Snow and sleet and hail and rain

Well, no hail, but plenty of the other stuff as we drove towards Worcester Mass to attend a Provincial Seminar on growth, vitality and evangelism in the Episcopal Church. But we got here before the worst of the Nor' easter and settled in for a plenary session on conflict management, followed by a break, dinner and a few glasses of red wine sprinkled throughout.

I have my own room.

Since it is Lent, I am not watching the latest updates on Anna Nicole. Instead, I bought a book of poems by Mary Oliver, which made me think of my former UU church. I also bought a book of hours based on the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. (I might already own that one, come to think of it. I'll have to check when I get home. I know for sure that I haven't read it.)

I am typing this in a little room off the lobby of the Doubletree. The keyboard sticks but I really wanted to check in and say that it still shocks me a little to be in a group of Christians.

Because Jesus comes to us in such a personal way and I always find it marvelous that he comes to you and the other guys at the table and that person over there, too. He is a big lover, that one. He loves us all. And sitting in a room full of Christians still feels, at times, like a kind of abundance I never believed could be true.

And yet, we are still on this walk alone. Even in a crowd of believers, I manage to feel like I am an outsider. But maybe that is the nature of living as fallen beings in this fallen world.

I'll check in tomorrow. In the mean time, peace. Good will. Love.