Santa Barbara: Week Two

Week Two brought a twelve-step group from Los Angeles. They were a rowdy bunch. But they brought boardgames and snacks, so they were okay by me. They kindly invited me to play Taboo and Scrabble with them. I repayed their kindness by laughing at their drug-addled attempts to give clues during Taboo ("It's a kind of . . . thing that you use for . . . something!") and coldly winning both games of Scrabble that I played. I am a jerk.

The weekend brought a group from St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego. And to my surprise, Scott Richardson, a former priest at All Saints Pasadena and the current dean of the cathedral, came up to lead the retreat.


It is no secret that I think the world of Scott. He has been blessed with a rigorous intellect as well as remarkable pastoral skills, which is a rare combination. He is a big reason why I stuck around All Saints those first six months, when I was testing the theological underpinnings of the church. So it was such a blessing to run into him at Mount Calvary. He greeted me with a big hug, inquired about my vocational discernment, and invited me to join his parish for the weekend retreat.


In particular, Scott wanted me to meet Chris and Brad, a young couple from St. Paul's. Both are attorneys, though Chris recently stopped practicing to work on developing new programs for St. Paul's at Scott's request. We spent a good chunk of the weekend comparing notes about how our respective parishes structured their programs. They graciously invited me to visit them in San Diego, so I will have to add them to my growing list of "Places to Stay When I Am Homeless."