Or there’s no place like teach… Or teach is where your heart is… Whichever way you say it, we’re home in Wexford! Jessica, Clarisa, Patrick and I arrived yesterday in Dublin Airport. Thanks to the diligent prep work of our Board President and Vice-President, we breezed through customs and had our luggage in time to catch the early bus back to Wexford (8 large suitcases, 4 carry-ons, 4 backpacks, and a partridge in a pear tree). One 3-hour bus ride and one 10-minute cab ride later, I unlocked the door of 206 Cluain Dara, and we were home. We spent a few hours getting settled in, enjoyed our first communal meal, and by 11:30 last night, we were sleeping the sleep of jet-lagged angels.

Today I had the pleasure of spending introducing friends of Teach Bhríde to her newest members. Jessica, Clarisa, and Patrick are slowly but surely meeting the people who will make up the cast of this year’s characters, as well as learning their way around Wexford. Fortunately for them, a year’s experience has made me a much better guide through town than I was at this time last year! I am grateful for the energy and the trust of my new fellow-community members, and I am especially grateful to have had the tenacity and resourcefulness of last year’s members as my teachers. Chris and Martha are still very much present in this community, especially whenever I pass along the things I learned from them.

Over these next few days, Jessica, Clarisa, Patrick, and I will continue to find our feet as we begin carving out our communal prayer life, building our personal and communal goals for the year, learning our ministerial strengths and weaknesses, and discovering the complementarity of community, when the weaknesses of one are balanced by the strengths of another. Look for them to add their perspectives to the blog soon, and keep them in prayer as they continue to immerse themselves in the experience of living and serving in Wexford, a place that continues to embody the phrase “céad míle fáilte” — “one hundred thousand welcomes.”