A Crazy Day in a Busy Life...

Just thought you’d be interested in reading a journal of the events of a day in the glamorous (sic) life of a sports chaplain:

Fasten your seatbelts. We’re going for a ride:

Sunday, April 10th:
6:00 a.m. – Wake up at my night shift job at Christian Horizons. Go over my message(s) for Baseball Chapel services at the Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome) in Toronto. I say messages because I used a different outlines in the Red Sox’ and Blue Jays’ chapels.
7:00 a.m. – Leave Christian Horizons and go home for a quick shower, shave and change.
8:00 a.m. – Leave for Toronto.
9:00 a.m. – Listen to Ravi Zacharias’s “Let My People Think”radio program, a regular routine on my way to the chapel services at the ballpark.
9:30 a.m. – Arrive at the Rogers Centre and I have to pay $25.00 for parking because the $13.00 lot where I usually park is already full.


Jays' Home Opener on April 8th, 2005 at the Rogers Centre

9:45 a.m. – Go down to Field Level and arrange for the Argos’ Dressing Room # 1 to be opened for the Red Sox’ chapel. When I get to that room I walk in on the lady cheerleaders who are using our “chapel” for a change room. Embarrassed, I go to Dressing Room # 2 and discover that there are no chairs. After walking endless miles (it seems), chairs are ordered and I go into the Red Sox clubhouse to ask chapel rep Trot Nixon when we can hold our service. He decides that 10:45 would be best.
10:15 a.m. – Go to Blue Jays’ clubhouse and I see Gabe Gross (my best friend on the team) speaking to a newspaper reporter. He had just been told that he’d been optioned to AAA Syracuse but it was no surprise. He is a committed Christian with a great attitude. I’ll see him this weekend in Syracuse. Discover that the wives’ lounge where we normally conduct the Jays’ chapel is filled with players’ furniture, golf clubs, suitcases, bicycles and all manner of things. We clear a spot big enough to hold our service.
10:45 a.m. – Red Sox chapel service with 8 players, 2 coaches and the radio broadcaster in attendance.
11:15 a.m. – Call Gabe Gross at the Renaissance Hotel and find out that the Jays are sending a limousine after the game to take him to Buffalo where the Syracuse Skychiefs begin a series on Monday.
11: 40 a.m. – Blue Jays’ General Manager, J. P. Ricciardi, who is very supportive of our ministry to the players, passes me in the hallway and says, “keep the faith, David!” – What an encouragement that was!
11: 50 a.m. – Blue Jays’ chapel. Only 4 players come but the manager, John Gibbons, is there along with a media guy. Chapel went well in spite of low attendance.
12:20 p.m. – Visited the Umpires Room and prayed with the four umps before the game. This has become a regular Sunday occurrence throughout professional baseball.
1:00 p.m. – I go to the parking lot and discover that I have lost my key so I call CAA and ask them to come and unlock the car in case I have left the keys inside.
2:00 p.m. – CAA man arrives and unlocks the car. No key! I call home and our son says he will bring me the spare key.
3:13 p.m. – I catch the GO commuter train to Pickering and plan to meet Brad there at 3:50 so I can catch the 4:00 o’clock train back to Toronto with the key.
4:05 p.m. – Brad arrives late and brings our 8 year-old son Nathan with him so Nathan can enjoy the train ride with me.
5:00 p.m. – We catch the later train and ride back to Toronto, get the car at the Rogers Centre.
6:00 p.m. – Leave the Rogers Centre
6:45 p.m. – Get some dinner on the way home
7:30 p.m. – Arrive home and help Carol get Matthew and Nathan off to bed.
8: 45 p.m. – Leave to catch the last few minutes of the Peterborough Petes’ playoff game against the St. Michael’s College Majors.
9:15 p.m. – Arrive at the rink and catch the final two minutes of the game. Game went into overtime and the Petes won 2-1.
9:45 p.m. – Visited with a number of the players following the game. They were pretty excited and now enjoy and 2 games to 1 lead in this series.
10:30 p.m. – Left the rink and headed to my job at Christian Horizons
11:00 p.m. – Back where I started the day, tired but pleased that, for the most part, things went well during my hectic day.
12:00 a.m. – Ready for my “night-sleep” shift.

Much to be thankful for on this Lord’s Day in spite of the potholes and detours along the road. God had been faithful and true again and I had the wonderful opportunity to lift up Jesus and present him to ballplayers, umpires and hockey players. Glamorous? I’m not so sure about that. Hope you enjoyed walking through the day with me. Are you as tired as I am? Sleep well!