Homeward Bound
26/06/12 03:36
We finished with the UCC National Musicians Network meetings yesterday in time to get on the road and travel a bit towards home. We’re camped at Onawa, Iowa this morning, which makes the trip home an easy day’s drive. We’ll arrive in time to check in and be ready for our usual activities tomorrow. It has been a good trip and last night, we were treated to a beautiful sunset over Blue Lake as we set up our camper. 
It was a beautiful ending to a long and busy day. As an added treat our campground has lots of fireflies. Since we don’t have fireflies at home, they are a special treat for us.
The days of the conference have been long and very busy. With a few exceptions, the program ran from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with breaks for meals, but little else. There were worship services, keynote presentations, workshops and more. Between events, we were busy networking with colleagues, rehearsing for worship and preparing workshop presentations. Even though I had done my workshop preparation before leaving for the conference, there were changes and adjustments that I made in response to the activities of the conference. I always like to add little references to other presentations of the conference and I wanted to customize the presentation after I learned more about the specific participants.
The drive up from Kansas City wasn’t too stressful once we had navigated out way through the city. We don’t do a lot of city driving these days, so we needed to be careful as we threaded our camper through the busy streets. The only small tragedy of the trip so far is that the left outside mirror was smashed yesterday. We discovered it when we got in the pickup to leave the church. I was able to get it adjusted and I can see through it, but it is filled with cracks and will need to be replaced. All of the cracks meant a bit of a distorted image and I had to get used to it right away to drive through the city and negotiate the freeway. In a pickup with a camper in the back, the outside mirrors are essential to safe driving.
No worries, however, we traveled safely from the city, guided by our GPS, which is even patient with detours and driver error. The voice simply says, “Recalculating,” and calmly transitions to a new set of instructions.
I have a briefcase full of notes and ideas. I also have a package of sample music for our choir director. One of the conference supporters was JW Pepper Music, a supplier we often use for choir music. They have a store in Kansas City and put together packets of sample anthems for our group. We had a music reading session in which we sang through the new anthems to get a feel for them and think about how they might be used in worship. The music and notes will need to be sorted through and shared with our worship planning team. That can wait for a few days. I have plenty of regular business that will need my attention in the next couple of days. There are meetings tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, worship bulletins to prepare and a host of other activities that need attention when we get back in the office.
This morning I am thinking back on the experience, and not just on the events of the conference. Every time I travel, I discover unique and interesting things about this wonderful world and the amazingly diverse people who populate it. There are plenty of people memories to sift and sort as I think of our time.
It was, of course, wonderful to see our daughter and son-in-law. We got to see them both on Saturday and on Sunday. We were able to share dinner with them both days, so there was time to catch up a little. There was also time to meet their puppy, Zeus. We hadn’t met the dog, yet. I like dogs, and I enjoy the dog our daughter and son-in-law have chosen. But even more fun than the pets themselves, is the joy of watching our children interact with them. Pets demand responsibility, care and consistency from their owners. Our daughter and son-in-law are very responsible dog owners, walking their dog daily, training him, and attending to his vet care and proper feeding. The dog has a beautiful coat and is well behaved. Of course, as a puppy, he still needs regular feedback from his people, but he is a fortunate dog to have been adopted into such a home.
Sunday evening, the conference schedule ended early and we were free at dinner time to spend some time with Rachel and Michael, so we met them at a restaurant for dinner. Being so close to Kansas City meant that our choice was Barbecue. Kansas City is famous for Barbecue and the Kansas City style is excellent, emphasizing dry rubs for the meats, long, slow smoking and sauces served on the side or added after the meat is cooked. The meat was tender and delicious and melted in our mouths. It was tempting to eat more than we needed and we ended up taking a bit of our generous portions home to enjoy later.
Since I like airplanes, I did notice the airplane mounted to the roof of the building next door to the restaurant. It was a Piper Tomahawk, a basic two-seat trainer that was popular a few decades ago. This particular one had a fresh, new paint job, but I suspect that it had other major problems that prevented its use as a training airplane. So it has a new job as a static display on the roof of the building. Its job, no doubt, is to attract attention to the building. It works. I noticed it right away. I do not, however, remember what the purpose of the building is or what business is located in it. I think it might have been another restaurant. So much for effective advertising! Airplane nuts go for the plane. I can remember the make and model and color of the airplane. I just can’t remember what it was advertising.
In a little while, we’ll pack up our camper and head for home. Tomorrow’s blog will come from my home space and perhaps I can return to a routine of writing about the spiritual adventures of a pastor. Sometimes our real world adventures provide the context for spiritual growth and new connections with God.
It was a beautiful ending to a long and busy day. As an added treat our campground has lots of fireflies. Since we don’t have fireflies at home, they are a special treat for us.
The days of the conference have been long and very busy. With a few exceptions, the program ran from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. with breaks for meals, but little else. There were worship services, keynote presentations, workshops and more. Between events, we were busy networking with colleagues, rehearsing for worship and preparing workshop presentations. Even though I had done my workshop preparation before leaving for the conference, there were changes and adjustments that I made in response to the activities of the conference. I always like to add little references to other presentations of the conference and I wanted to customize the presentation after I learned more about the specific participants.
The drive up from Kansas City wasn’t too stressful once we had navigated out way through the city. We don’t do a lot of city driving these days, so we needed to be careful as we threaded our camper through the busy streets. The only small tragedy of the trip so far is that the left outside mirror was smashed yesterday. We discovered it when we got in the pickup to leave the church. I was able to get it adjusted and I can see through it, but it is filled with cracks and will need to be replaced. All of the cracks meant a bit of a distorted image and I had to get used to it right away to drive through the city and negotiate the freeway. In a pickup with a camper in the back, the outside mirrors are essential to safe driving.
No worries, however, we traveled safely from the city, guided by our GPS, which is even patient with detours and driver error. The voice simply says, “Recalculating,” and calmly transitions to a new set of instructions.
I have a briefcase full of notes and ideas. I also have a package of sample music for our choir director. One of the conference supporters was JW Pepper Music, a supplier we often use for choir music. They have a store in Kansas City and put together packets of sample anthems for our group. We had a music reading session in which we sang through the new anthems to get a feel for them and think about how they might be used in worship. The music and notes will need to be sorted through and shared with our worship planning team. That can wait for a few days. I have plenty of regular business that will need my attention in the next couple of days. There are meetings tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, worship bulletins to prepare and a host of other activities that need attention when we get back in the office.
This morning I am thinking back on the experience, and not just on the events of the conference. Every time I travel, I discover unique and interesting things about this wonderful world and the amazingly diverse people who populate it. There are plenty of people memories to sift and sort as I think of our time.
Sunday evening, the conference schedule ended early and we were free at dinner time to spend some time with Rachel and Michael, so we met them at a restaurant for dinner. Being so close to Kansas City meant that our choice was Barbecue. Kansas City is famous for Barbecue and the Kansas City style is excellent, emphasizing dry rubs for the meats, long, slow smoking and sauces served on the side or added after the meat is cooked. The meat was tender and delicious and melted in our mouths. It was tempting to eat more than we needed and we ended up taking a bit of our generous portions home to enjoy later.
In a little while, we’ll pack up our camper and head for home. Tomorrow’s blog will come from my home space and perhaps I can return to a routine of writing about the spiritual adventures of a pastor. Sometimes our real world adventures provide the context for spiritual growth and new connections with God.