MINISTRY

This Day At the Vicarage 8-25-20

/ joseph elon lillie / 1 Comment

Since the pandemic started I have found myself rising later than usual. My old pattern was to be up and going by 4:30 or 5 in the morning. I would have half a day’s work done by the time every one else was up. That was a necessary thing because by 2 in the afternoon I would start to crash. Back then I would nap briefly and get ready for my night time work (usually a service or some kind of meeting).

Jacopo is still up every morning at 4:30 A.M. like clock work (literally you can set your watch by him). Now, though, he only wants to jump off the bed and settle in his carry cage to catch some more Z’s. Mercedes always sleeps right up by head on the pillow to my right. They are good until 6:30 or 7 A.M. now. At least three or four mornings a week it is this way.

The strangest thing is this new schedule which includes more rest seems to make me more productive. I am writing far more than I ever did before. I am getting more done around the house than I have done in all my time living here… and while I am no longer doing meetings upon meetings and services upon services, the ministry I am doing now feels somehow deeper and more ministerial.

I think that has something to do with how the nature of the work has changed. I have moved from being primarily an administrator and preacher (or singer as the case were) to being a pastor and contemplative monastic prophet. Somehow this fits better with my gifts.

But while this is true of me, my daughter has shifted to a lot of administration within the church. She is thriving in this new role.

It is interesting how the pandemic is being used to push us into the areas of our actual giftings. It feels like God is setting something big up behind the scenes. I am keeping watch to see what He is doing.

These are my thoughts today in a nutshell. We are now at the time where I must sign off and say…

I am looking forward to tomorrow Dear Friends!

Pastor J

This Day At the Vicarage 8-20-20

/ joseph elon lillie / 4 Comments

I just wanted to put a quick word in tonight before heading to bed. It’s been a busy couple of days at the Vicarage. By that I mean it has been busy in a slow constant, intentional way. Slow, constant and intentional is the way I try to pace myself now, even as the world tries to get me back to running full tilt like I used to do.

Photo by Alex Powell on Pexels.com

I have known for years that I was supposed to be slowing down. I have said it to many of you over the decade of blogging. Many of my parishioniers have told me I should slow down. It just never seemed possible. Then at the end of last year God began to talk to me about a coming season I would spend in the “sage’s cave”. I didn’t realize it was going to take a pandemic to get me here, but now that I am in this space of deep lifestyle prayer I am not going back.

Photo by Brady Knoll on Pexels.com

That said I have had things to do these last two days that have kept me going at the top of my slow speed.

I met with my Sectional Presbyter yesterday (some of you might call him a bishop). I had to retake a portion of my latest credentialing test because of a clerical error. So it was off to Leominster MA to get that done. Then last night Amanda and I led The Wall Prayer meeting at Cornerstone.

The Wall is Cornerstone church’s remote prayer meeting. Amanda and I taught and prayed through “the prayer for strength” for our on line congregation.

Today started with me giving a singing lesson. Then once I got home the phone was very active with several pastoral calls. I ended the afternoon with a visit from one of the artists from our C.cada Community.

Lisa and I talked about the direction of our community. It is a conversation I am beginning to have with all of our artists. Pandemic has kept us from meeting since February. We have tried a few Zoom calls but they have not worked very well. So last month I began engaging people in on-line conversation and this month I am doing micro-gatherings with the artists to see how we are going to proceed: Facebook live teachings, micro gatherings and even virtual art shows are all on the table for discussion. I am encouraged by these winds of change and excited to see what God has for our next steps.

Well I have crossed the 11 P.M. zone and 4:30 A.M. is just around the corner; So I will sign off here saying…

I am looking forward to tomorrow dear friends.

Pastor J

This Day At the Vicarage 8-17-20

/ joseph elon lillie / 3 Comments

I started “Notes From the Vicarage” a little over a year and a half ago. My intention then was to give you all a glimpse into the life of our family of pastors.

Things have gone a little sideways since then and… well this blog hasn’t become all that I hoped it would be. I like what it is….but it needs something. It needs the curtain pulled back a bit so that you all get a better glimpse of what life for us is really like here at the Vicarage.

So I am going to try, as many times a week as I can, to do a new type of post. “This Day At the Vicarage” will be more of a journaling experiment than anything and I hope that you will enjoy the read.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

HERE WE GO.

Today would traditionally be my day off, but since pandemic started days off don’t mean the same thing. I got up at 4:30 A.M. to walk the dogs and then went back to bed until 9 A.M.

Mom, Brenda and I watched Perry Mason until 11 A.M. while Amanda drove to Lynn to watch Daniella (my grandaughter)

so that Melanie and James (my daughter and son-in-law) could go to Melanie’s baby appointment. YES MELANIE IS GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY!!!! Today was the day they found out the baby’s gender.

Melanie and James have picked out one boy name and one girl name. They have kept the names top secret until today and as a reveal they gave us the name of the baby according to his or her gender. Here’s the fun part…they gave us the name jumbled up and then told us that in order to find out the sex of the baby we would have unjumble the name.

Here is what they gave us: “Gybiavienaial”

SEE IF YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT. LEAVE YOUR ANSWER DOWN IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.

Brenda and I went to a local eatery to try and figure out the name over sandwiches and sodas.

Then we took a ride down Rte. 124 into Fitzwilliam NH and then back into Winchendon MA to The Vicarage so we could take our precious little dogs for their afternoon walk.

We pulled in the drive to see this little guy. He was injured somehow and couldn’t fly. I was able to get him to take some water, but before I could get a box to put him in, he jumped away into the deep bushes at the end of the garden. 😦

In between all these goings on I managed to write my daily blogs and spend a few hours in prayer. I have been a feeling a bit out of balance these last few weeks. I think I am letting the world get to me. I know I am letting myself feel the expectations of the world around me a bit too much. Prayer is as always, for me, the answer.

After dinner which tonight was leftovers (DO YOU LIKE LEFTOVER NIGHT?) Brenda and I walked the dogs and spent about an hour on the porch in the gloaming. It was a great conversation regarding personalities and mental health. Yes that is the kind of stuff we sometimes discuss on our front porch.

The rain has come in at last and so I am finishing up for the night and heading off to bed.