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When I interviewed with this parish’s Canonical Committee (the team tasked with calling a new priest), I admitted upfront that I have a solid track record of discovering my boundaries by crossing them. This is especially true when it comes to how I commit my time. I am a chronic over-commit-er. I am particularly bad with commitments I make to myself. Routinely will I think to myself, “of course I can deep clean the house, run 6 errands, and finish this 400-page novel on my day off.”  

They say knowing is half the battle, right? 

It might have been a sign I could have paid more attention to that the Canonical Committee heard me say this and called me to be your rector anyway. I fear it is a trait we have in common. It has its advantages.

We are, in many ways, “the little parish that could.” We are busier and more active than our size might suggest. But it also means we have more brilliant ideas that we can implement. Sometimes it feels like we will never do everything we want to do because we are always coming up with more great ideas. 

October feels like a good time to do a little clean up work on the boundaries I’ve crossed in over-committing. While I hate admitting that we won’t be able to do everything we might have wanted to, I do like taking a moment to celebrate the commitments that I have held, the work that has been done. So here’s what I’m glad we committed to and did so far this Fall:

  • Having 2 sessions to view Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen Lands, Strong Hearts.
  • Re-starting the Community Meal.
  • Dragging out the tents for one more “Garage Sale” style New to You Market Saturday.
  • The pastoral connections I’ve been making and building with some of you.

October might not bring all the things we were planning for, but I suspect it will bring at least a few things I haven’t been able to plan for at all. I can’t wait to see what else we accomplish together in October!