Hello Folks

I'm H Robert Williams. Most of my friends call me H Robert, many of my students called me "Doc H", but you can call me whatever you feel most comfortable with.

I am a recently retired professor from Villanoce College. I moved down here from the midwest to a place on Norris Lake with my wife Alice and my daughter Camille and her partner. We were so excited to find this loving community! It reminded me so much of "Happy Chapel" at Villanoce, but without the ivy and statues, the old silver maples, and the crumbling brick that gives colleges that special charm (and unfortunately a certain danger of getting trapped in the past or complacent in the present).

I had lunch with Father Tim last week and we were talking about how spirit-filled this community is and how there was a place for everybody to use their special and diverse talents in a spirited fellowship. I asked him if my background in contemporary theology and spirituality would be of use; so he told me about this "blog" and invited me to participate. Now, I'm a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to computers and the internet so I hope you will be patient with me; but more than that I hope that my "vintage" wisdom will provide a little impetus to helping SOV2 overcome some of the resistance of our sisters and brothers who are just a little afraid of change.

I plan to take it easy for a little while and look for some opportunities to put my two of three cents in where appropriate. There's a few projects I hope to bring up to Father Tim. First of all the lack of a mission statement for SOV2 which is a situation which needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Also, a vision statement may be helpful. Another thing I would love to help with is a community outreach program. There are some excellent plays that the students at Villanoce put on that would work well in our own setting. I am thinking especially of a few by Ibsen which are still quite fresh and lively.

H Robert