{"id":1912,"date":"2007-06-20T14:23:00","date_gmt":"2007-06-20T14:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days\/"},"modified":"2011-11-01T15:15:40","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T19:15:40","slug":"ministry-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html","title":{"rendered":"Ministry Days"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><a href=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rnlzy4jkXPI\/AAAAAAAAAOA\/ZGIJ7TxFjfU\/s1600-h\/barbara+pescan.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rnlzy4jkXPI\/AAAAAAAAAOA\/ZGIJ7TxFjfU\/s400\/barbara+pescan.jpg\" border=\"0\"><\/a>Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist suggested it\u2019s likely a torn ligament, but won\u2019t know for sure \u2019till I get the MRI, which won\u2019t happen \u2019till I get back to Newton in a couple of weeks\u2026)<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>Without a doubt in my mind the highlight of Minister\u2019s Days at General Assembly are the sermonettes given by a representative of those ministers ordained twenty-five years ago and one from those ordained fifty years ago. It says something about my tenure, perhaps, that I actually know, if not as well as I might like, both speakers.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Barbara Pescan is senior minister of our congregation in Evanston, Illinois. I find her wickedly funny, with an eye that misses nothing. She\u2019s also, in my opinion, wise. (Probably not insignifantly, she has a significant <a href='https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/library\/buddhism' target='_blank'>Buddhist<\/a> wash to her thinking) All of which taken together, obviously, makes her dangerous. She gave the twenty-five year talk. And the fifty came from Carl Scovel, minister emeritus of King\u2019s Chapel, our strange (and in UU circles that\u2019s saying something) hybrid congregation on Beacon Hill in Boston that, as they say of themselves, is theologically Unitarian, organized Congregationally, and is liturgically Anglican. While I often disagree around the edges with Carl\u2019s reflections, I always come away from hearing him thinking I\u2019ve been in the presence of genuine sanctity. So, strangeness upon strangeness, I\u2019ve just come away from a gathering of UU clergy feeling I just heard a saint speak.<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>That alone should make a person want to lay down for a minute. So, I\u2019m going to rest the ankle a bit and then back into the fray\u2026<\/div>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/33904114-5947288691177771767?l=monkeymindonline.blogspot.com\" alt=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist suggested it\u2019s likely a torn ligament, but won\u2019t know for sure \u2019till I get the MRI, which won\u2019t happen \u2019till I get back to Newton in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Ministry Days<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ministry Days\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Monkey Mind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-06-20T14:23:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-11-01T19:15:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rnlzy4jkXPI\/AAAAAAAAAOA\/ZGIJ7TxFjfU\/s400\/barbara+pescan.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Ford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html\",\"name\":\"Ministry Days\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2007-06-20T14:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-01T19:15:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb\"},\"description\":\"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ministry Days\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/\",\"name\":\"Monkey Mind\",\"description\":\"Easily distracted...\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb\",\"name\":\"James Ford\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James Ford\"},\"description\":\"James Ishmael Ford is a writer and spiritual director. He has been authorized as a teacher within two traditional Zen lineages. James has washed dishes, assisted a crab fisherman on the Florida keys, worked in bookstores up and down the California coast, and served as a Unitarian Universalist parish minister. He currently lives with his spouse Jan and her mother in Los Angeles. His next book the Intimate Way of Zen is due from Shambhala Publications in July, 2024.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.emptymoonzen.org\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Ishmael_Ford\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/author\/jamesford\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ministry Days","description":"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ministry Days","og_description":"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html","og_site_name":"Monkey Mind","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029","article_published_time":"2007-06-20T14:23:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-11-01T19:15:40+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/_niPwTW3rBbU\/Rnlzy4jkXPI\/AAAAAAAAAOA\/ZGIJ7TxFjfU\/s400\/barbara+pescan.jpg"}],"author":"James Ford","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Ford","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html","name":"Ministry Days","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website"},"datePublished":"2007-06-20T14:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-11-01T19:15:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb"},"description":"Just back to the hotel for a breather and to rest my ankle, which has decided to compete with my back for making me feel my age. (The orthopedist","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/2007\/06\/ministry-days.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ministry Days"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/","name":"Monkey Mind","description":"Easily distracted...","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/3f37f475fb5078d1e7faa93a63a0fddb","name":"James Ford","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fa18971b225a3bb79f0c4c381a5fae20?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"James Ford"},"description":"James Ishmael Ford is a writer and spiritual director. He has been authorized as a teacher within two traditional Zen lineages. James has washed dishes, assisted a crab fisherman on the Florida keys, worked in bookstores up and down the California coast, and served as a Unitarian Universalist parish minister. He currently lives with his spouse Jan and her mother in Los Angeles. His next book the Intimate Way of Zen is due from Shambhala Publications in July, 2024.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.emptymoonzen.org","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/james.ford.1029","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_Ishmael_Ford"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/author\/jamesford"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1912\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/monkeymind\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}