Great news in the River City

The announcement was made today that Mayport Naval Station will be getting a nuclear air craft carrier based here, perhaps even the USS George Bush. This can bring nearly 3000 families to our area, and even though it's not close to Fleming Island at all, jobs is jobs! These people will be needing homes, food, clothing, schools, services of all shapes and sizes, and the economy will once again flourish! It's a blessed day!

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Sunday was also blessed, as I mentioned having a little chat with Caleb and receiving greetings from Chris in NC during a snow storm. For our Bible study period we spent time going through the new Supplement, practicing singing the psalms and new/old liturgies. It seems ages old liturgies were being re-introduced through the Christian Worship Supplement (CWS), all this being spelled out on the bottoms of the pages for historical reference. It is all so interesting to think about, knowing the monks may have chanted or sung these same refrains 500 years ago...Robbie, the maestro, jumped between the MIDI and the organ to help us learn the melodies.

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As part of worship, Robbie also sang the hymn solo, a single stanza, two-page Call to Worship from the CW. Immediately following the Words of Institution, the choir sang a communion hymn from the CWS and then went almost as a group to the Lord's table. A moving message in the stanzas and lovely refrain which the congregation joined in singing with us.

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After worship I had to talk to a couple people before they ran off and it certainly felt good to have my choir robe on once we stepped outside! Layers, thank the Lord for layers! Since I'd missed the Building Committee meeting Thursday, playing hookie by going to see "Seinfeld" instead, I had to catch up on what is and is not happening on the classroom building. Ugh! I should have been at the meeting.......Anyway, some of the members were on the job today, painting the walls, helping to move the project along so we can get some stuff into the rooms. It costs us a small fortune to have those two temporary trailers which have since grown roots, so the sooner we get then emptied, the better!

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It was my job to clean up after Holy Communion but both Emily and Debbie told me to take off, so I did! Judy J. waited around for me as I put a few of the items, the cloths and tables and carried the heavier things into the kitchen for Debbie. She uses a cane all the time now so has troubles carrying things without both hands available. Judy and I then headed over to Bob Evans Restaurant because she was hungry for comfort food. After a wait of 20 minutes or so, we were seated and placed our orders. Oddly, she didn't order any foods with mashed potatoes, which is what she was hungry for in the first place! My meal was meat loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, and guess what! I ate every morsel on my plate! Only one other time did that occur in recent history and that was also the meat loaf, but from Cracker Barrel that time. Must be the meat loaf! Not as good as Mom's but close, very close!

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On the way to church, I gave a call to B & B to schedule the move for Justin and Grove next weekend. The voice that answered certainly sounded like my Turkish friend, Saban, but there was not one understandable word of English from his phone to mine. I gave my name and telephone number, asking that Saban call me when he gets the message. About 20 minutes later before church started, Saban called me back and was apologizing right and left. Somehow or another he forgot and was speaking to me in Turkish, since he only got back here from there 2 days prior! We had a good laugh about that, especially after I told him I thought something was wrong with my telephone. I also told him I was only having him move Justin so soon because I wanted to see him again. I'd not seen Saban since he brought me my Turkish flag last fall, it bugged him that I had Greek stuff but no Turkish!