I had regretted preaching on the first Sunday in October. I do not have sacramental authority during my sabbatical, so there was no communion on World Communion Sunday. I need the connection that comes from communion. As John Wesley said (paraphrased), commune as often as possible and he is said to go no longer than three days between attendances.
However, the first Sunday of November I found myself at a family breakfast dinner for my mother. We hadn't been together since the wedding in August and July 4th prior to that.
As it turns out, God is good. Monday I had decided to attend the clergy fellowship even though the topic was Advent and I would not be preparing to lead a church through Advent this season. We experienced a complete worship service, including communion as we gathered. The host pastor lead us through the service the church had experienced the day previous.
She told us she had adapted her message to address a clergy gathering rather than a congregation. The message contained a lot of details and a lot of asides "as you may know" "as you may remember" "I'm sure you've heard...".
It felt good to receive communion. It is always a wonderful time when I can experience the fellowship of other pastors. It has been few and far between in this Conference. I am hoping that the new DS continues to make clergy fellowship a priority and thus allow us to worship rather than always lead.
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