A RevGal meet up

A fun time was had by all at the Portland Maine RevGal meetup. Mary Beth was visiting Songbird in Maine over the weekend and Songbird invited me to come visit them at her house. Originally she invited me for Monday lunch, however being a pastor in between churches, I did not have a Sunday commitment and I've always wanted to hear Songbird preach. Well I got a twofor on Sunday because not only did I get to hear Songbird preach a wonderful sermon at her new church where she is serving as an interim, I also got to hear MaineCelt preach another lovely sermon at Songbird's other church. Usually when I attend two worship services on one Sunday I get tired, however both these sermons captivated me. As MaineCelt would put it, they definityly have the gifts and graces for ministry.

After worship we went to SongBird's for a yummy brunch and then sat in her living for hours talking about life, ministry and music. It was good to be in the company of friends old and new!

I've decided to change my attitude about my being in-between ministry jobs. I realized through prayer and discernment that God is giving me a much needed break from ministry so that I'll be fresh and optimistic for my new church whatever it will be. I've asked God to help me let go of the pain of my previous pastorate so that I would not let it effect my future ministries. This time of not serving a church is God's way of letting me heal. And now I'm enjoying some of the benefits of not working for a church such as being able to hear my colleagues preach and two day weekends for the first time since I got ordained!

A night at Chez Songbird's.

In-between a meeting and a conference I got to spend the night at Chez Songbird's on Halloween night. At first I suggested to my fellow Revgalblogpal that we dress up as nuns and go trick or treating in her neighborhood but she didn't think it would a good idea. So her daughter Light Princess and her best friend Manga Fangirl did the honors instead.

When they got back, I got to eat all the malted milk balls, the milk duds, the left over snicker bars that Songbird passed out and various other asundries. I don't think I've eaten as much candy in one year as I did last night. Needless to say I was flying high on a sugar buzz well into the wee hours of the night. The sugar finally wore out the next morning as I was presenting a workshop.



Songbird's zoo was a delight to spend the evening with. Doggies Sam and Molly were quite friendly and gave me and abundance of paws of love and kisses. Kitty Puss Puss allowed me to pet her and Baby Kitty kept her disdain for me down to a haughty glare from the hall.

A good time was had by all sailing on the Good Ship Lollipop at Songbird's. Now if only I could get those traumatic dreams of Shirley Temple chasing me up and down the decks out of my head.

Revgalblogpal Meetup

It's a Revgal Meetup!

I had the best time meeting up with Mary Beth and Songbird in Portland Maine. St. Casserole joined our meet up via phone, don't cha' just love modern technology. It was so good to see them again. It was as if we never got off the boat, the conversation was lively and the love was overflowing.I got to meet Molly the famous blogging dog of the Northeast. She was so sweet, constantly giving me paws of love and lots of attention.

And of course no RevGalBlogPal meet up blog would be complete without the traditional foot shot.

Friday Five

It's Leap Day!! I wonder what it would be like to have a birthday on Leap day. When does one celebrate their birthday on non-leap years. Just one of those things to keep me up at night while my mind wanders before sleep.

I am playing the RevGalBlogPal Friday five in honor of Leap day.

Tell us about a time you:

1. Leapt before looked.

That would have been my first marriage. For some reason I thought that if I married a man that my lesbian leanings would go away. Boy was I wrong. However because I was young, inexperienced and found a guy who was desperate enough to marry me I succumbed to societal pressure and got married to appear socially acceptable. I have since divorced him and several years later married my partner and she and I are wildly happy together.

2. Leapt to a conclusion
Before I went into the ministry I had thought that if a person had Reverend in front of their name, that they were nice, trustworthy and only have good intentions. Then I had a pastor who was troubled in her ministry and did not convey the above mentioned qualities. Our relationship was quite strained and I eventually left that church because she wouldn't support my call to ministry. I had thought the the issues were all my fault and that I must be a terrible person because a minister was not nice, broke my trust and had ill intent for me. Years after I left I heard that she ended her pastorate at said church because of clergy sexual misconduct. It was then that I finally realized that pastors were human too and not perfect.

3. Took a Leap of Faith
At the risk of sounding hokey, it was when I finally said yes to my call to the ministry. I knew since I was a child that I wanted to be minister but didn't think it was possible because at the time I was a Catholic. I spent years doing other things but found that the church was what really got my engines running. It was while watching the Oprah Show (now admit it...we've all had Epiphanies while watching Oprah) that I finally said, "oh darn, I guess I am going to have go to seminary." I am so glad that I took the leap.

4. Took a literal Leap.
Never never never. I am too chicken to leap off of anything higher than a step.

5. And finally, what might you be faced with leaping in the coming year?
Having a blog is a big leap for me. I am not one to advertise my innermost thoughts to anyone accept my partner. However I really like the blogs I am reading on the RevGalBlogPal webring and want to be a part of this extraordinary community.

I'm a RevGalBlogPal!!!

I am so excited and honored that I have been accepted into the webring. I am a frequent surfer of http://revgalblogpals.blogspot.com/ especially when I am writing a sermon or just needing to connect with other women who are involved in ministry. Through this website I've met some wonderful women from all over the United States. I've also found other websites such as https://www.ravelry.com/account/login (which I call yarn porn, check it out) through the women who are a part of this webring.

I am grateful for this webring and for the Revgalblogpals because at times being a minister can be a very lonely profession. Knowing that there are others available on the internet can take the edge off the isolation.