Time Off

I am really anticipating the return of my Senior Pastor. The work has not been that much harder. It is doing the work without the authority to back it up that has been stressful and not having any time off.

Today was my day off for instance, I had scheduled month's ago to do a Eucharist Service at a local retirement home. Way before I had any idea my SP would be on a leave of absence. So I did it. Then a call came about a man very sick in the hospital that wanted an actual pastor and not one of my lay chaplains. Which is very suspicious......I believe that was more the church administrators doing than than the sick mans (He was very surprised that I was the one that showed up, hmmmm).

This leads to my other point. I know that I am fairly easy going, but she (church administrator) has been a tremendous pain in the butt. First, I understood she was nervous at the shift in authority from the SP to myself. But this has gone on long enough she should know that I'm not out to do her job. Hell, I can barely keep up with all that I have to do.

Everything is an argument with her. She even argued with me over the proper way to do a Confirmation.......this was just over one of the kids I was confirming out of the 13. She thought that I should use the kids nickname and I disagreed. I'm just sick of everything being an argument.

Another example, gifts for the confirmands. Such a stupid thing to worry about, but they couldn't (at the last minute) find 13 crosses. So they bought crosses for the boys and bookmarks for the girls. Now I'm sure they were wonderful bookmarks, but there is just something wrong with hanging a cross on the neck of the boy and handing the girl a bookmark. So I refused to do give them out during the actual service. I was accused of being a feminist with "issues". Damn, I guess I am, but it really isn't a bad thing in my book. I did take great offense to the "with issues" portion of the conversation, however.

The funny thing is the very next day. I was on a two-day mission trip and a dentist told my daughter that she was physically too small to become a surgeon and should consider becoming an optometrist. So too small to be a surgeon but she can sell glasses and contacts. You can't tell me that sexism is a thing of the past.

So all this started with the notion that I need a day off and I do. Next week in Annual Conference, so no time off. My SP is due back on July 4th and on July 11th I leave for my D.Min. seminar. No time off there.

Tomorrow, I get to drive for four hours with my daughter to pick up her best friend. I guess that constitutes time off. Trust me, this will not go on much longer, I will take care of myself.