Ugh

Ugh. Ever since Thanksgiving there have been small and big things about which I have said, "I/We will deal with that AFTER I/we get through Advent and Christmas. Well, Advent and Christmas are over as well as my post-Christmas travels and now all of those things are prowling around me like a bunch of hungry tigers.

One of the more friendy tigers is the upcoming annual pulpit exchange with the Temple in town. Their rabbi will preach at our church the last Sunday of this month and I will preach at the Temple the first Friday of February. In addition, the two congregations have challenge one another to a friendly competition to see which group can collect the most bags of canned goods for the local food bank during the month leading up to the exchange. When I suggested this, our Interfaith Relations Committee agreed, but warned me that the Temple would beat the pants off us as they are larger and better organized. Our folks have been responding well, but I've made sure that each announcement about the challenge includes language on the order of, "It's not really about beating the Temple, it's about providing food for hungry people."

Yesterday as we unloaded the car after a Costco run, my daughter and I were setting aside the canned goods we had purchased to be our contribution to the effort. As she stacked up the cans of soup and tuna, my daughter said, "It's not all about beating the Temple, but we still WANT to."

Right.