Today was my first day back after about six weeks of study leave, vacation and off-site work. It was good to be back but also a little overwhelming. For whatever reason there seem to be a lot of pastoral visits that need to be done in the next week or two. I am not certain if this because there are actually more people in need of visitation than were after my last chunk of time off or if this because there wasn’t adequate pastoral care coverage while I was gone. Last time I was away for an extended period there were some administrative goofs so before I left this time I made sure all the various administrative Is were dotted and Ts were crossed. Since the administrative world ran smoothly in my absence it seems possible that I am simply noticing another set of issues that I need to figure out how to have addressed in future absences.

Either way it is good to be back. I am looking forward to a new program year. I think that both the congregation and I grew a lot last year and I hoping for a lot more growth this year.

A transcript of Peter Werbe’s interview with Utah Phillips was published in this month’s Industrial Worker. You can read it here. The interview is classic Utah. It is good to know that he went down swinging. Some of his last words were also some of the first of his I ever heard when I picked up one of his CDs back in mid-90s. Here’s the quote:

What is the working class? The working class is if you work for wages and you’ve got a boss, you’re the working class. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a college professor or a ditch digger. You’re in the working class and better be proud of it.

Something to remember… After all, only a handful people own the wealth of the world. Utah Phillips, presente!