Ten-Finger Exercises

a good day

Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I don't really want to go to church." More often it's that I don't really care about the seminar coming up, or the training session, or the pastoral care meeting. So far, I continue to go, but I don't feel very connected or enthusiastic. Maybe it's time I retired; I've thought about that. Our priest is retiring in January, and I will potentially have more to do until we hire someone else. I haven't even gotten involved in the search process, as the congregation looks for a new priest, partly because as clergy I don't really have a say about that. Who they pick will be who I'll have to work with, so it will certainly concern me.

I felt the same way this morning, reluctant to put on my clericals and head out. Bill had already gone, choir practice being between services. So I got ready and went. And, as usual, I was glad to be there. In religious words, I was blessed.

I can't explain it. Being part of the service is an honor. It gives me perspective on my life....

There's a lot more I want to say about that, but not right now. The TV is on, with a very funny show called Big Bang Theory and I can't concentrate about a serious subject.

Anyway, I introduced myself to a stranger at coffee hour after church, thinking she might be the mother of a young woman who killed herself this week. I never met her mother, and heard she was here for the funeral. I knew the girl as a young teen whose brother was schizophrenic. I didn't know she had developed the same illness.

The stranger was not the mother, but she had a lonely look about her. She was fairly new in town, and had taken a cab to church. I offered her a ride home, and on the way, heard about her job as a copy editor for a company that publishes health newsletters for hospitals. It's a job I'd thought about applying for.

It turns out that she's not very happy there. The job includes checking out the sources to make sure they're accurate. What she found was that the company had not gotten permission to use copyrighted material. When she took this information to her employer, they assured her that as long as the source was attributed, it didn't matter. She didn't think that was right. She went to a lawyer to find out for herself, and the lawyer concurred with her. Taking that information to back to the company, she again found her information ignored and, now, her loyalty in question.

They have offered her a nice settlement to leave, but she is unsure. She had been freelancing, and that did not have a lot of security. She is older, and is concerned about having a full time income. Tomorrow she has to make a decision, although I wonder if the decision isn't already made. I'm guessing she can take their offer, or not, but not count on continued employment with good working conditions.

I was glad I was at church today, and glad I offered her a ride home and gave her a chance to talk. I don't know if it helped her make a decision, but I think it helped her to talk to someone who understood her problem.

Bill met me later at the German Heritage festival, where we had a sausage with kraut and enjoyed seeing the exhibits and people we knew. When we got home, we began winterizing the pool, finished at least half the job before it got too late. The rest can be done later, even when it's colder because it doesn't entail getting wet.