I’m baaaack!

Earlier this afternoon (10/30), I got the glad news from my surgeon’s Nurse Practitioner that I

was released to go back to work and to drive. My immediate plan is to be in the office

tomorrow, keeping regular office hours, and to be here again on Friday, to write. I’ll be leading

worship and preaching on Sunday, as usual.

But before we get there, some words of thanks are appropriate. Thank you to all of you who sent

cards, emails, text messages, and Facebook messages prior to my surgery and during my

convalescence. I can’t tell you how much you brightened my days! Thank you to all of you who

did extra duty keeping things going during my absence. Thanks to those of you who organized

and contributed to the get-well / birthday / pastoral appreciation gift of dinner at Brasserie. And

a very special thanks to my friend of longstanding, Rev. Dr. Bart Hildreth, for filling the pulpit at

St. Andrew’s while I couldn’t. Didn’t he do a fine job? If you weren’t able to be present for his

preaching and haven’t yet watched the videos, I highly recommend that you go watch all four of them.

Things to know moving forward: I’m still officially recovering. I’ve got to be careful about

lifting things and my energy isn’t quite back to normal, although I’m told it will be better than

before once I’m fully healed. I may come in late or go home early on some days, if I’m not

feeling up to snuff. New medication is keeping my BP relatively low, so I can get a little dizzy

sometimes. Therefore, I’ll be preaching from the flat Chancel level rather than from the elevated

pulpit and Larry Bay has kindly leant me a stool, just in case.

I’ve got some catching up to do with required Conference paperwork that I’d planned to work on

in the month of October, so please understand if I don’t respond as quickly as usual to messages.

My sermon planning, deo gratia, was already done for the rest of 2024 prior to the crisis,

although I will be preaching a rather different sermon than I’d initially planned this Sunday – a

very personal take on the raising of Lazarus. Also coming up, a “fortunate mistake” sermon

from Haggai, a consideration of Christ the King Sunday (11/24), and an Advent series focusing

primarily on the Old Testament passages in the lectionary.

It was so, so good to be with you all this past Sunday, even as a “civilian.” So good to see so

many of the faces I’ve missed for the last five weeks! I’m excited to be back with you in my

usual guise and excited for the Church Year ahead and what God has in store for St. Andrew’s.

Deo Gratia!

Pastor Chris