"Happy Birthday, Dr. Strangelove . . ." (or, How I stopped worring and learned to love The Blog)

I just realized that an important milestone has passed unnoticed.

Well, it's important to me, anyway. Amazing, actually.

On June 1, 2006, I posted my first entry on this blog.

A year ago, I thought a blog was something only a politician or bone fide celebrity or journalist kept. I mean who would be interested in anything I had to say - except, perhaps, some of my friends and parishoners?

This blog actually came into being at the suggestion of my Parish Administrator. General Convention in Columbus, OH was fast approaching. Randy thought it would be a great to share my daily journal entries with my Wardens, Vestry and congregational members as I had done in Minneapolis three years earlier.

At that time, I would send my entry to my Wardens who would send it to the Vestry, who would send it to various members. By the time I got back home, copies of my journal entries were flying all over Chatham. I was fascinated at the real hunger there was for "on the ground" information about the goings-on of General Convention.

A blog seemed like a great idea. I just had to log on, post my entry, and anyone from my congregation could check in. Randy set it up for me, gave me a few basic instructions and I was off and running.

This sounds ridiculous now, but then, I had absolutely no idea - no idea whatsoever -what I was getting into.

The first time someone from outside my congregation responded to something I wrote, I sat there, staring at my computer in stunned silence for a full minute. How did that happen, I wondered? What was someone in Australia doing reading the blog I was writing for people in Chatham?

I had no idea how it all worked.

There have been some interesting moments, some memorable ones, and some I'd just as soon forget - but can't, because, well, there they are - out in the open for everyone to read.

I've made some wonderful friends I've never met but know more about than some people I've seen on a daily basis for years.

It's still all a mystery to me - about as deep a mystery as The Trinity.

So, on that note, I'll close this entry with a story, apocryphal, no doubt, about the shortest sermon about the Trinity ever preached:

Seems the tired, old Anglican preacher got into the pulpit, pulled out the Book of Common Prayer and turned to the Historical Documents section and read this from the Creed of Athanasius:

"The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The whole damn thing, incomprehensible. Amen."

My feelings on The blog, exactly.

I have no idea how it started and no idea when it will end. As long as I keep having a good time and no one gets hurt, how long this will go on is, well, incomprehensible.

Amen.