“Just some notes on what is going on for me this summer.
Travel
Currently I am in the last leg of two weeks of travel: Tom and I went to Las Vegas for what turned out to be four days. We were keynote speakers at the National Assoc. of Lay Ministers Annual Conference. Tom also offered a workshop. I was also the keynote speaker in Louisville for the annual meeting of pastors and priests of that Diocese. Today I am traveling to suburban Washington for my nephew Jack’s graduation (from 8th grade) and tomorrow to Philadelphia for my cousin’s wedding on Saturday.
Other travels this summer:
– Boston for an appearance on “Catholic TV”
– Rochester, NY to speak to the clergy of the Diocese
– Milwaukee (same)
– Dallas to key note a conference on Stewardship
– San Francisco for a meeting with some people who are going to be helping us with book promotion.
Books
Rebuilt continues to do very well in national sales, and besides the promotion we are doing through our travel, it is also promoted on our web sites and many radio interviews we are doing around the country. I have grown to love radio interviews because I don’t have to travel anywhere and, inevitably, the questions end up being the same.
Our next book, Tools for Rebuilding is in the editorial process currently. At the end of June we will receive an edited version of it back, for final review. Meanwhile I am spending any free time I get editing the unedited version, so that when we get the text back I am ready to go. At that point we will only have two weeks to make any recommendations for further edits (of which I will have quite a few). Tom and I will spend the final days before the deadline, painstakingly going line-by-line and word-by-word through the whole text. This book is somewhat shorter and vastly simpler than Rebuilt so hopefully that process will be simpler as well.
The book will be released on November 25 and, in another piece of good news, Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston has agreed to provide the cover endorsement (a nice parallel to Cardinal Dolan’s endorsement for Rebuilt).
Speaking
We just finished up this final series of the regular season, Comparison Trap. The next three weeks will be devoted to the Church and the next generation, two of those weeks Chris Wesley will be speaking, in summer mode (i.e., after Mass) and a third week we will have a guest speaker.
After that we’ll be kicking off our second summer series, called “Plunge” all about the exciting life of faith we can be living, as baptized Christians. Tom will be offering this message. The third summer series will focus on the Psalms, and mostly I will be offering these messages.
Meanwhile, of course, we’ll be preparing for the fall message series.
Summer Projects
We always take the opportunity the summer affords, because of less programs and services and lighter crowds on weekends, to get some stuff done around the campus. Two goals this summer: create more parking capacity, and more seats inside. We are also going to be rearranging some of our children’s spaces, so that we can grow “kidzone” and “All Stars.” One thing we do every summer, and one of my favorite things to do, is get a dumpster and clean out closets, cupboards, and other places where junk tends to hide. Moving into the fall, we want to be unencumbered by stuff we don’t need.
Vacation
As is my usual custom, I will be going to Avalon, New Jersey for two weeks in July. I stay with my sister and nephew, and during the week it is mostly quiet, plenty of opportunity for reading and writing. On the weekends, any number of family and visiting friends descend on the house, which is fun.
Summer 2013: It’s here and it will be over before we know it.
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