You know when you make plans for a long time away and then suddenly, they arrive, and you are taken COMPLETELY off guard? That is me right now. There is a LOT that is happening over the next 6 weeks, and I feel … anxious.
On August 13th/14th, we have volunteer blessings and Mass and celebrations afterwards. All of this is planned and coordinated by Dr. Kathy Ernst and the Parish Life and Socials Committee, so there is almost nothing I have to do for this, and yet BAM it is already here.
On August 15th is our patronal Feast of the Assumption Mass. The prayers are provided by the Church, the liturgy is nothing we have not done before, and Deacon Larry is preaching, and yet BAM here it comes!
On August 17th, we have a staff retreat, focused on strategic/vision questions for the next year. We have talked about it as a staff a few times and we know the structure of what we are going to be discussing, and yet I (irrationally) still feel very unprepared.
August 23rd, 24th, and 25th are Mission Week (see the “In Case you Missed it Section”). We have a guest speaker, the first two dinners are taken care of by parish groups, the babysitting is in place, there is little else that needs done, and yet it is such a big event that I feel like there MUST be something I am forgetting.
August 31st is the first day of school. Our principal, Dan Anderson, and the entire school faculty and staff are amazing and everything is going to go smoothly, and yet it is another big thing that feels like I am not mentally prepared for.
There are some things still on my to-do list, true. I am not completely prepared for everything above. And yet, my anxiety is irrational. Really, what I am emotionally recognizing is that I cannot control everything, I cannot be perfectly prepared for everything, I cannot have every “i” dotted and “t” crossed. Instead, I need to trust the wonderful staff and volunteers at our parish and trust the Holy Spirit to make everything work according to his designs. Trying to do anything more than that is the fast track to madness, especially with a dynamic and lively community like ours.
I’m sure none of you can relate. 😉
Fr. Moore 