Ordination in Pictures

The church

The flowers

The bulletin

The presentation

The homily

The Holy Spirit

The peace

The bread

The family

The Divinity School friends

The best friend and the fiancé (source of almost all the pictures)

The cake

Holy Week/Easter 2012 = Success

I’m just a touch envious of everyone’s Easter weekend re-caps. Sunny days, playtime with family and friends, and tables full of delicious food. I had a wonderful weekend, but it was the kind where I went to bed before 9 pm on Sunday night – just a little exhausting.

Thursday afternoon, I managed to sneak in 5 miles on the treadmill in the middle of thunderstorms before reviewing my homily for Maundy Thursday service. The choir sounded wonderful, and washing the feet of some of my parishioners was a very moving experience as I close out my time as a deacon. I helped strip the altar in preparation for Good Friday, and afterwards, the choir invited Joe and I to eat dinner with them.

The morning of Good Friday, I raided my closet for shawls and scarves to dress the altar at the hospital. It ended up looking really good, and you can’t even see the sequins on the bottom of the scarf on the cross. Due to a miscommunication, the pianist didn’t show up at the right time, so I ended up leading “Were You There” a cappella. One of those times when I was VERY thankful for my musical training.

Saturday morning, I met my mom for a “semi-long” run (AKA what I would’ve called a long run before marathon training). I was nervous about tackling the 11.2 mile loop at Percy Warner Park after my disastrous run there in January, but I also know that I’m a lot stronger now. Even though it was tough, I rocked it and felt strong the whole way through. We even added on for an even half marathon – 13.1 strong, awesome, hilly miles in beautiful weather. We stopped a couple of times, not because we had to, but because we wanted to enjoy the scenery! It was a great way to spend Holy Saturday.

Easter morning, I showed up at St. David’s to do my thing. The flower guild did an incredible job, and the church looked gorgeous. At the 10:30 service, people were parking on the street because we ran out of space in our (rather generous) parking lot. It was wonderful to see such a good crowd and lots of families visiting. I really, really love Easter. Resurrection and hope are key concepts for my personal ministry, and after a rough week at the hospital, I needed Easter.

Joe and I headed to brunch at my former professors’ where we ate our fill of a beautiful spread – deviled eggs, roasted asparagus, edamame salad, and coconut cake. Then I cleaned the house while he napped and watched the Masters before heading over to my parents’ house for a light dinner of quiche, squash & quinoa salads, more deviled eggs (yay!), and mini cheesecakes.

I wish I could say that that’s a wrap, but my ordination to the priesthood is on Saturday. It blew my mind sitting in church on Sunday that NEXT Sunday, I would be a priest and be celebrating the Eucharist. Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. I’m looking forward to friends and family and the service itself, but I’m also looking forward to VACATION the week after that.

Hope everyone had a good Easter or Passover or just a good weekend! The weather couldn’t have been better.

Self-Care Plan for Holy Week and Beyond

The next two weeks of my life are about to get crazy and really, I have it pretty easy compared to some, but it’s still going to get busy with Holy Week and my ordination to the priesthood coming up. Over the past few years, I’ve figured out that I have way more energy when I eat right and take care of myself, even in hectic circumstances, so I’ve developed a plan for my first holy week as an ordained clergyperson.

Self-care, yo. I have Monday off, and I’m going to get a pedicure. It’s relaxing, and that way I won’t be the person with the raggedy toes at the Maundy Thursday foot-washing. Tuesday, I have a haircut scheduled. Again serves a dual purpose of being relaxing (especially if your salon serves wine…) and looking nice before big events. I’m also not cutting back on workouts…at least, that’s the plan. I’ve scheduled in my rest days, and I might lower the intensity if I’m really dragging, but I know that sweating it out GIVES me energy and helps me de-stress and think clearly.

Eating-wise, it would be all too simple to survive on sugar and caffeine all week, but that would leave me jittery and foggy-headed. So, I’ve meal-planned, stocked up on fresh veggies and whole foods, and will be doing Jen’s 7-day Green Smoothie Challenge a week late. I hope to start each morning with a green smoothie so that even if I make less-than-ideal choices later in the day, I’ve still got some servings of fruits & veggies already under my belt.

And as a reminder to myself, in two weeks, I’ll have made it through my first Holy Week and Easter as clergy, be ordained as a priest, and be vacationing in Oregon Wine Country. If anyone has any Portland/Newberg/McMinnville recommendations, let me know!