Today is traditionally a day of rest for me. For the majority of my ministry I have been so exhausted by this point that I just crash. But today, even though I took it easy, was far from a crash. I actually got quite a bit done, and am now out on the porch typing away with the cat.

I am happy to be here too. It will be much nicer when the trees have leaves and the air is a bit warmer, but this is so much nicer than the snow. During the cold months it is like I lose an old friend. There’s something about sitting out here that makes me feel relaxed.

I guess it reminds me of how my grandma and I used to sit out on her front porch when I was a kid. There was never an agenda, we just hung out and spent time together. The world seems so different now. It seems we are all pushed to fill up all our time with something, but my grandparents taught me that doesn’t have to be the case. I enjoy, and am even rejuvenated by the simple act of just watching the world go by on a porch. Of course mine is quite different than hers. First of all, she is not here with me, which I miss, but I know she would be if she lived a little closer. Second, my porch is a screened in back porch and looks out over a field, not a front porch in Goshen Indiana. Goshen is my favorite place in the world, and pray as I might, my porch just cannot seem to get the same feel. And then of course being an adult now brings me to any porch with far more on my mind than I ever did in Goshen! But regardless, it still feels good to be here, and I am blessed to have it nonetheless.

I hope and pray that you have a place to renew your soul as well. And I also pray that today was a blessing to you, and that tomorrow will be as well.

God Bless you my friend, and thanks for checking in!

Tom+

Happy Easter to all of you! Today is the day we celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection and it has been a glorious day!

As a very busy priest who also has a family, after returning from work this afternoon, I dedicated all my non-working time to Amanda and the kids. This means tonight’s blog will be short, but praise God I remembered!

Anyway, the Lord has bestowed many blessings upon us all and on this day we celebrate the greatest. Life is good and I hope and pray you have had a blessed Easter Day!

Alleluia and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

On this day the Lord lay in His tomb….lifeless. The world outside had been shaken. The One who but a week earlier had been hailed a King was now dead in a tomb. But we who live many years later now know the rest of the story.

Today, on this Holy Saturday, let us wait in anticipation upon the Resurrection of our Lord. And may we pray on this very day that many hearts would be changed in our time. Our Lord and Savior has not died in vain!

God Bless you on this Holy Saturday!

Fr. Tom+

Today our Lord was obedient, even to death upon the Cross. For us He gave His life, not in the hope of saving us, but to assure that He did.

No greater gift has ever been given. It is the one act that changed my life forever, and I know it can change yours as well.

Consider this day all that the Lord has done for you and be thankful. And show Him your thankfulness by giving your life to Him.

May He Bless you with His tender mercy, on this, the most Holy of days.

Fr. Tom+

Tonight is the night we celebrate the Institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist by our Lord Himself. On the night before He was crucified He took bread, gave thanks, blessed it and gave it to His friends saying, “Take, eat, this is my Body which is give for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” He did the same with the wine. The Latin word we use for Holy Thursday is “mardare,” meaning “mandate” which is where we get the word Maundy, of Maundy Thursday. Jesus is giving us a mandate to not just celebrate the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, but also to serve (that’s why we often see footwashing services on Holy Thursday too.

As Anglicans, the Lord’s Supper is something we celebrate often…just has He has commanded. And today will be our last until Easter, until the Resurrection.

Please join us today in one of our four Churches for the Eucharist. remember, Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. He gave us not just a mandate, but an example. Come join us this day, and live your life as an example to others!

God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

Much of today has been, as they say, a wash. I did manage to take Ben to the sitter, Cookie to the vet to get her staples removed, and then when I returned home I CRASHED. Though I had gone to bed at 11:30 last night it was all too much apparently. I slept about 7 additional straight hours and have been pretty fuzzy since I woke up. Okay, A LOT FUZZY.

It amazes me at how my body works these days. I can still really go at it, but then suddenly my body just shuts down and says SLEEP…..and sleep I do. I want to share with you that it is really addictive too. It not only heals my body and brain right up, but since my stroke I have wonderful dreams when I sleep, particularly when these periods happen. I do wake up often, but not too much physical time passes each time, but in my dreams I have done so much! I don’t know if that makes too much sense, but to me it does. My life for the past year, though changed in so many ways, means more to me than it ever has. Sure I struggle a bit, but the depth I have now makes all of it worth it….a gift in fact that I would never trade!

And tonight, though the end of an unconscious day, finds me once again out on the back porch with the cat, and a glass of wine…for me, not the cat. She’s loopy enough just drinking water. A good end to a good day.

