Traveling Mercies

Saturday brings its own set of tasks to be done, but it also gives me a chance to write about the last few days. Early Thursday morning I began a four and a half hour trip to Spartanburg for the trustee meeting at Spartanburg Methodist College. The beautiful, sunny day certainly served as a reminder of God's creative goodness. It also reminded me of my responsibility to be a good steward of this. It is almost overwhelming when one thinks of all the issues in this realm. However, each of us is guilty of conspicuious consumption of natural resources. Conservation and recycling matters must be addressed by all. How should we do this in the life of the church?

The Board of Trustees had a good meeting. Construction of a new dorm has begun, pre-enrollment figures for fall look good, the one million dollar challenge grant has been met, and new degree explorations continue. One concern is maintaining a Board of Trustees that will meet the needs of SMC as current trustees rotate off the board. One challenge has been that The Discipline requires that 60% of the trustees of our church related institutions be United Methodists. It is also interesting to note that only 14% of the revenue comes from the United Methodist Church. As I become more fully aware of the role that this school makes in the lives of its students, I am honored to be able to serve as a trustee.

I stayed in Columbia Thursday evening with my grandson, William. It is hard to believe that he is nearly three years old. We enjoyed playing with blocks and reading books. I was most impressed with his mastery of so many nursery rhymes. His world is about to change as a baby brother in due the end of March. His loving nature will certainly make him a good big brother.

On Friday I met with my clergy covenant group in Florence. We focus our gatherings on issues that are the emerging and facing the church of the 21st century. This time we tried to broaden our understanding of Islam, especially the similarities and differences with Christianity. Our discussion revealed that we are woefully ignorant of how Islam is making a large impact on the world in a variety of ways. As always, this is good time spent with my collegues. We share and explore thoughts and concerns about our ministry in an open and honest manner. This is important to our continued understanding of our ministry.

As I traveled to the beach on Friday afternoon (with a large number of other folks) I realized that I was truly headed for home. There certainly was a sense of mercy and grace present as I turned into my driveway. God is good.