Ah, the vagrancies of life here in PresbyLand… it seems (although currently, at 8 am, I’m the only staff person here in Women’s Ministries yet to know it) that the entire computer network has crashed. No Internet, no e-mail, no access to network files. And this would be bad on any occasion, but it is pure hell when we’re literally a week out from the start of General Assembly. A network crash should be treated like a snowstorm or a tornado—we should just all stay home, because it is almost impossible to be productive for eight hours with crippled technology. Maybe I can clean my office this afternoon….

I’ve been a terrible blogger this week, already missing two days! You’ll have to forgive me, as things have been pretty hot around here with interviews, General Assembly, and the Leadership Event. And in case you’re wondering, registration for the Leadership Event is STILL OPEN. Not only would we welcome you to the event at this point, but we might even shed tears of joy.

But I have to admit that I wasn’t blogging yesterday because I was playing croquet at my favorite corporate function of the year, the All-Staff Picnic. Yes, it’s that time of year again, the one where someone “up there”—no, not God, just Executive Director John Detterick—reminds us what a privilege it is to stare at a computer screen all day for Jesus.

Now, I went to this function for the same reason that I will be certain to attend the same John Detterick’s retirement party this afternoon: the food is fabulous at these things. And the more involvement from on high, the better the spread. I’m hoping the retirement, for instance, will have the wonderful cheese ball plate that they only serve on special occasions. Yesterday’s picnic included a chocolate fountain, and the potato salad was definitely above average.

Yet it was the other part of the picnic that fascinates me. For those of you who have entered the trenches of corporate America, perhaps you know what I’m talking about. The theme of the picnic this year was “It’s a Jungle Out There,” (with implications about the larger church, perhaps, hee hee?) and so all of my colleagues were running around with elephant masks, vixen-Halloween-costume tiger ears, and safari hats. Little blow-up lions decorated our picnic tables.

I love it—what other time of the year would Detterick solicitously compliment the Associate for Native American Congregational Enhancement on her tiger costume? When would Women’s Advocacy Associate Molly Casteel and I play a round of croquet?? When else would you watch respected colleagues do the Electric Slide? And at what other time do we have sno-cones? In the rain?

Ah, staff picnic, I’ll miss you.

“Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother’s womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything.” --Ecclesiastes 11:5

Kelsey

PS—Come to find out, the awful network shut down was just a loose cable on my own computer… crisis averted. That’s why I should stop coming in so early!! Arrgh!

We had our company carnival yesterday too - complete with a dart-balloon toss and other games, cotton candy, and sno-cones. However, I think yours sounds like more fun!