Wedding Butterflies and the Mystery of the Stole Solved!

It's finally that time...we made it to August and the week of the wedding!  All of this planning is done (special thanks to Mom!), the alterations are made, the cake is ordered, and everyone is making their travel plans to get to Knoxville!  Meanwhile, my calendar is quickly filling up.  I have been asked to preach on August 24th, the Sunday after the wedding.  Then I am teaching a Sunday school class the week after that, and in between there are tons of meetings, a conference in Indy, dinner invitations, an ice cream social, a covenant group meeting, and a Colts game to go to!  We are becoming very busy.  And Corey has a job interview at a church here in Terre Haute tomorrow night.  My Sunday school class and Bible study start in September, and that is only the beginning of stuff that is going to be happening!  I could go on and on.  And to think that a few weeks ago I was complaining that there wasn't enough to do.  I knew that this day would come, and I'm already getting a little overwhelmed!  One thing at a time!

Another random thing that happened since my last post is that I got into a conversation with the head pastor recently about who is "able" to wear a stole or not in the ordination process.  For some reason or another, I was always told that one is not to wear a stole during worship until he/she is fully ordained an elder by the bishop.  So I always just thought that was a rule that I, as a probationary elder, should follow.  I did have one stole that I wore the Sunday that I was preaching and presiding at the communion table.  It just seemed right that I should wear it.  But nonetheless, I've only been wearing the silver cross around my neck with the proper church year color string on it every other Sunday (that I received when I was commissioned) just because I simply didn't think I was supposed to be wearing a stole.  Are other people with me on this?

Anyway, the head pastor recently asked me if the red stole is the only one I have, and I told him yes...and I got the feeling he was trying to ask me why I never wore a stole, and I told him this "rumor."  The look on his face was priceless.  He was so baffled by this idea that he actually called the head of the Board of Ordained Ministry while I was standing there to inquire about this!  And the answer we got was that yes, probationary elders may wear a stole while leading worship and there has not been a rule against this as far as he knew.  So where did this idea come from?  It makes sense to a point, and a stole is a symbol of ordination, but I just didn't see what the big deal was.  Anyway, all of this to say that I ordered a beautiful green stole off of ebay that I will now wear during worship, and I have more colors coming in the mail in a few weeks.  This is exciting to me.  Yes, it's only a piece of fabric, but it is yet another reminder that I am serving God through the church and ministry, I am finally doing what I want to do...and the stoles are always pretty anyway :)

There has been lots going on- lots of exciting things.  Look for a post about the wedding and possibly a picture or two soon!