First the good news, and there's a bit of it. Some changes are coming to Casa Pastor: on November 2nd, I expect to be called as the permanent, or "settled," pastor of our little church. Early next year, if all goes well, we will finalize the adoption of Sissy and the little boy. And I have just inked a contract to write my first book, to be published in Spring 2010.
So there's three new roles I'm taking on: pastor, father, and author. Now, you might say, "But Dan, don't you already play those roles?" After all, I've been at Salem for two years now, the kids have been living with us for over a year, and I've written something like 4,000 pages since I started blogging in 2004.
But each of these facets is something like a minor miracle of consubstantiation. Just as getting married "changes everything" without taking away anything, each newly formalized role demands an intangible more. I won't be a foster father; I'll be a "real" dad. I won't be a transitional pastor; I'll be a "real" pastor. (As much of a real pastor as I ever am, anyway.) And, well, I won't be getting paid any more to write a book, exactly, but it will be published in a format that's in theory more durable than pixels on a screen.
Now that I stop to think about it, the more isn't intangible at all. I have to read a 40-page paper on Individualized Education Plans in order to complete my pre-adoptive training. God knows why; I just do. At the office, I have two committees to establish, extra worship services, and about twenty other things to do. And, well, the book will soak up ever as much time as I let it. You get the idea.
The bad news, then, is that I have to let something drop, and that something is Brothers and sisters,.
It isn't so much the time itself as a need for Sabbath time. I need a day away from my online duties. I need not to finish my Sundays racing to get something posted at the appointed time. More important, my family needs me. Even if it's just to tuck in the little boy and read the paper, that's giving something back to them.
My little prayer threads are one of the longest-running series at Daily Kos, second only to Cheers and Jeers, if I'm not mistaken. It started at a time when it was easy enough to keep track of the needs of the community, and when it was readily apparent that the community needed tending. As time has gone on and I've become more involved at Street Prophets and elsewhere, I've felt less able to keep up with those needs. It's time to turn over the work to the community itself. Sunday, December 28th will be my last night to post Brothers and sisters, but I hope the tradition of caring for one another will continue without me.
Pee Ess - I hate to do this, really I do, but if you're reading this, please recommend so that everyone can see the announcement. I seem to have picked a busy time to post.