Friday Five: Looking Back, Looking Forward...

SingingOwl over at RevGals offers this New Year's Friday Five:

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions, but it does seem a good time for some reflection and planning. For the last few days I keep thinking of Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Among other things, that seems to say that reflection is in order if we want to learn and grow.

For some of us, this has been an incredibly difficult year; for others it has been a year of many joys. For all of us, there have been challenges and questions and there have been blessings and--maybe even an answer or two! As we say our goodbyes to 2010 and look towards 2011, share with us five blessings from 2010 along with five hopes or dreams for 2011.


So five blessings from 2010:
1. The road trip I took in May with my son from Phoenix, AZ north through Utah and east to Chicago. We spent several days with my father in Escalante and Bryce Canyon area. We drove the awesome loop of highway 12 that horseshoes through portions of southern Utah and the Grand staircase canyon land. Breath-taking. My many photos simply do not do justice to the beauty. But more than that it was just fun to be on this trip with my son and his dog.

2. The road trip I made to my friend M2, helping her drive her car and her cat to San Francisco. And spending a day in Truckee (near Lake Tahoe) and a day in San Francisco.

3. The WordsMatter Language Project Consultation that I helped plan and staff in Chicago, in August.
(Photo by David Skidmore)

4. Developing and writing the conversation guide for the WordsMatter project. Especially spearheading the project in the Episcopal Church, working with folks from the Church Center in NYC, with Kim Robey (chair of the Women for Justice Working Groups, which sponsored the initial language project), Ruth Meyers who chairs the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (who as my liturgy professor in seminary) and Jason Sierra, Campus and Young Adult Ministries, in Seattle. It's been a lot of fun, stimulating, thought provoking work with some great people.

5. The "Train the Trainer" event for the WordsMatter Language Project in the Episcopal Church, held in Seattle in early December. I met some awesome people, worked really hard as the primary trainer, and learned a lot. This train the trainer event was also an opportunity to review the "module" (or conversation guide) - so we were simultaneously training folks to use the guide and follow the process AND evaluating it. From that though I have rewritten the guide. One of the Seattle trainers edited it, and several others have proofread it. It is a much better document.

6. One more: in a few weeks the Episcopal Church Office of Communications will have an official "Launch" of the WordsMatter project with an organized PR push. My job the first two weeks of January is to work with the Office of Communications to get this organized. I've never done this before (at least not since my days working for a not-for-profit dance theater company, and even then I was on staff but not the primary PR person).

....and the workshops I led at Diocesan Convention, especially the "Green Worship." I did a lot of reading for that workshop, formulated a theology for Liturgical Environmental Stewardship and created a PowerPoint with some beautiful photos my husband and I took of Arizona and Utah.

And hopes for 2011:

1. More development of the WordsMatter project including additional training events and an on-line course.

2. Discerning my next call, once the WordsMatter project is fully launched.

3. Travelling to NYC the end of February to represent the Episcopal Church at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, where I will also lead a workshop on the WordsMatter Project. I am so excited!

4. Growing my hair out. So, this is a minor project - and one that at this stage of out-growth is very frustrating - but I hope I succeed in growing it long enough to put it in a pony-tail or a french twist...

5. I'll have to think....there are more hopes, just not bloggable ones...

Comments

altar ego said…
How exciting to be heading to New York soon! My own hope for your year is that it overflows with joy and blessings. Prayers continue.
Jan said…
You accomplished a lot in the past year and continue to have goals. Prayers and blessings in the new year.
This sounds like it has been a pretty good year for you, all in all. Happy New Year!
Anonymous said…
Once again I learn so much from you... joy and peace to you in the new year. :)
The Words Matter Project sounds so interesting! Blessings as you move onward in 2011. Stopping to pray for you about those goals, including the unbloggable ones. I have a few of those too. :-)
Wendy said…
Love your hope #3. How exciting!
angela said…
Your joys include so much of your work--I love how it melds into your personal goals too.

Blessings for a wonderful 2011!

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