The Rector's Diary

Starting to make the conversion to Wordpress: for updates go here .

19 January (Tue): MP and staff meeting, covering a fair amount of territory, followed by returning phone calls and the like til
noon. Celebrated HC (Confession of St Peter) at noon, then to lunch with the Rev. Bill Philips, our neighbor clergyman from
Orange for a good visit. Back to the office and consults about several things like junior choir and such. Rest of the day on the
phone, including a nice visit with Bishop High. Home for a quick supper and then back for the very fine organ concert with Dr.
Charles Callahan. Our visiting artist series does us proud, and we had a very attentive crowd to appreciate it.

18 January (Mon): Stayed home the first part of the day, since it was an office holiday, doing various chores, but a call from
Deacon Pat Ritchie brought the sad news that Betty Ritchie, who has been very ill and in hospice care, died this morning. The
family plans for a memorial Wednesday at 1:00 PM at St Mark's with Pat and Dean officiating. May the Lord receive her in his
eternal rest. Made various calls to get our work for that under way and continued work at home til about 1:30, then to the office
to help Ginger and get ready for Vestry tonight. Wonderful Vestry meeting, as they all have been this year -- we were extremely
well served this year by a cordial and deeply cooperative vestry at every level. We will miss our "graduating seniors" -- Allan
Nichols, Howell Gwin, Laura Hayes, Corky Moore, and Karen Rush -- but they have given so much for the parish in these past three
years we can't begrudge them their rest. For a while. Reviewed the business of the year and approved the budget for 2010 as
presented by the Finance committee. On to Annual Meeting, Sunday Jan 31! Home to supper and some work on the computer,
trying out the Wordpress program some more. It is agony moving into a new program... but this will work. Of course, it took
Moses 40 years....

17 January (Sunday: 2 Epiphany): A very nice day with good crowds at services. Great kick off having John Bradley be our Sunday
morning cook-- what a spread he knows how to lay out!!! Preached at 8:00 and 10:15, taught Acts 25-26. Sort of a struggle to get
all the announcements in with so many things going on, but a good response particularly to the special offering for Haiti. Good to
see Hal Clarke back in church after being laid low with hip problems. Some nice new faces in service as well. Home for the
afternoon and a bit of a nap. Back to church for the 6 PM service and a very nice group. Worked late on various projects and the
ACI conference in Dallas in February. Brought this diary up to date for the past two weeks -- apologies for the tardiness. We've
been looking at other formats and webhosting and that kind of cuts the nerve of energy for posting that may have to be redone
later. I promise to be better.

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16 Jan (Sat): Colder and rainy day. Down to the church and got to be with the Walston family as we interred David's ashes in the
columbarium. They are a really great family; I wish we could have prayed them up some better weather. A few calls and mostly
computer work in the afternoon. Back for the first Saturday Vespers of the year.

15 Jan (Fri): Slept in a little bit. Out to lunch with Bet, then car hunting til we found her a Honda CR-V at Kinsel's, who did treat us
right; so we are again the proud owners of yet another bank note. What fun. Tried to tackle some bill paying and the like (it's tax
day for quarterly payers, ya know) but didn't have much gumption about it.

14 Jan (Thu): MP with staff. Various interesting conversations, including whether it would be good to have Rite I services for
Sundays at 1015 for Lent. I'm a little torn about that, though I love them myself: are they just totally "foreign language" to
younger and new members? And are they really "penitential" (as in, good for Lent) or does Rite I deserve a broader use than
Lenten penitence? I can see both sides of those kinds of questions. Office visits and phone work, including a good visit with
Marvin Park, who is hoping for more folks to visit with his dear wife Millie, now mostly confined to home. Right enough, we need
to pay more attention there. Lunch with the Rev. Ted Smith, in charge of St. Stephen's, Liberty. Good visit in the office with Billy H,
what a talented and gifted fellow. Met Senior Warden Allan Nichols for a few minutes and then with the Finance Committee,
reviewing plans for the year's budget to be presented to Vestry next Monday.

13 Jan (Wed): MP with staff and then very good and encouraging office visits with Junior Warden Gerald Condon--boy are we
blessed to have the right man for the job in him! Can you have Junior Warden for Life in the Episcopal Church? Another visit later
with Tressa Clarke, Christian Ed chair, filled up the rest of the morning. Lunch at Rotary, where I gave the invocation again, and
included prayers for Haiti in the aftermath of their earthquakes. Some visiting and then back to the office. Preached at EP. Good
supper and then classes, me taking the Greek class back and Cindy leading off a book study on "Total Forgiveness." A good first
evening back for Wellspring Wednesday, though not as many folks as we always want, of course. Y'all come on down!

