I went from ice storm to spring sunshine as I flew to Atlanta, Georgia where I took the interim pastor training. In our denomination, those interim pastors fill the gap between two installed pastors, allowing a congregation to heal after a conflict, or go through a mourning process when a long-time beloved pastor leaves or retires. The next installed pastor then will start his or her work on healed ground.
The Calvin Center, where the training took place is located at 25 miles from Atlanta, under the trees and next to a small lake. The food was scrumptious, with gourmet entrées at every meals – prepared by a Chef, a talented man from New Zealand who used to work in a local restaurant. Brian was his name and he received praises daily from the 36 trainees. We had rain on the first day (they said I had brought Seattle weather!) then sunshine came back. Walking around the lake was wonderful between two workshops.
The Atlanta Airport is also a scenic place and a place to stretch your legs after a 5 hours flight. A little train is available to go from and to the gate but I preferred walking. This allowed me to admire an exhibition of sculptures from Zimbabwe artists.
There was a 3-hours difference between Atlanta and Seattle. No big deal for this traveler used to deal with 9 hours jet lag. Yet the next day, a Saturday, I woke with the typical exhaustion: everything, including walking around, was exhausting. My arms felt too heavy for my shoulders. I was supposed to get ready for preaching on Sunday…. Fortunately, I had written most of the sermon during the flight back the day before. Smart move…
No comments:
Post a Comment