Brain Scramble ...

Momus is suffering from a serious lack of focus, or closer to the truth , Momus is suffering from too many things to focus on at once. I think perhaps I need a spiritual advisor and a vacation. Any Episcopal churches or retreat centers out there that could make use of a Chief Domestic Officer for a few days ? A week or so washing dishes for a vocational community, I can make some monster desert. Can you get online virtual spiritual advisors? Oh well, I’m sure my brain will eventually congeal back into some sort of usable mass, at some point. Until then I will muddle through.

Shopping for churches ...

The conduct of the clergy in our church has become such a detriment to the spiritual health of our family that BigDaddy and I are shopping for a new church. Unfortunately the nearest Episcopal Church (aside from the one we were attending) is forty miles away and not in our Diocese. It isn’t the Episcopal Church we wish to get away from, just this particularly unhealthy one. At this point we are considering the local United Methodist church for occasional attendance and driving to another Episcopal church within our Diocese once a month in order to stay in good communion. BigDaddy and I are very involved in various activities in the Diocese and refuse to give that up because of the atrocious behavior of a few individuals. BigDaddy is the most laid back; go with the flow sort of guy that you’ll ever meet, so you know it’s getting bad when even he heads for the door. So, its church shopping we go… which to me begs the question, if you could go shopping and pick out a congregation that would fit you, what would it look like ?
What would be your qualifiers and what would be the things that would send you running for the door? Inquiring minds want to know.

God Bless The Brigade

Here's three cheers for the smoothest run unit you will ever see . They sneak in, accomplish their objective and vanish into the night with most people never realizing that they were there. Theirs is largely a thankless job, but they understand that it needs to be done. I'm sure they get tired of it and I'm sure that they, on occasion, even complain about having to be the ones to do it , but I have never seen one of them shirk their duty. There seams to be a great deal of camaraderie amongst the Brigade especially since it is a group that very few actually ask to join. The requirements are few , but those that exist must be adhered to ...
1) You must be female
2) You must be at least 65 years of age
3) You must be made of a "strong moral fiber"
Being a widow is not required, nor is having white hair, but does seem to be a trend.
They are in most places a loosely affiliated bunch, although there is a division of the Brigade in my area who call themselves the Merry Widows , they meet weekly to discuss battle strategy over
muffins and decaf . They are often given mocking names by those outside the group. In my congregation they are referred to as "The Graces" for at times ,especially if you don't agree with them, it takes a significant amount of grace to deal with them. BUT , if you removed The Graces our church would cease to function in under a week. As would other churches and social organizations across the world , I am fairly certain. GO ahead, I dare you to try to plan a funeral with out them. I have been mulling this over in me noggin for the last week or so especially in light of recent events, that FEMA should not be run by the government, but by The Brigade .
Things would get done quickly, smoothly, efficiently and with lots of coffee, tea and cookies for every one. Less politics ... more practicality .... LONG LIVE THE BRIGADE !!!!

Congregational Apathy

Well, it happened . After all of the begging and pleading , we could not find two people in our congregation who would volunteer to teach Sunday School once or twice a month. What causes a congregation to get to this point. The vast majority of our members refuse to engage in any church activity that requires that they devote more than 15 - 20 min. per month . We had a yard sale for one of our outreach programs this past weekend , people were glad to drop off their donated items, but no one volunteered to stay and help .( With the exception of the same 3 or 4 people who do almost everything else. ) No one wants to be responsible for anything, most will say, "just call if you need anything" . I've come to find out, through my tenure on vestry and as Chris.Ed. director, and verger, and news letter editor, and choir member and lay reader and Chalicer, that the "anything" people are talking about consists of picking up some soda and cookies from the grocery store down the block and dropping them off before what ever event we are trying to plan actually happens . I truly do thank God for the handful of dedicated volunteers that my congregation has, unfortunately most of them are , like myself, stretched to thin. I am so disgusted at this point I'm not sure what to do. Resigning as Chris.Ed director was my first reaction. I guess only time will tell. Now if you will pardon me , I must go and develop a Sunday School plan that will work when only taught once a month.