattering in its content. My main complaint was that they programmed no free time, giving minimal opportunity for networking, which I have always felt is one of the most important reasons for attending conferences.

The next two weeks were spent in the context of family, a blessing for which I am profoundly grateful. There are pictures of my two grandchildren elsewhere on this blog, taken last summer.

Last week, while my wife returned to her job, I built a patio behind our house. We now have a place to sit in the cool of the evening -- provided the insects aren't too bad. The first time we tried to have lunch out there, we were beset by wasps.

Now I'm back in the office, looking ahead to the fall, and to some of the thorny issues we have to deal with in the parish and the diocese. They looked pretty big in June, but some R'n'R has helped to put them in context.

Thanks be to God for this fallow time. May the months to come yield a rich harvest.