Days Off:

Straight AheadFridays are my days off. Saturdays are not technically days off; but I don't keep office hours and usually don't go over to the church. I take care of any unfinished sermon work, have no set schedule, but always am available to do any visitation, go to hospitals, or do anything necessary in emergencies. (Sometimes on Fridays, there are wedding rehearsals; and of course, I will certainly take care of critical situations--but they have to be truly critical.) I don't usually take work on vacations, though I'm usually ready with my Braillewriter or other necessary items to make notes of thoughts, any reading I may do, or information that might come in handy. I can't quite understand those ministers who are not very definite about their days off, or who don't really take vacations--even if they can't always afford to leave town. While it is true that some people are too eager to "watch the clock," and wouldn't put in any extra time if their lives depended on it, there are others who are almost conscientious to a fault. I think it's largely, though not entirely, a generational thing. I have found that if I don't take my time off, the time I put in becomes less effective. All of this is simply to say that I had a perfectly and lazily enjoyable weekend. I just thought it was worth reflecting on this subject at least once in my blog. But tomorrow is Sunday. I try to take it easy on Sunday afternoons after preaching; but I'll be hard at work in the morning. And usually on Sunday evenings, I'm starting to work on the bulletin for next week. Of course, it is not uncommon to make pastoral visits on Sunday afternoon.