Before I leave...

It's the night before I leave and I am simultaneously thrilled, excited and nervous.  I am so very fortunate to have this opportunity and grateful for the love and support of my family and friends.  There is so much in the world to see, experience and share and the best way I know to do that is to jump right in.  In the next three weeks I will visit Turkey, India and Thailand with the hope of gaining some insight and perspective on these parts of the world and the people who live there.  I intend to share these experiences with my students  and anyone else who is interested (and maybe some people who are not...).  I believe in the inherent goodness of people.  I believe that in spite of differences in doctrine, ethnicity, nationality and spiritual orientation, there is a willingness to share our stories and to reach out to each other.

Even though I have worked as music director at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal church for the last twelve years, I have only experienced St. Michael's Sunday (the Sunday closest to September 29th) as a day for celebrating the victory of the archangel Michael over the dragon and the casting down of the legions of evil.  I have associated certain hymns and texts and even flowers known as "Michaelmas Daisies" with this day.  These flowers are actually Asters which bloom riotously in September, offering beautiful shades of purple and pink.  I also learned from my wife and others at church that fall term in England is referred to as "Michaelmas Term". Beyond that, I have never had the opportunity to explore the meaning of the season of Michaelmas.

Recently, while learning how to set up a blog, I learned through my cousin's wife Krista that the actual liturgical season of Michaelmas begins on the feast day of St. Michael (September 29th) and extends through Halloween.  It precedes All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd) and marks the "beginning of the end" of the liturgical year which will begin anew with Advent.  It is a season which not only celebrates harvest, but also acts of bravery, honor, justice and integrity. I don't now how many of these wonderful attributes can be associated with this trip and I am not sure any of them can, but I do know that I will approach this trip with a loving heart, hoping that I can work for the "greater good" in the world.  I intend, through this pilgrimage, to seek renewal and transformation through the experiences I am about to encounter and to share them.   I invite you to join me on my journey.