A Conversation

So I met the new priest last night. It was our annual back to school BBQ. The first brief encounter revolved around Alma thudding to the ground in front of the rectory. Out came the twelve year old blonde boy called Father Dale asking if anyone needed last rites. He was charming and distantly friendly. We introduced ourselves and I told him that I was planning to spend the year doing "confirmation" (wrong word). He smiled and told me he wasn't sure of confirmation schedules yet. I knew 'confirmation' was the wrong word but the correct term slipped my mind.

Later as I sat fulfilling my volunteer hours by handing out Oktoberfest flyers and asking people to get involved, I saw him talking to Bill across the lawn. I hoped their conversation was more fulfilling as I watched them interact casually, almost playfully.

As the evening wore on, I saw Father Dale walking my way. "So, Amy," he said, "I've been talking to Bill..." I joked and said, "Uh-oh". "He tells me that you're thinking about converting!" he said. That was the word. Geez. I told him I was. He told me that Bill had told him that I was raised evangelical. He told me that he was too. Not just evangelical but AG. Then he looked at me, and I looked at him.  We both had a knowing look. We were both lost in thought. Nothing was said aloud, but more than enough was being conveyed. He took a breath to speak and we noticed a line of eager parents who were interested in meeting the new priest.

I sat there stunned and thrilled. Here was my ally. Here was a priest who had recently converted after being raised evangelical and leaving the church. Here was someone, the first person I'd met in a LONG while, that understood my spiritual world. Here was someone who had lived it. Who without saying a word, had told me that our paths were connected.

Now I am here, with even more of a sense that my path is the right path, at the right time, with the right people. I eagerly await more conversations with our new priest. I am sure that he can answer the questions that I can't even begin to form. Thrilling and scary.