I just returned from the first Canterbury service and supper of the year and it was wonderful. (Last supper for the summer before the school year begins tomorrow.) It was so good to see familiar faces plus a couple of new ones and get (re)connected with all of them. Heather did a fine job for the first official service of the year. She preached a sermon about story telling and, from Psalm 91:12, about the angels in our lives who support us. It was a great sermon with which to begin the year: new freshmen who are wild eyed not knowing anything, sophomores who think they know everything, juniors who know enough to know they know nothing, and seniors who are both ready and afraid to graduate, plus me, a second-year seminarian who enters this year of academia and worship newly forged in the fires of CPE and beginning to realize the priesthood is less a dream and more a reality everyday. I'm also doing my darndest to cut down on the awkwardness factor, given that my ex-girlfriend is the assistant chaplain at Canterbury. I think I'm doing a good job, at least for my part, but it's still a present reality. I think this year at Canterbury will be a good one; I feel very much a part of that community now (oddly, I have the same feeling at Seabury, which I realize now I did not have for almost all of last year) and look forward to all the things this year will bring us.

Sundry other items:

I finished Palahniuk's Lullaby in record time and it was a pretty decent book. More of a good story than any great literary achievement, but still worth a look if you can spare about 4 solid hours of reading. Next on the queue is Christopher Moore's Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. So far, it shows great promise both as a satire and as a sermon. I've noticed satires are good for that, antithetically speaking of course, which is often the author's whole point. For other good satires of Christianity, check out Towing Jehovah, and Only Begotten Daughter, both by James Morrow, with the first being the better of the two in my opinion. I have to state, though, that you should not read these unless your faith is firmly rooted in solid ground. If you're in a doubting phase right now or are just not sure about the whole Jesus thing, I'd rather point you to C.S. Lewis first. Morrow and Moore both can be just enough to push you over the edge if you're not careful, not to mention their offensive nature if you're geared towards receiving satire in that manner. So, that being said, read at your own risk.

Classes begin tomorrow; this quarter I am taking Systematic Theology, Preaching I, and Church, Culture, and Mission. I'll be opening the year right by officiating Morning Prayer tomorrow and look forward to that ministry. Today was spent renewing things. I cleaned my apartment, did the laundry, changed the bedsheets and towels and went grocery shopping. There's something about starting the year all afresh that just makes sense to me. If that's crazy then just allow me my madness please, 'cause it helps me make sense of things.

-R