An Inspiring Ceremony

Today, Brett, Karen, Doug and I got to attend the ordination of Nathan Budde into the priesthood. None of us had ever been to an ordination before and were amazed at what a wonderful ceremony it was.  There were over seventy priests in attendance to celebrate the event as well as the Bishop for the Green Bay Diocese.  I could never put into words how beautiful it was to witness someone give their life fully to God.  It was so inspiring to see the support that Nathan received today and to hear about his journey in the seminary.  I did tear up several times when I saw Jenny crying.  I understood what it was like to watch a child get married but could never imagine the commitment that she was witnessing one of her own undertake. If I could still see Nathan as that cute, inquisitive little five-year-old at Brett's confirmation mass, just think what she saw.  Overall, it was a wonderful morning and all four of us were glad to have been a small part of it.

Once the ordination was over, Doug picked Title Town Brewing Company for lunch.  It had changed quite a bit since we were last there twenty years ago and we really loved the new look.  We ate brats on the roof top while Doug and Brett tried several of their microbrews.  We had the perfect view of the city of Green Bay and took some wonderful pictures while we were there.  The only negative was that Karen ended up with a sunburn.  I never even thought about that happening since the weather was on the cool side.

Tonight, the four of us went to the reception celebrating Nathan.  It reminded me a lot of a wedding celebration.  There was a dinner, open bar, and a guest book for us to sign.  Although there wasn't any dancing, there was a slide show and tables set up with memorabilia of Nathan's path to Christ.  There were a few speeches as well.  Doug got to see his Aunt Barb and cousin Rob who he hadn't visited with in over twenty years.  We had wonderful conversations at our table with friends of the Petrie family and caught up with each of Nathan's four siblings before we headed out.  Everything about today was wonderful.  I was so glad that we were invited and even happier that Brett, Karen, Doug and I got to share this day together.