12 Jan (Tue): Morning prayers with staff and general office work for the morning, phone calls and the like--some expressions of
unhappiness with various things including having confirmation at the Feast of Lights, followed by another conversation about
how great it was. Celebrated HC at noon for our usual group plus one or two. Lunch date cancelled so I got to have a late lunch
with staff. Met with Jerome W about next month's liturgies. Counseling sessions in the later afternoon. Second session of
training for Lay Eucharistic Visitors with Cindy leading that and doing a good job. Home late and tired.

11 Jan (Mon): Early breakfast with Bp High at Betty at the Elegante, then rode with him over to All Saints where he preached at
chapel. MP and staff meeting through the morning, and so especially glad to have Hannah there; she bravely rescheduled her
classes to be able to take part this term, which is so important for her being part of the team. Good staff meeting but broken up
by various folks having to leave early for the Petkovsek funeral. Short visits in office and then Christian Ed's first meeting of the
new year over a long lunch. Real energy in discussing our goals and standards for the overall parish Christian ed program,and
that is exciting to see. Home briefly and a call on Dr. Hal Clarke, stuck at home with hip problems. Back to church for a good
meeting with the Executive committee. That has been a marvelous group this year, more so for me than any year I can remember
anywhere--their unfailing support and good counsel have served us all very well indeed. Met from 6 to 8 with the Saturday
Vespers worship planning group: great conversation and a great group of people. They sure showed up fine last night too -- I
wish I'd had time to properly recognize and thank them. Home and hungry; early to bed.

10 January (1 Epiphany): What a great day! Celebrated at 8 & 10:15, while Dean preached early and Cindy late. Taught a small
class on Acts at 9:00. Smaller crowds, perhaps in anticipation of the service this evening, or just staying in since it was still ever so
cold. Home for a bit and back down early to meet Bishop High to have him sign confirmation certificates and prayer books and a
very nice visit. Met with the confirmands and we all scurried around with the usual getting ready. The service was glorious at 6:
00 -- we baptized Erin Fuller and her three darling children (who clung so close I baptized my own sleeve a lot more than them
with that water!) and confirmed six, with Eddie Mendoza reaffirming his commitment as well. The bagpiper led us out and we had
a truly grand bonfire. (Special kudos to Tim Conway for getting the fire making together, in spite of a dozen trees disappearing
earlier -- hope they kept someone warm! Tim was a champ today.) We had some great news media coverage for the evening, and
I was just so proud of everyone. In to the Gilbert gym for supper -- it would have been way to cold to eat outside -- and the
'smores seemed to be even more popular than the links this year. A very good crowd, I thought, especially in light of the cold
(and face it, some folks avoid confirmations....), but mostly just a joyful, happy evening where everyone seemed to have fun and
enjoy each other. What parish could ask for more? Thank you, Lord.

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9 January (Sat): In to the office at 10 to help Ginger struggle with some of the publishing tasks and then met with the Norman's
to prepare for Colt's baptism next month. Then found we had double booked (too many different calendars around!!!), and got
to meet with Joseph Edwards and his bride to be Lynn and begin their pre-marital work. Home thereafter and spent the
afternoon mostly reading and enjoying the fire, then prepping for tomorrow.

8 January (Fri): Day off. Slept later than I wanted; should have gone car hunting but it's too dang cold to go out, just about.
Although the truth is I love it. We get the best of both worlds-- a touch of cold but no snow to shovel for months on end.
Explored some on the computer during the afternoon about how to do this diary differently. Betty wants to change her web site
and Shelly wants me to get on another platform for posting the diary. Despite really not wanting to fool with it I guess I'll have to
make one more move into another decade of technology. Dragged kicking and screaming.... § Off to Dean's house for a belated
Twelfth Night party and excellent conversation and some commiseration about the Texas-Alabama game. Good folks and good
times.

7 January (Thu): MP with staff and office work til time to go to Orange for the clericus at lunch. Very good visits with a larger
than usual gathering of the clergy. Met with Betty and Jerome D about various Christian ed projects in the afternoon, then home
briefly before the ordination for Gates Elliott over at St Stephen's. Lovely service and a very well represented crowd of clergy
there tonight, which always makes the heart glad.

6 January (Wed): Preached at All Saints chapel Holy Communion for the feast of Epiphany. Couple of visits in the office in the
morning, but feeling pretty crummy (eyes, nose, throat, headache: maybe allergy?) so skipped Rotary and home to try to beat
back whatever is coming on. Odd, but vaseline on the eyes helps... why? Slept hard and sweated it out; nuked it with vitamin C
and a shower. Better by morning.

5 January (Tue): MP with staff. Good planning visit with Tressa Clarke for Christian ed. Celebrated HC at noon, then to the
monthly downtown clergy lunch at Jason's Deli. Good discussion about the problems for families with multiple spring breaks in
the community...wonder if something can be done? On the phone and writing for the rest of the afternoon, then sat in on Cindy's
first meeting and training for the Lay Eucharistic Visitors, those who take communion to our shut-ins at home and in the nursing
homes. Excellent group and class, and a very dedicated group, for which we should all be very thankful as they get a new start
for this utterly crucial ministry.

