We had a nice weekend. After C’s swimming lessons on Saturday, we put on all the snow clothes one last time and headed to Suburban Lake Park, just to see what conditions were like. R and I decided not to wear snow pants, though we took several up-to-our-knee footsteps in the deep snow around the playground. Each kid made a trip down the tube slide, which was the only part of the playground without snow on it. It’s so shady over there that it’s gonna be weeks before it all melts.

Then we walked around on the big open field, which was easier. We bounced on a tree that had fallen over, found some long-thin tracks from cross-country skis, and collected some of the sweet little pine branches that were strewn about from the winds. It was so quiet. Afterward we went to McD’s.

That afternoon R completed phase II of the beer-brewing, namely the bottling. This went very smoothly and he’s already planning his next batch. I’m happy that he’s so excited about this new hobby. It definitely plays to his strengths as a cook—he’s patient and meticulous. Wild and innovative has its place, but when you’re starting out with beer, best stick to the formula.

Yesterday morning was the first Sunday of Lent, and we had a good crowd in worship. Ran out of bulletins again. (OK, I think we’re just not making enough.) We had 57 in worship yesterday, which was the first day we actually kept count. According to our stats, we averaged 35 in worship in 2008, not sure about 2009. It’s not unusual for an interim period to be depressed in energy or turnout, but with a church as small as ours, you really feel those fluctuations. So people are very energized.

Yesterday was also my installation as pastor of Tiny Church. I had to remind myself that many members of the church, especially the long-term ones, may have never experienced this ritual—my predecessor was there almost 30 years. It was a really wonderful service. A friend of mine from my clergy group preached, and not only was it a great sermon, I fell in love with her robe (a href=http://www.womenspirit.com/ProductDetails.aspx?CATID=1&PID=3>this one in white) and think I’ve finally picked the one that I want. (I am using a hand-me-down Geneva gown right now, and when I left Suburban Pres they told me to pick out a new one and it would be their gift to me.)

My predecessor was also a part of the service. He’s been such a great support from afar and I liked the symbolism of his being there. We did a reaffirmation of baptismal covenant, which felt very powerful to me—reaffirming our baptism connects us with our past and our future.

An elder from Suburban Pres. charged the congregation, one of my Writing Revs charged me, and I was gratified by the turnout, including Speck (another friend from Suburban), and several friends from National Crankypants. I was prepared for a very small presbytery turnout since there was a multi-hour meeting the previous day—this made people’s presence even more special.

As R put it last night, “This church really has its ‘food’ act together.” I couldn’t agree more. Yummy food and plenty of it—and it’s all that great stuff you want from a church reception. The meatballs were a huge hit, especially with my kids.

This morning I was excited to get an e-mail from my sister, who lives near Disney. One of the Tiny Church families is down there right now with Make-a-Wish, and we had given them my sister and brother-in-law’s contact information. They are great at helping people plan their visit for maximum fun. They also had offered to babysit the kids while the parents went out one night. Here is what K wrote to me:

D [BIL who works for Disney] e-mailed his managers to see if there was anything extra they could do. He was thinking maybe they would give them the photopass CD for free or something, but they really went above and beyond. His manager e-mailed a bunch of the managers at the parks to see what could be done. One of the managers met them at the Dream Along with Mickey show (which is a show on the stage in front of the castle). After the show, he took them in the castle where they got to have a private meet and greet with all of the cast of the show, including Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Goofy, Peter Pan and Wendy, Cinderella and Prince Charming, Sleeping Beauty and Prince Philip, and Snow White and her Prince. This freaked J out a little, but everyone else loved it I think they also gave them a special meet and greet with the Star Wars characters and gave J a signed light saber. [The mother] had already planned to do a dive at the Epcot aquarium, so they arranged to have a photographer there to photograph her experience.

It’s really cool because it took a large number of people to work together and coordinate this, not to mention all the entertainers who took the time after finishing the shows to stay and greet the family. Anyone who wonders why I love Disney so much… it’s because of things like this! D talked to one of the team on Friday night and was telling him how thankful we were, and they were saying how thankful they were to be involved.

The kids stayed with us tonight while L and B had dinner with some friends. The kids are so sweet. We had a great time.

I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. This is the family I’ve written about before, that lost the little boy a week after I arrived at Tiny. I am a big believer in commissioning people for mission trips, and I had had this silly idea to ‘commission’ this family for their Disney adventure in worship or during coffee hour. Because if anyone needed a week of magic, it’s them. I wanted to give them Mickey ears and stuff… then the blizzard happened. Oh well. But I am so thankful for Disney, which yes, is a multi-national corporation, but they are also a ministry. This I believe.

This morning I went to visit a woman in the hospital and I checked my mailbox and found Carrie Newcomer’s latest album! I had ordered in a gift pak along with a T-shirt and moleskine journal embossed with a CN quote. I gave the CD to the woman in the hospital, who was so tickled. I love introducing people to her music.

Time to go pick up C from the bus stop!