Don't get emotional?

I always chuckled (ok, maybe not ALWAYS) when church leaders, during the closings, would tell parishioners that they had to learn to accept change and not get so emotional. I never understood how they could know what 'real' change was better than anyone in our community. I was reading David Yonke's blog a couple weeks ago and he mentioned that he was to read "The Shack" by William Young. I enjoy his blog so I decided to go to the website and order the book. I ordered that book and another one that looked interesting. I haven't thanked him yet, but I will certainly do so in the future. It was that good.

So good in fact, that I actually gave it to someone to read when I was only half way through. How could I give a good book away before I was finished with it? I received so much from the first part of "The Shack" that I felt as if I could use some time to 'rest' with it. I received it back within the week, and I have just finished it. There are post it notes sticking on many pages! The following was an interesting slant on emotions:

"Emotions are the colors of the soul; they are spectacular and incredible. When you don't feel, the world becomes dull and colorless. Just think how "The Great Sadness" reduced the range of color in your life down to montones and flat grays and blacks.".. ................"They are neither bad or good; they just exist. Most emotions are responses to perception___what you think is true about a given situation. If your perception is false, then your emotional response to it will be false too. So check your perceptions, and beyond that check the truthfullness of your paradigms--what you believe. Just because you firmly believe something doesn't make it true. Be willing to reexamine what you believe. The more you live in the truth, the more your emotions will help you see clearly. But even then, you don't want to trust them more than me." (God).

Those words deserved a post it note right? To those who claimed that I and others were too 'emotional' about the closings of our churches, they can stay in their 'dull and colorless' world. We intend to keep reexamining our church with lots of emotion. Because the truth is closer than many think.

Waiting to Exhale

Many parishes across the Toledo Diocese this weekend welcomed their new priests to the area. People have asked me all week whether or not I had met our new priest. I would reply, "No, but that will come soon enough." I had mixed feelings about meeting the new priest. Always warned by my older brother not to be a "suck up", I have never felt the need to be the first introduced to anyone. Our last priest came one Sunday in July and I don't recall having a conversation with him until Jan/Feb.

As I walked out of Father Dendinger's first Sunday mass at Kirby this morning, more than a few people came up to me with that "So what do you think?" smile. I told them that the phrase "Waiting to exhale" kept floating in and out of my thoughts during mass and that I wasn't really sure why. And although I do know that I really am not overly concerned with analyzing Father Bob, I came away from mass thinking that this was a great time for a change of leadership in our parish.

The one thought that did occur to me was that it was very nice to hear our priest refer to the churches as St. Mary's and St. Peter's, without acting as if they were dirty words. I have always felt that although our consolidation became "Transfiguration" there was no reason to stop refering to the buildings by their 'baptismal names'. Transfiguration is more of a confirmation name. One that should have been chosen by the candidate on the basis of looking forward to a new spiritual development. One person choosing one's confirmation name for him without consulting him is meaningless to the candidate.

So, Welcome Father Bob! I am very glad that you chose to come here. I believe that you have made a good first impression with many parishioners, myself included. I am not going to dwell on any thoughts of 'liking or not liking' you, because I have a sense that that doesn't really matter to you. I sense that you are here to minister to the people and that will be your focus. Maybe that's why I've started to slowly exhale?