4 January (Mon): Took Betty to school and then doubled back around to see Will off for a new semester's adventures; you
always hate to see 'em go, don't you? Advice to parents, peer-reviewed among parents of a certain age-echelon: you get a lot
more actual information about what they are up to by texting than conversation. Morning Prayer with staff and then our first
staff meeting of the year -- it seems like it has been a lot longer since we saw each other. Everyone kind of pulling themselves back
together and getting our minds wrapped around the work before us. It's kind of fun to watch that happen, even though there is
so much to do in January. Worked in the office til about 6:30 and then home.

3 January (Sunday: Christmas II): A fairly quiet start back day; more people around than I frankly expected. Preached at 8 & 1015;
no adult class to speak of -- hope we can revive that in the new year. Quiet evening at home with Will packing to go back to Waco
for school. We've decided to let him have Betty's car, so that will be an adventure as a one-car couple here for the next while.

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2 January (Saturday): Down to the church for seeing where things are in the office. Visited at St. Elizabeth's with the Overall's as
Mike was packing up to go home, having had a much more exciting new year's eve and days after, but he seems to be mending
and generally in good spirits. Rest of the day getting ready to go back, working on sermons, and so on. Time off is always too
short.

2010

Vacation in Georgetown, Austin and San Antonio: December 27-January 1. Good to see family and old friends. Happy New Year!

26 December (Saturday): Ran errands, went to the movies (Sherlock Holmes), and had word from Jason Ballard that he is stuck
in the Minneapolis airport, snowed in and unable to get to his sweet wife and her family in SD, and it may be Tuesday before he is
able to be out. Lord have mercy! Y'all say your prayers for him: he's half way through Brothers Karamazov and folks are starting
to get a little crazy around the airport. (I never was able to finish Brothers K.... can't say I think it would make waiting for a plane
easier.)

25 December (Friday: CHRISTMAS DAY): To church about 10:00 for the third mass of Christmas; celebrated while Cindy preached
a fine sermon to a good group of about 30. Did some chores and closed up work for the year. I'll be on vacation til the new year,
and so wish everyone a very holy Christmastide and happy new year. Home help fix dressing for the turkey and play Life with the
kids.

24 December (Thursday: CHRISTMAS EVE): MP with the small sample of staff around, and worked in the office til noon, when
everyone scattered for the holiday. Home to finish prep for the services this evening, while Betty and Will headed to Houston
Bush Int'l to pick up Mary. Down to church at 5:00 to get ready and meet St. Nicholas, who needed to be vested in his liturgical
regalia. Dean pointed out that I had forgotten to get the Bishop's permission for this foreign prelate to address services tonight,
so I must hope we don't get in too much trouble, but chocolate covereth a multitude of sins. Bone chilling cold by the time
evening rolled around, making it feel a lot more like Christmas. Beautiful services at both 5 & 11, superb music and choir work. So
grateful for the beautiful church (thank you, Altar Guild!!!) and all that goes into making a truly moving celebration of the
Incarnation.

23 December (Wed): Worked at home for the morning. Quick run to the church, then lunch with Jason B and the Fuller family
that is joining the church in the coming weeks, and a very pleasant visit that was. Errands and some Christmas shopping, then
back to the church. Conducted prayers with Dean Calcote at Broussard's for Margaret M's deceased grandson, a terrible loss of a
fine young man. Home to supper but no Mary Fuller, as her flight had to be changed to deal with the weather that is wreaking
havoc with travel around the country.

22 December (Tue): MP with staff. Celebrated HC at noon for a very nice group, including interesting visitors. Hectic day with
pastoral calls though the office routine is winding down, which is a good thing and a testimony to the staff really being on top of
the Christmas work.

21 December (Mon): Good staff meeting after MP, couple of other meetings, then excellent Vestry meeting at 5:00, though some
of the folks were already out of town. Picked up Will from the bus station after, glad to have him home.

20 December (ADVENT IV): Glorious day for church. Lovely baptism for little Avery Shakour at the 8:00 o'clock service, and quite
sure it has been since forever that we last had a baptism at that hour, but it was truly fine. Great family and I hope we get to see
much more of them. Then a perfectly lovely service of Lessons & Carols at 10:15, with solos from heaven itself. The choir was just
grand. Afternoon home alone as Betty was helping ready the Posada at church. Back to church about 5:30 for the Posada at 6:00
which was marvelous, with the combination of the pageant to that working very well and happy to see the children and youth
working together so exceptionally well. Some things to work on, like sound, but all together a wonderful experience, with the
meal afterwards and the pinatas at the end. Fun to see how a little possibility of bruises from our pinata swatters heightens the
interest of us all. Marvelous happy day.

The Rector's Diary~

reporting the day to day adventures of
the rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church,
Beaumont, Texas, for your edification
and entertainment

The Rev. Frank E. Fuller

For previous entries see Archives