Quiet Day

Today was our Spring Quiet Day, in addition to being Maundy Thursday. What is Quiet Day you ask? Well, the day is a requirement for all students, and most of the faculty show up as well. Picture this: You get up in the morning and go to a convent. You have morning prayer and you hear someone give a talk. After the talk, you sit and meditate or journal or read the Bible for an hour. Then you hear another talk, meditate, maybe eat some lunch, have another short prayer service, and keep repeating this pattern until the day is finished. Did I mention that nobody except the guest speaker talks for the whole day?

What a battery charger! For starters, I got to wear my pajamas, a pair of bunny slipper-socks and my Birkenstocks. I took my over-sized pillow so I didn't have to sit on the floor, and the fleece Packer blanket my mother-in-law made for Matthew. Other people were there in their "comfort clothes," blankets, one person even brought a sleeping bag! Any day that I get to wear pajamas all day is a good day!

The three talks were interesting, but really the best part was time set aside to just sit and meditate. I really enjoyed just sitting and not feeling guilty about all the work I have to do. Any school that has a required day to sit and be quiet for a while is good in my book!

The Bishop is Coming! The Bishop is Coming!

Wow, what a couple of weeks! We were on Spring Break two weeks ago, and my Bishop was in town last week.

Spring Break was kind of a bust. I had so many papers due that I spend the whole week writing and doing research. The nice thing was I got to sleep in, and when I took a break from my work, I could go into the living room and Matthew was there to hang out with me. (He had Spring Break too!) There's nothing like sharing Daily Show Reruns at 1:00 in the afternoon with your loved one to perk you up! :) The good news is I got all my work done in time for the Bishop's visit.

I think it's official now. Fond du Lac has the coolest Bishop ever. Bishop Russel E. Jacobus was our Bishop-In-Residence at Sewanee last week, and we just had a great time. He was a big hit with my classmates, and even showed his support by attending a concert put on by Shrimp Boots, a seminary band. He sat in on some classes, met with some students and faculty, and participated in a community forum about church politics. Here's what some students have said...
"Your Bishop is so cool."
"We don't share the same political views, but even so, I would work for him in a heartbeat."
"He is so pastoral."
"I would work for him if I could handle the weather in Wisconsin!"
"He has such a cool name!" (I didn't make that one up!)
and on and on...
So...
Thank you to Bishop Jacobus for a great visit. We're all looking forward to seeing you again next year!