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Easter Blessings……

Today was a glorious day! St. Patrick’s opened without a hitch, (the picture is of the altar at St. Patrick’s), and I had the great privilege to celebrate and deliver the sermon in two of our churches today. We baptized two children at one service, and the general report across our ministry was that it was a day of great blessings!

Of course I love Easter Day, but as a priest I have to say I am always exhausted when it is over, and that has been the case today. I went home and took a nap, and Amanda, the boys and I went out to eat after we got up. It was a nice way to end the day, and I always appreciate it too. My family is important to me, but all the work leading up to Easter often means I see less of them….something that bothers me, but probably not them. So my point is that Easter dinner together means a lot to me. I was thankful to have the opportunity……if only Steph was able to be a part. I will call her in a bit.
But all in all, I am thankful for the God-given opportunity I have been given to serve. I love what I do, and am blessed to do it with wonderful people.
I hope you too had a glorious Easter Day!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Oh Chaos….but it is LOOKING GOOD!

Yep, today is Holy Saturday, and yes, I have been doing A LOT of church work! We are finishing up the move of St. Patrick’s for the inaugural service tomorrow, and it has been moving along “swell.” (a word form my youth that reflects a bit of sarcasm). But we will open tomorrow. And all I have to worry about will be a sermon!

And in the midst of all of this, all I had to do today was a small commitment of TWO lacrosse games (at home) and Senior Night. Oh yes, there was a pitch-in that went along with that as well, so it was really not worrying me at all (it was swell). But THANK GOD that it not only went off without a hitch, but that it was perhaps the smoothest Senior Night that I have ever been a part of. My wife and her minions, the parents and players, and especially Assistant Coach Jack Russell made it a wonderful event! We have 9 Seniors, and as I understand it, we will graduate 9 as well. It was a pretty cool experience.
But as for me, it is back to the grind…..enough lounging around! Easter is upon us, and my sermon it not (nor a lot of other things I need to bring). But by this time tomorrow I should be asleep, and even more importantly…..DONE!
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Good Friday…….

Today is of course Good Friday, the day upon which Jesus was crucified. In His one obedient and loving act, He offered up His life for the sins of the entire world. No greater act of love has ever been exhibited….no greater love has ever been known.

As we take pause upon this most Holy Day, let us give thanks to Him for the Offering He made of Himself. God’s perfect gift, who loves us, who loves YOU, and who gives us life eternal has much to offer in our lives.
Today we remember His Sacrifice……and for it, on this Good Friday, let us all be so very thankful!
God Bless you!
Father Tom+
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Holy Thursday……..

Gosh, I would have loved to post this this morning BEFORE the day began, but it was just not meant to be. I left home early and arrived home late, and there has been not rest in between. The MOVE has been completed, but the final touches on everything are yet to be done.

With that, for the first time in my entire ministry, I was not a part of a Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday) service. We had them all over, but I was working at the new St. Patrick’s getting ready for Easter. I will be at the Good Friday service tomorrow at St. Anne’s in Anderson, but that will be after working the day finishing up at St. Pat’s.
Holy Thursday however, is a very important day. Everyone remembers that famous DaVinci picture of the Last Supper, and that’s exactly what happened on this day…..no, DaVinci didn’t paint the picture on this day, but the actual Last Supper took place. Jesus, on the night before He died, shared a meal with His friends and took the bread and the wine, gave thanks and blessed them and then gave it to them….instituting the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He commanded them also to do this when they gathered in remembrance of Him…..AND although it is not as well known, He also girded Himself with a towel and washed their feet….giving them an example of servitude. It is such a meaningful day, and it will be my ONLY year not a part of a service, I swear.
At least things are moving along at St. Patrick’s. I will take solace in the fact that I am taking part in the service of other people.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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A big change in plans means a big change in plans……

Sometimes days just do not go as planned, and today was the poster child for that saying. I had every intention to be heading over to the current two St. Patrick’s in an effort to take some time to convert them to just one (remember we are moving from one location to another), BUT some upcoming work travel, kids, lacrosse, global warming, Bigfoot, and whatever else I can think of, made those best laid plans absolutely impossible. I clearly am the wrong kind of doctor to deal with this location schizophrenia. I didn’t even leave my office and head that way till just before 3.

The cool part however is that I will be able to get a lot of it done tomorrow. We have a clergy meeting tomorrow and I have it scheduled to meet at one place then another then back to the one place and then the other…..yep, it should be the most “moving” meeting I have ever convened if you know what I mean. So hopefully it will go well.
The even better part is that I will be joined by the former “Almost Reverend” Steve Sommerrock, who is now the Reverend Steve Sommerrock (he was made a deacon in Akron, Ohio on Tuesday….they used to make tires, now it is deacons). He will be joined by the still “Almost Reverend” Robert Jennings, our Parish Intern, the “How Did He Ever Make It to Become a Reverend” PT Morgan, and myself. Father Dan is playing St. Peter tonight in our mission in Nashville for a Tennebrae service, so as the first Pope we are giving him a pass of lifting anything….at least today.
But the best part is that it is almost done, and with no anticipated hitches, tomorrow should be a great day. Moving is tedious, but rewarding and not all that difficult. And although we joke about why we are doing this in Holy Week, the bottom line is that it is a good and welcome distraction from the stress and pressures of the Week.
It should be a great day, and I can hardly wait.
Tommy+
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There goes the neighborhood…..

