The merry month of May. . . .

It's been a while, dear reader, since I posted any new posts here on my blogsite. As I mentioned, I considered that a year's time was what I came to plan for this blogsite to cover. But I also said that I'd contribute new postings occasionally.

Well, much has happened this month (my title is a phrase from song lyrics in a musical -- I want to say from "Camelot"). Especially this past weekend, in mid-May, has been very busy and eventful. Here is an account of some of the happenings.

Friday evening, the 18th, I attended the monthly gathering of the Northwest San Antonio (NWSA) Emmaus Fourth Day Group, or community. NWSA was the sponsoring FDG of the Walk to Emmaus, Men's #1327, on which I served as a clergy Team member last October. Getting to the church which hosted the gathering was something of an adventure. It's St. John's UMC on Bandera Road. I had wanted to ride the bus on Bandera Road from Loop 410 in, to Culebra, where there is an HEB store. On the way in I would look for the church (by a telephone call I had determined the general neighborhood), to know exactly where to get off the bus, then buy food to contribute to the gathering, at the HEB. But as time and the VÍA buses went, I ended up not being able to be on Bandera Rd. before buying the food and then taking the bus out toward Loop 410. And I missed setting eyes on the church! (It sits back from the road, and from the road isn't readily recognizable as a church.) So I ended up getting off the bus closer to the loop, and walking up a hill for half a mile to find the church. But it was worth the hike! The NWSA gathering was abundant with food, singing, and just the joy of the Lord! And I discovered that the current pastor (but soon to retire) is Kenneth Sellers. He was the Spiritual Director for both the first Walk to Emmaus AND the first Kairos Weekend on which I served as a Team member! (At that time he was a UMC pastor in Del Rio.)

Sunday evening was almost deja vu, as I attended the monthly gathering of my own Emmaus FDG, Care Bexar, at Bulverde UMC. But before I went there I went to Alamo Heights UMC for the Baccalaureate service for the Class of 2007 of Alamo Heights High School. The church was packed, like it was last year, for the AHHS Baccalaureate. The music, both congregational (including "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee", whose melody is basically Beethoven's Ode to Joy) and special (performed by the AHHS Varsity Choir), was uplifting. The message, given by the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, was inspiring. And I caught myself shedding a few tears for these young folks who are about to receive their diplomas. After all, I've known almost all of them thru subbing at the school, and I love them all.

There was a reception after the Baccalaureate, in the Christian Life Center of AHUMC. Since it would be a short while 'til my ride arrived I went in there, and looked around for the serving line. I noticed several people moving to the opening into the adjacent parlor, and I followed, thinking the parlor was where the refreshment table was. Wrong! They, mostly men and graduating boys, were gravitating into the parlor to watch the NBA playoff game on the big screen up in a corner! You see, while we had been worshipping with the graduates in the sanctuary, our Spurs were playing the first game of the Western Conference championship at home against the Utah Jazz. It was already well into the fourth quarter and our hometown "boys" were well ahead. With 20 seconds to go and the spurs leading by eight, I had to leave, to be ready for my ride to the Hill Country. Go, Spurs, go!

As I say, the Care Bexar Emmaus monthly gathering, up in the Hill Country in Bulverde, was almost deja vu of the NWSA gathering of Friday. Same abundant food, about the same number of people (150-200), same joyful spirit among frineds and brothers/sisters in Christ. The major differences were two: at Bulverde the gathering all took place in the church's gym (Friday we ate in St. John's UMC's fellowship hall and worshipped in the sanctuary), and instead of using the green-cover "Songs" book (it's the one by Johann Anderson, and is employed on Walks) the Bulverde rock band had lyrics projected onto the wall above them. I only knew one of the songs, and all the songs were very rock-music style, with Old Testament-inspired lyrics. I considered that it was more like a Jewish synagogue service, if those folks use rock music!

But I don't want to complain. The order of worship was pure Emmaus, and the Fourth Day speaker was very moving in her description of her spiritual journey and her love for the Bulverde church she'd found after her move to the San Antonio area. So what if the music was unfamiliar and not exactly Emmaus style? So what if the worship wasn't in the Bulverde UMC sanctuary with its breathtaking view of Cibolo Creek? I'm still very glad I was there! A monthly Emmaus gathering is ALWAYS a blessing! Thank God for Emmaus!