What I did on my summer vacation!

Well, if you follow at all you know I went to General Convention.  My reflections on that can be found on July 31st.  But after convention, and before our actual vacation, my family and I got to attend, and lead, Vacation with a Difference, at St. Andrew's House, our diocesan retreat center on Hood Canal.  We took up the Gospel According to Dr. Seuss and had a great time doing it.  It was a beautiful week and we were blessed to be there during the 103 record day and record heat week we had here in Seattle.  It was the right time to be there.  The week included discussion of the worth of all human beings (a person is a person no matter how small!-Horton hears a Who!), our environment (The Lorax), and the spirit of gift (How the Grinch Stole Christmas!).  We got to hike in the Olympic National Park, took an electric boat ride on the Hood Canal, and more than anything enjoyed one another, meeting new people from around our diocese.  Oh, by the way, St. Andrew's House has a new pool!!! YES, for real, it costs $11.99 and we were in it a lot!   We had so much fun we are planning it for next year.  July 25th-29th, 2010.  I hear that 60% who attended this year have signed up already. 

After that my family and I got to go to our yearly two week vacation.  We had fun at the beach and my son was certified as a scuba diver.  I have to tell you, when he was born 13 years ago I remember thinking that my scuba diving days were over.  So, it was just fabulous to be able to actually scuba dive with him and he is a natural! 

One of the things I love about vacation is getting to read, a lot.  Here is some of what I read.

A People's History of Christianity by Diana Butler-Bass.  A great historian, good writer, and a good friend, I was glad to finally get to read this.  She has done a wonderful job of weaving history with narrative and I felt totally sure of where I was in time while I read.  I loved the way she associated actual heroes of the faith with the time she discusses.  This would make an excellent book to follow with a book group, or Adult forum.   I highly recommend this book.

An American Apostle: The Life of Stephen Fielding Bayne, Jr.  Bayne was the third Bishop of Olympia and someone I had admired long before I ever dreamed I would be one of his successors.  It was good to read this book with time to reflect, and it brought many smiles to may face.  Bayne was known as serious, but also humorous and this was definitely evident in his writing.  I felt better reading about all he felt he had accomplished, but also all he felt he left undone. 

The Gospel According to U2: We get to Carry Each Other by Greg Garrett.  Greg is a former parishioner, and good friend.  I got to see him at General Convention when he hand delivered this book to me.  Greg is also followed very closely by the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Archbishop Rowan reads all of his books, and meets with him often.  In fact, when I greeted the Archbishop just before our joint appearance at GC, his first question was "how is our friend Greg?"  He had just finished Greg's latest novel and spoke about it with great interest.  This book is easily accessible, great for a study guide and built that way.  Greg actually met with U2, "back when" and he really mines the depths of their work and their Christian walk.

Then I got into my Ignatian quest! I read both What is Ignatian Spirituality? by David Fleming and Companions of Christ: Ignatian Spirituality by Margaret Silf. Both of these books discuss the history and story of Ignatius along with his exercises and a discussion of those.  I continue to be intrigued by this and intend to read more. I got to walk at least once a day, and sometimes two, an dmost of all just spend a lot of good time with my family.  

And now, I am back in the swing of things, glad to be home, and thankful for the time. 

Blessings,

+Greg

Comments

[Denise]

Time in the water and time to read--sounds like a great vacation to me! I found your blog because you mentioned Ignatian spirituality, a topic of great interest to me. May the blessings of vacation restfulness accompany you in the return to the regular swing of things.

[Term Papers]

I gotta hand it to whoever wrote this, you've really kept me updated! Now, let's just hope that I can come across another blog just as interesting :)

[Port Douglas hotels]

I love scuba diving, I love exploring under the sea. This is nice summer vacation its fun reading your blog.