Wuf. March certainly started with a bang! I’m sorry for the lack of activity here on the blog for the last two and a half weeks. By now most everyone knows that Father Ed had a heart attack, requiring the emergency placement of four stents. He is came back home the Sunday before Ash Wednesday and has been steadily recovering since. The day after that, I came down with some variant of the flu and was laid up with a fever for the first half of the week. Though that broke mid-morning on Ash Wednesday (happy Lent!), neither of us were in any condition to, you know, do priestly things!

Happily, Father Gali and our three deacons were ready and eager to pick up the slack, with Father covering the east region and our three deacons covering the central and west regions – one of them starting off in Port Angeles, immediately setting out for Clallam Bay afterwards and then Forks. Thanks to all of their efforts, Ash Wednesday services were offered at all five of our churches. Truly, we were – and are – blessed by their generous efforts.

Having (mostly) recovered by the end of Wednesday, I left town for several days for a long-planned vacation with my family: the 2025 Emerald City Comic Con. I’ve been going to ECCC since 2014, but my family – from whom I received my geekery – was quick to jump on the bandwagon. In fact, everyone except me dresses up in some kind of cosplay. This year my dad dressed up as The Mask from Jim Carrey’s movie of the same name, my mother went as a Starfleet commander (her jacket made by the excellent Volante Design, a Christmas gift from the rest of us!) and my brothers each had their own Star trek uniforms to go with. My clerics provide enough conversation – and delight at the realization that priests, too, are part of many fandoms! – that I just go as myself.

Of course, comic cons are also about meeting other geeks – including those from our normal lives. Several parishioners from a previous parish (you know who you are!) are themselves regular at ECCC – and quite adept at cosplay! Each year they coordinate their costumes, choosing a shared fandom and then each creating their own outfit. Truly, truly impressive – and fun to just catch up with old friends!

One of the highlights of these things is getting to meet artists and authors. Some of them are pretty well known, like Travis Hanson, creator of Life of the Party and Nathan W. Pyle, creator of Strange Planet. Others are more indie, such as The Paleo Press, where I found some gifts for my dinosaur-obsessed nephews. Still others are more well-known (at least within their respective fandoms), such as Elderwood Academy, which is usually where my bank account reminds me that I am, in fact, not made of money to purchase  – though boy howdy did the build-your-own Dungeon Journal catch my eye! If only I had a local tabletop RPG group to justify investing in such things…..

Another treat is the opportunity to see – or even meet (for a price!) – actors from your favorite movies and/or television series. This year I was excited to be able to attend the panel of the 20th anniversary reunion of (most of) the cast of Firefly and the panel of some of the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Its fun to see the actors behind some of my favorite characters and hear about their experiences, thoughts, and insights. Incidentally, the Firefly panel and the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds panel are both free to watch online, if you’re interested.

But perhaps you didn’t visit the blog today to read about geeky things (though seriously, you knew what you were getting into when you clicked in, right!?). Certainly these last couple weeks of Lent have been packed back home in our parish family. Just this last Sunday we celebrated the Penitential Rite for two of our candidates. Next Sunday will be the first Scrutiny for our catechumens, followed by the second & third as well as the presentations of the Our Father and the Creed between those. And on Laetare Sunday, we will be celebrating the reception into full communion of one of our candidates – and possibly the confirmation of a parishioner….all of this before we even reach Holy Week.  …..is it too soon to start planning my next vacation?!? 😉

In all seriousness, Lent is one of my favorite times of year. The season has it all – amazing liturgies, penitential practices, and upcoming joyful celebrations, all steeped in centuries of mysticism & tradition that have developed over 2000 years of Christian faith! Though not everyone can go to a comic convention (and surely not everyone wants to!), we can all enter into these forty days with the Lord in preparation of His Passion, death, and resurrection. Is it busy? Absolutely! But it is grace-filled, and I hope you, too, are enjoying some of the fruits of this season.