Wisconsin

Had two beautiful days. Drove up to Milwaukee to do an address on confessing Christ to athiests at University of Wisconsin last night. Got to meet Vicar Rockrohr (I already knew his mom and dad, nice to meet this promising young man!). Caught up briefly with several acquaintances (Tirzah, Gary and Susan, Nathan, Katherine and Jerry's family). This morning before I left, was privileged to join in Matins, sung in the Baptismal Chapel at Luther Memorial. What a beautiful church! The nave is filled with stained glass proclaiming key events of OT history, the life of our Lord, and the history of the Church. I was suprised and delighted to see images of Sts. Boniface, Ansgar and Bernard. Vicar led a sung Matins (though only five of us were gathered) and led it very well. We sang the liturgy, chanted the Psalm, sang the hymn, and singing Benedictus was (as Sharilyn observed long ago) like welcoming an old friend. Vicar read to us from 1 Corinthians 11 and also a wonderful bit from the Larger Catechism. I headed home in good spirits and decided to give a full listen to Bach's Epiphany Day Mass (thank you, Pr. Jay Webber) and then to Schütz's Christmas Vespers. The sun streamed in the car - not a cloud in they sky. Woody Wisconsin gave way to the fields of Illinois, being harvested. It was truly a joyous trip!