Bonnie and I leave for the Virgin Islands this coming Friday. This morning, as part of our worship in each of the three services, the congregation had a special commissioning service. Rev. Doug Portz, a pastor on our Presbytery staff, offered a great message around the theme of "needed rest". Then they took my stole, a symbol of my ministry, and placed it in the front of the sanctuary -- a reminder to the congregation and to Bonnie and me of the wonderful connection we share. The congregation was then invited to gather around us, place their hands upon us and to pray for us. It was a very beautiful and very powerful experience. FCPC is an amazing congregation, and being their pastor these last ten years has been a great blessing and joy.
Earlier in the week Bonnie and I went down to Annapolis to meet with the guy who is doing a lot of work on the boat; helping to transform it from a daysailor/weekender to a coastal cruiser. His name is Andy Fegley and he is the owner of Yacht Electrical Systems in Annapolis. It was great to be able to go through the boat with him and get to know him a little better. I think he is going to do a great job.
The visit also gave us a chance to do some of our own preliminary work on the boat. Among the tasks was giving Heartsong her new name.
Exciting to see the new name there. It is still hard for us to believe we actually own this boat. Getting her outfitted has turned out to be pretty consuming -- supplies for everything from cleaning the toilet to handling medical emergencies. I keep waking up at night and thinking of more details to cover.
Just a few more days to get ready! What an incredible gift the church and the Lilly Foundation have given us!