We are in the process of moving our Church in Westfield (St. Patrick’s) back into Noblesville and into a much larger facility. Sure, there are far better times other than Holy Week to accomplish such tasks, but as the guys who work with me say…..”sometimes we just like to do things the hard way.”

And so it is. We should be completely moved for Easter morning services, and good thing too….it is a pretty well-attended service. I am excited about the prospect of getting there. Scotty was in tonight setting up the music stuff, and this will be a real launch for him as well, as he will be expanding the music beginning that Sunday. It should be pretty cool.
But there is still much to do. We need to move the Sunday School stuff, the kitchen supplies, a few odds and ends, and then the people can move themselves. But it is an exciting time. The facility where we have been this last year is small, and was meant to be what it was, a temporary home. The new facility is three times the size, and reflects not circling the wagons, but driving them into the future. It is something for which we have prayed for for quite some time.
So come and see…..we hold the first service this Sunday at 9:00am. I will be the Celebrant and be delivering the Easter sermon….but don’t let that stop you. St. Patrick’s, like all our missions, is a great place filled with wonderful people. And there is always room for more too. Come on out and join us this Sunday for Easter! The address is 1175 South 10th Street in Noblesville.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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I’m learning…….

Sometimes talking with Ben is like trying to reason with a three-year-old, but since he is three I guess I should not be surprised. I just often wish he understood more than he does.

He and I have currently been going around about the movie “Megamind” that we got from Netflix, and that he has watched approximately 7000 times. I want and need to send it back, but Ben seems to struggle with the whole Netflix concept……and not that I really do, but I do know that if I wanted to “rent” a movie for that amount of time that is would be cheaper to hire the actors themselves. Of course “Megamind” stars Will Ferrel, who I used to like….but after he started injecting himself hostilely into politics, I don’t watch a thing he does. (Yes, it is true, I have not even watched “Megamind.”)
But the bottom line is that the movie has gone back and something else should be here tomorrow. Not that I have any time to watch anything, but perhaps someone will.
In the meantime I have been watching a few minutes of the “Power Rangers” with him. And oh yes, he is contrary. The star, the RED Power Ranger, the coolest one, is named Tommy. But Ben says “no.” And when I ask what his name is he says……..Benji.
I am not going to argue……after all, he is three.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+
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Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday, the day the Church celebrates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that people cheered and through garments and branches of palm along His way.

Of course, knowing the end of the story, we know (as HE did) that He was entering Jerusalem in order to be crucified, and in doing so, take away the sins of the world. It is a powerful day, and it is a meaningful day.
And it is a day that we hope to see you all in Church!!
Blessings!
Tommy+
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A lot 2 dew……

Well today has been interesting day….

It is the day before the beginning of Holy Week, and although I wanted to be about 30 pounds lighter, yet I am not. And today I have traveled all over the state for both lacrosse and work. Palm Sunday is tomorrow, and I have a lot yet to do. So what seems an arrival at home that should have included rest, becomes a dive into the deep end and a hard swim.
Of course I have been here before, and I know exactly what it means to have all this in front of me. Every journey starts with that first step…..even if it is getting out of the fire!
So at it I will go! I hate to be brief, but that first step is calling……..and I need to take it while I am still awake!
Goodnight my friends and goodnight!
Tommy+
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My 1000th post……

Yep, it’s a mile marker I suppose, my 1000th post to this blog…..and it could not come on a worse day. My day ended on the lacrosse field where we played #1 Carmel tonight at Carmel. We were missing SIX starters, which I shared with them at the beginning of game, yet after calling a time out with just three minutes left in the first half, they began to run up the score….and not in anything even close to an ethical or sportsman-type way. I complained twice within that last three minutes, but they just kept at it. SIX goals in less than 3 minutes. It made me sick.

At the half, I went out to the refs and forfeited the game. It was controversial, and perhaps emotional, but if he wants the win that dang bad he can just have it……we were anticipating a loss and a loss by a large margin. They could have beaten us 20 to 0 and I would have kept us out there, but that kind of sportsmanship, in my mind at least, does not belong in sports. My team was upset and still is and that is where my angst is. I hated letting down the girls, but that was just abusive and all wrong. There ARE mercy rules, although none applied here, they were however within a goal of applying. I have known very few coaches in my entire life that do such things….I never played for one or trained under one, and would never.
So my 1000th post is on a sucky night. Tomorrow we play Culver at Culver, and I hope we can move on from today. I am a competitor, and we will compete. Two of the six will be back with us, but we will still be down. I just want it to be a better day.
Goodnight my friends and God Bless!
Tommy+