Weekend in Review
Jun. 21st, 2009 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
peridot_linesSo, this weekend was my best friend from high school's wedding. I went, and then immediately came to understand several things:
Outside of these somewhat craptastic things, it was a beautiful ceremony, my friend looked lovely and happy and her husband seemed like a really sweet guy when she introduced us after the ceremony. I'm glad I was there to see it, and congratulate her and all of that stuff. It's most likely the only high school classmate's wedding I will be attending, considering my loner status. Plus, she's still an important friend to me, even if we haven't done the most fantastic job of keeping in touch.
That wasn't the only major thing of the weekend, surprisingly enough. I went fishing with my dad and realized I'm incredibly out of practice, which it kills me to admit. I broke two lines trying to land fish, and ended up catching an incredibly small perch and a snakey northern pike while my dad hauled in a beautiful walleye and some nice sized perch, which are kind of random for our lake. I still had fun though, got a nice sunburn, and just relaxed. I love being on the lake, seeing all of the ducks and checking out the turtles sunning themselves on lily pads and dead-heads. Plus, the loons. I LOVE the loons. They just sound awesome, although somewhat spooky in the middle of the night, during the day, it's just cool to listen to them. I'm realizing now, living in the suburbs that I'm actually a nature person, it's something I enjoy admiring and being a part of, especially in the summer, when it's being nice.
The other big part of the weekend was something going on at my family's church. Because my friend was getting married, her uncle was in town, and he happened to be a pastor at my parent's church around 30 years ago. So, they decided to have a reception for him and do all of this stuff.
I was kind of confused as to why this was such a big deal. He was only there for 4 years, and it was so long ago, I didn't understand why his presence at the church would really matter. And then, someone explained to me that before he had served as pastor, the church was in serious trouble. They were talking about possibly just throwing in the towel and giving it up. Then this 25 year-old kid, fresh out of seminary, shows up, and they choose to take him on as a pastor. In that time, he brought a great sense of calm to the church, managed to large groups of students through confirmation classes, and pretty much got the church back on its feet.
I don't think any of that came without a little turmoil, and it was a little bewildering and awkward for me, having only just met him the day before, to hear such an impassioned plea for forgiveness from the congregation for his failings as a naive minister so many years ago. At the same time, it was incredibly admirable. I find the only thing harder than forgiving someone is actually admitting a wrong and asking for forgiveness. The other thing that surprised me was how he could remember so many names, so many stories, from so long ago. I think I probably assumed a lot of stuff about this person I had only heard about over the years, and what kind of man he would be. So, I was impressed, I guess you could say.
He delivered a wonderful sermon though, something the congregation needed to hear, about making people welcome. Not just those from outside the church but even inside as well. and after the service he and my dad had a rather long conversation about the future of the church, not just the building but the congregation and its future. They've struggled, but for some reason, a new building has meant a new lease on life, if the in-fighting can stop happening and they can continue community outreach.
I'm interested to see where it all will go though. It's certainly something to consider for the future.
And now, to get to unpacking and trying to pay Moxie back for abandoning her this weekend. It's been pretty much non-stop chatter since I walked in the door. *sigh*
- I finally understand why it's a big deal to go WITH someone you know to a wedding filled with people you don't really know at all.
- I... suck in any and all social situations, to the point where I make it awkward for me and for other people as well, just because I can't make conversation.
- In some way, when I introduce myself I am completely unmemorable, which leads to awkward moments in conversation where people tell me they have forgotten my name, when I told it to them five minutes before. (This also explains why I told people repeatedly at work during that first week that it was okay to call me "Kate" and yet everyone calls me "Kathryn" now, with the random person who thinks my name is Kathy. *sigh*
Outside of these somewhat craptastic things, it was a beautiful ceremony, my friend looked lovely and happy and her husband seemed like a really sweet guy when she introduced us after the ceremony. I'm glad I was there to see it, and congratulate her and all of that stuff. It's most likely the only high school classmate's wedding I will be attending, considering my loner status. Plus, she's still an important friend to me, even if we haven't done the most fantastic job of keeping in touch.
That wasn't the only major thing of the weekend, surprisingly enough. I went fishing with my dad and realized I'm incredibly out of practice, which it kills me to admit. I broke two lines trying to land fish, and ended up catching an incredibly small perch and a snakey northern pike while my dad hauled in a beautiful walleye and some nice sized perch, which are kind of random for our lake. I still had fun though, got a nice sunburn, and just relaxed. I love being on the lake, seeing all of the ducks and checking out the turtles sunning themselves on lily pads and dead-heads. Plus, the loons. I LOVE the loons. They just sound awesome, although somewhat spooky in the middle of the night, during the day, it's just cool to listen to them. I'm realizing now, living in the suburbs that I'm actually a nature person, it's something I enjoy admiring and being a part of, especially in the summer, when it's being nice.
The other big part of the weekend was something going on at my family's church. Because my friend was getting married, her uncle was in town, and he happened to be a pastor at my parent's church around 30 years ago. So, they decided to have a reception for him and do all of this stuff.
I was kind of confused as to why this was such a big deal. He was only there for 4 years, and it was so long ago, I didn't understand why his presence at the church would really matter. And then, someone explained to me that before he had served as pastor, the church was in serious trouble. They were talking about possibly just throwing in the towel and giving it up. Then this 25 year-old kid, fresh out of seminary, shows up, and they choose to take him on as a pastor. In that time, he brought a great sense of calm to the church, managed to large groups of students through confirmation classes, and pretty much got the church back on its feet.
I don't think any of that came without a little turmoil, and it was a little bewildering and awkward for me, having only just met him the day before, to hear such an impassioned plea for forgiveness from the congregation for his failings as a naive minister so many years ago. At the same time, it was incredibly admirable. I find the only thing harder than forgiving someone is actually admitting a wrong and asking for forgiveness. The other thing that surprised me was how he could remember so many names, so many stories, from so long ago. I think I probably assumed a lot of stuff about this person I had only heard about over the years, and what kind of man he would be. So, I was impressed, I guess you could say.
He delivered a wonderful sermon though, something the congregation needed to hear, about making people welcome. Not just those from outside the church but even inside as well. and after the service he and my dad had a rather long conversation about the future of the church, not just the building but the congregation and its future. They've struggled, but for some reason, a new building has meant a new lease on life, if the in-fighting can stop happening and they can continue community outreach.
I'm interested to see where it all will go though. It's certainly something to consider for the future.
And now, to get to unpacking and trying to pay Moxie back for abandoning her this weekend. It's been pretty much non-stop chatter since I walked in the door. *sigh*