Tomorrow is Holy Thursday and I hope to see you in Church!

Goodnight my friends and God Bless!

Fr. Tom+

This was written on Monday night, rather than tonight, because I knew that on Tuesday I would be with our clergy in Akron all day, and then on the way home, I would divert to Mishawaka (my hometown) to meet with a group of high school classmates who are planning our 30th high school reunion this summer. So chances are, if you are reading this on Tuesday night, I am almost home from both.

In Akron we are attending a Chrism Mass, which is where all the clergy gather with the Bishop to receive the Holy Oils that we use all year, celebrate Communion, and renew our vows. Since we will be there in two cars, I will drop my passenger off with the others just north of Fort Wayne on the return trip and then continue on to Mishawaka. As far as the reunion meeting is concerned, I am not sure who will be there, nor am I sure I will remember any names, but they have been doing a lot of work in preparation, and I do want to help when I can. God has blessed me with many wonderful people in my life, and I really should say that there is no finer group of people than those I went to high school with. Hindsight is always the best I suppose, but I do regret not getting to know many people better that I grew up with. Thank God I am still alive to have the opportunity to get to know many of them now better!

Anyway, this will be a long day for me, so I do hope you keep me in your prayers. My bed will be a welcome friend. I just hope I see it before midnight!

I hope you have had a great day! God Bless.

Fr. Tom+

I have spent the majority of the day getting things ready for the services at all our mission. We have Good Friday services, Stations of the Cross, readings, bulletins, the need for Communion supplies such….all of which I would like to distribute to our clergy tomorrow (since we are not all in one place this week other than tomorrow).

The good news is that everything seems to be copied and we now have to go out and get a new stapler, since our good one broke, and the new one was hardly even functional. Amanda is out getting a new one. It is not a standard one, which we have ten of. It is one that staples booklets, since a lot of the things for Holy Week are in fact, booklets.

BUT….if we get these done tonight, all I will have left is my sermons for Thursday and Sunday! I hope to go to sleep tonight with that being the case!!

Anyway, I am trying to write when I remember, and this of course is pretty early. BUT it is a post, and for TODAY!! Yee ha!

My hope and prayer for you is that you have had a blessed day. Mine is far from over, but looking better every minute!

God Bless you my friends and I hope to remember tomorrow as well!

Tom+

I am writing tonight at just shy of 9pm, after just getting home from running a few errands with Amanda, which we went on right when I returned from work. And though I am thankful to be home and thankful for the wonderful day, the week ahead still looms large. Being a priest is such a privilege, but it is no more evident than to me than in Holy Week. It is the most moving time of the Church Year for me.

Of course I also know that there is quite a bit more for me to do during Holy Week, and I am aware that I am probably difficult to live with during this time. I am certain all the other time of the year I am quite fun to be around….a saint in fact, but I would prefer you’d not ask my wife or kids about that, because quite frankly I enjoy living in my delusion.

I would ask that you pray for all our churches and all our clergy as we walk through this sacred week. But even more importantly, that you would allow the Lord to deepen you and stretch you and change you into the person He calls you to be.

Have a blessed night! And thanks for checking in!

Fr. Tom+

If I only was practicing lacrosse, I could blame my forgetfulness on that, but it is Spring Break. I did go a day or two without Internet….thanks Comcast, but it wasn’t their fault either. The fact is, I am trying hard to remember things, even routine things, and at times it becomes difficult. My apologies to you all.

On the up-side, Steph, Amanda, and I were able to get Steph up to Purdue for a college visit. She seemed to like it, and will be attending an Engineering Camp this summer on campus. We went to a math meeting as well, but she seems to be leaning towards the engineering instead. She loves math and science, so it seems she will end up in one of those smart-girl type fields. I am just amazed we are at this point. I still think of her as my little girl.

Today I am in preparation for Holy Week, which begins tomorrow with Palm Sunday. I do have the palms, which is a good start, but we have a lot of services to prepare for and I am working on those. To show you the extent of my progress. I still have bulletins and a sermon for tomorrow to finish and then we will start on the other days! Yikes!

Cookie is home and doing well…….a detour we were not planning on time-wise or financially, but the big blessing is she is going to be fine. Of course she will have no puppies or show any more, but all our dogs are family first and work for us second! (on their list it is often lower!) So the bottom line is that we are so pleased that she dodged a bullet at 4 and will have plenty of more ball chasing years here at home.

Anyway, off to do that work I have been talking about. Remember again, Holy Week begins tomorrow! Get to church!! I will see you there.

God Bless.

Fr. Tom+