Finding True North #17: Back to Normal

Having had one "normal" week in Indy and then one made crazy by Annual Conference and sermon prep, I'm not really sure what it means to go back to normal, but theoretically that's what I'm doing this week.

Today I got to church about an hour early (I usually arrive at 9:00 for morning prayers). I went to the chapel (a lovely space), did a little work, played some piano and journalled. I should make a habit of doing that. I had gotten into a good schedule of quiet time at home in the mornings my first week here, but that got so disrupted last week I'm not sure I could get back to it. And being in a space like that for some centering time is really helpful to me as a person for whom aesthetics and place are important spiritually.

I spent a good bit of time after prayers working on a new website for Lockerbie Central. Brenda had started on one using Weebly, an online content management system that lets you build sites from templates. I had fun working on the layout and organization of the site, setting up a Facebook page we'll theoretically get out there once the website is done, etc. My one semester of computer science in undergrad sparked an interest in web design for me, so even when I'm bootlegging it, I really enjoy it. Beyond the technical stuff, it's fun to think about how to tell a story and give people remote access to a community or idea or organization.

Kevin (um, Rev. Armstrong?) picked me up mid-morning to go to a meeting of the advisory board for the Spirit and Place Festival, an annual event in Indianapolis exploring the intersection of the arts, humanities and religion. Spirit and Place is a project of The Polis Center, IU School of Liberal Arts, and IUPUI. This year's program is centered around the theme of "The Body." It was an interesting group of people with some pretty creative ideas, and I wish I could be here in November to check it out. Here's a video that gives a sort of commercial for the event in general:



One thing I'm really growing to appreciate about Kevin is his engagement with the community and the city of Indianapolis. He is very much in touch with what's going on in civic life and works to be both a voice and a listening ear for faith in the midst of things.

Tonight I went to choir rehearsal, partly because it was their last practice before the summer schedule kicks in but mostly because I'm singing a solo Sunday. It's a beautiful arrangement of "I Surrender All" to a new tune by Steve Potts. It's lovely.

Now I am going to go read. I was doing so well my first week here with reading, and it's time to get back on the bandwagon.