Musings… on A Sick Day On Sunday!

Yesterday, for the first time in 34 years of ministry, I called in sick – on a Sunday. Yes, I’d taken other days off as sick time, but never had I felt it necessary to be absent on a Sunday – the one day of the week when most of the congregation know a minister is working!

I was not terribly sick. My stomach was upset. The problem was that I needed to be close to a certain room and special seat and there was no way I could have made it to Moncton without a porta-potty in the car! 

It was with regret that I called David Lewis on Sunday morning – early to give them as much notice as possible. And the downer is I thought I had a pretty good reflection to offer. Thanks to Denis Livingstone for sharing it on my behalf.

And, thanks to the congregation of Central United for your care and support! I am sorry. I missed being with you – but had I even made it, I likely would have been disruptively going between rooms and seats all morning! I don’t think it was a flu or bug – I think it was something I ate on Saturday night. Thankfully, I am feeling better this morning and will be to the office in Sackville to meet with Julia for our regularly scheduled staff meeting!

Faithfully,

Lloyd

Looking Ahead

Today I am in Sackville for the morning where Julia and I will gather for our weekly staff meeting after which I will visit at the Sackville Hospital. The morning will be followed by an affernoon that will include another meeting and two pastoral visits. This evening, I will gather with the Central United Church Council for their regular monthly meeting.

Tuesday morning will be devoted to the Lectionary Study Group and in the afternoon, I have three pastoral visits scheduled. On Tuesday evening I will gather with the Collaborative Commission for their regularly scheduled meeting.

On Wednesday afternoon I will be taking part in a Boundaries Refresher Course that all Ministry Personnel must complete every three years and in the evening I will gather with the QS4A group.

On Thursday morning the Sackville United Church Pastoral Care Team will meet and somehow, I will fit a Dentist appointment in. Unfortunately the dentist appointment will mean there is no Cultivating Hope conversation (again). Sorry. The afternoon will be focused on writing a reflection for Sunday.

Friday will be a day off and on Saturday I will travel to Fredericton to take part in the Memorial Gathering for my friend and colleague Kendall Harrison.

Sunday is Palm/Passion Sunday. I will be offering leadership at Visions United Church. Central United Church will gather at Visions, and Julia will be leading the gathering at Sackville United. The livestream will come from Visions United Church.

HOLY WEEK & EASTER

On Holy Thursday, April 17, the congregations of the Collaborative are encouraged to gather at Sackville United Church for a service followed by a pot-luck supper. The service will begin at 6PM and the supper will follow. Please bring crockpot dishes, bread and dessert items to share.

A Good Friday Service will take place at Central United Church on Friday April 18th at 10:30AM. All congregations of the Collaborative are encouraged to gather at Central United Church in-person or view the livestream.

Easter Celebrations will be held at Sackville United Church and Central United Church at 10:30AM on April 20th. Members of Visions United Church will gather with Central United Church

EASTER PREACHING IDEA

My plans for Easter are to explore Artificial Intelligence… let me know what you think about this idea…

I am going to use AI to generate a sermon and then I am going to, if needed, rewrite it  (or throw it out and write my own) and preach on Sunday morning, and on Monday morning I’ll publish both of them side by side so you can see what AI generates and what I preached… and we can explore together the future AI might have in our Sunday morning experience. What do you think of this idea? Drop me at note.