Weekly Bread #194

I wore one of my clerical robes last Sunday. It had been a long time. I have 4 robes of different colors including a lavender, a royal blue, a wine, and a black. The black one is the only one I could wear as it was the shortest. Because of my weight loss, all the others drag on the ground. The black one hung down over my shoulders, but my spouse tacked it a bit in the back so it didn’t look too baggy. I need to give the others away soon to someone who can use them, but they each hold so many memories that it is hard to let them go. When I preached regularly, I almost always wore a robe. It was a reminder of my role in trying to hold sacred space. Somehow regular clothes don’t do the same – for me anyway.

I wasn’t preaching Sunday, but had the honor of reading a prayer I wrote 20 years ago for the Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma’s first service as a congregation. They asked me to come back and read it again at their 20th anniversary celebration. I also served that congregation as an interim for awhile and they invited former ministers to attend. It was supposed to be a two year interim, but I left in December of the second year because my health was really shaky. It was sweet to see them all again. There were several that didn’t recognize me because I look so different now than I did then. It was also very sweet to be reminded about how much healthier I am now.

It was a week for ministry, as I also attended the UURMaPA (Unitarian Universalists Retired Ministers and Partners Association) conference which was online mainly, but we also had a 6 person “pod” in San Rafael so we had some in person small groups and sharing time. Deep and heartfelt conversations were held about the conference theme of “mindful dying.” It was so good to be able to see (and hug) these colleagues, most were familiar but one I hadn’t really known at all before this week.

I didn’t get in much hiking this last week as a result of the conference as we were only able to get on the trails twice for about 11 miles in all. But I have clocked over 100 miles so far in October, which is not too shabby I think you will agree. The 100 miles includes just walking around the house. I ALWAYS wear my watch when I am awake so I get credit for every single step!

L’Chaim

Average weight this week is up .8 pounds for a total loss of 150.4.