“Do something wonderful. People may imitate it.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
It has been an interesting couple of days in regard to comments I have received. I stopped at a fast food joint yesterday to grab lunch after taking my wife to a medical appointment. (My wife was prudent and brought her own "healthy" lunch, so I dropped her off back at work and went to lunch without her.) A person greeted me just as I was walking out the door after finishing my lunch. It was someone I knew but had not seen in a few years. We exchanged a few pleasantries and then came the question. "Why did you stop doing what you were doing? You were really good at it."
First of all, that question could be interpreted in a wide variety of ways. Second of all, I am still doing some of what I was doing. I am just doing it in a different locale. Unless you specifically want to narrow down exactly what I should be doing, then it will be a bit of a challenge to have this conversation.
Although I share quite a bit of my personal life in the public arena, every detail is not needed in all cases. There are misperceptions that I have tried to correct from time to time, but it is okay if people do not fully understand me. Why did we move? Why did I leave my job at the chancery? A number of people have asked me why I left my job at the cathedral? I am not now, nor have I ever, been an employee of the Cathedral of St. Mary. I was assigned there as a deacon. I was not a paid employee. My paid position was with the Diocese of Cheyenne as the Director of Pastoral Ministries and Superintendent of Catholic Schools. That was how I earned a living.
I think I know what the person was referring to. The individual wanted to know why I stopped preaching and teaching. It did not stop. It has just moved to a different diocese. I am assigned as a deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver. That is where my domicile is located and that is the jurisdiction in which I am assigned to function as a deacon.
With that being said, I was just asked by someone this past Sunday in the Archdiocese of Denver whether or not I would consider preaching a parish mission this fall. I was also contacted recently by someone in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina asking if I would come and lead a three-day women's retreat this fall. Another request came from Quincy, Illinois as well.
It would be a great privilege to accept all of these requests to preach and teach at these events. The challenge is fitting them into my schedule. I am not as young as I used to be, and working seven days a week on a continual basis is not on my agenda.
I want to be very clear about one thing. I do not charge to preach and teach the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I ask people and organizations to cover my travel expenses, but I do not charge a fee to speak. I trust in their generosity. If I bring something of value to them, I hope they will enable me to continue to grow my ministry. Eventually, I hope to be able to leave full-time employment (retire) and just teach and preach. I am not at that point yet.
The pandemic shut down all of my scheduled public gatherings for 2020. I have been reluctant to start filling my calendar again. I could explain why I feel that way, but then I would get comments about my conspiracy theories. (Are they really theories when they keep coming true?)
Anyway, regardless of where you are, or what you are doing,
"Do something wonderful. People may imitate it."
It has been an interesting couple of days in regard to comments I have received. I stopped at a fast food joint yesterday to grab lunch after taking my wife to a medical appointment. (My wife was prudent and brought her own "healthy" lunch, so I dropped her off back at work and went to lunch without her.) A person greeted me just as I was walking out the door after finishing my lunch. It was someone I knew but had not seen in a few years. We exchanged a few pleasantries and then came the question. "Why did you stop doing what you were doing? You were really good at it."
First of all, that question could be interpreted in a wide variety of ways. Second of all, I am still doing some of what I was doing. I am just doing it in a different locale. Unless you specifically want to narrow down exactly what I should be doing, then it will be a bit of a challenge to have this conversation.
Although I share quite a bit of my personal life in the public arena, every detail is not needed in all cases. There are misperceptions that I have tried to correct from time to time, but it is okay if people do not fully understand me. Why did we move? Why did I leave my job at the chancery? A number of people have asked me why I left my job at the cathedral? I am not now, nor have I ever, been an employee of the Cathedral of St. Mary. I was assigned there as a deacon. I was not a paid employee. My paid position was with the Diocese of Cheyenne as the Director of Pastoral Ministries and Superintendent of Catholic Schools. That was how I earned a living.
I think I know what the person was referring to. The individual wanted to know why I stopped preaching and teaching. It did not stop. It has just moved to a different diocese. I am assigned as a deacon in the Archdiocese of Denver. That is where my domicile is located and that is the jurisdiction in which I am assigned to function as a deacon.
With that being said, I was just asked by someone this past Sunday in the Archdiocese of Denver whether or not I would consider preaching a parish mission this fall. I was also contacted recently by someone in the Diocese of Charleston, South Carolina asking if I would come and lead a three-day women's retreat this fall. Another request came from Quincy, Illinois as well.
It would be a great privilege to accept all of these requests to preach and teach at these events. The challenge is fitting them into my schedule. I am not as young as I used to be, and working seven days a week on a continual basis is not on my agenda.
I want to be very clear about one thing. I do not charge to preach and teach the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I ask people and organizations to cover my travel expenses, but I do not charge a fee to speak. I trust in their generosity. If I bring something of value to them, I hope they will enable me to continue to grow my ministry. Eventually, I hope to be able to leave full-time employment (retire) and just teach and preach. I am not at that point yet.
The pandemic shut down all of my scheduled public gatherings for 2020. I have been reluctant to start filling my calendar again. I could explain why I feel that way, but then I would get comments about my conspiracy theories. (Are they really theories when they keep coming true?)
Anyway, regardless of where you are, or what you are doing,
"Do something wonderful. People may imitate it."
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