Neil Alan Willard
@neilwillard
Presbyter, Episcopal Diocese of Texas, Rector, Palmer Memorial Church, Houston, Grandson of Old North State Tobacco Farmers, Lover of Rescue Dogs, and Wearer of Seersucker.
On the left is an image of the Fields Medal, which includes the head of Archimedes in profile and a Latin inscription that one speaker translated, perhaps a little loosely, as this: “To transcend oneself and grasp the universe.” On the right are the four individuals who received the award this year.
A 🧵 about the opening ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians #ICM2026, which began today in Philadelphia and included the awarding of the Fields Medal and four other honors. I am *not* a mathematician, but we are here because our firstborn is on an academic path to study pure math.
Feast, the Rectory cat, prays for those who work, or watch, or weep this night. ⚓️
Now more than four weeks post-open heart surgery for a mitral valve repair and maze procedure, I’m blessedly sleeping on my side once again and driving a little. And only recently did I come to realize that the mitral valve is so named because, from a certain angle, it resembles a bishop’s mitre. ⚓️
I’m grateful for everyone who has made my recovery from a mitral valve repair and maze procedure easier than it otherwise would have been, especially my wife, our kids, my cardiologist, cardiac rehab professionals, my church staff and lay leaders, and the prayers of many, known and unknown to me.
When you’re in an exam room in Houston waiting for your cardiologist, you can pass the time by perusing AramcoWorld, published by Aramco Americas, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco.
Friends, tomorrow I am having open-heart surgery at Houston Methodist in the Texas Medical Center for a mitral valve repair and a maze procedure. My surgeon has done about 2,500 of these repairs and invented the “American Correction” technique for them. So I will be in good hands. ⚓️
Happy Flag Day! 🇺🇸 This 🧵 about the article below from 1867 in a Raleigh newspaper is a reminder that the Union Cross community of Forsyth County, North Carolina, was not a hotbed of Confederate zeal.
Here’s a flashback to St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Edina, Minnesota. ⚓️
In case you’re wondering where things stand with respect to certain manifestations of AI, the information in the first sentence below is 100% incorrect. So, no, I do not want Google to “show more” of this kind of slop to me. Don’t confuse “AI Overview” with real experts and trusted online sources.
Although he didn’t baptize me, Mr. Mickey, later Bishop Mickey, pictured in a white surplice in this historic photo, was the first pastor whom I remember as a child.
And I got to enjoy, very appropriately, an Arnold Palmer (half iced tea and half lemonade).
Tonight my wife and I attended a reception to welcome Houstonians who are new Demon Deacons in the Class of 2030 @wakeforest.bsky.social. It was also the first official WFU event with president-elect Dr. Peter Rodriguez, who is a member of my congregation and was the Rice business school dean. 🎩💛🖤
“The Nature Boy” — whoo! Stylin’ and profilin’ — whoo! Heavyweight champ — whoo!
Before people gathered and incense rose for a liturgy with two baptisms here in Houston, the organist and trumpeter practiced the postlude. My family gave a gift to provide the trumpet music this morning, and the altar party sang “Happy Birthday” to me out on the sidewalk prior to entering church. ❤️
Today our firstborn, the “Outstanding Senior Mathematician” at Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston, Texas, received an “Honorable Mention” Certificate of Recognition from the HISD School Board and an AP Capstone Diploma, graduating with honors. We are so proud of these achievements! ❤️🤍💙
He lived most of his 98 years on Willard Road in Guilford County, North Carolina, where he was a tobacco farmer and a deacon at High Point Primitive Baptist Church. “How firm a foundation” was his favorite hymn in the Old School Hymnal No. 5. ⚓️
This is my granddaddy, Clifton Cornelius Willard. He was born on June 6, 1894, when Grover Cleveland was President of the United States and Frederick Douglas was still giving speeches about his hopes for America.
Tonight was awards night for seniors at Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston. Our firstborn, on the far left, received several awards, including “[AP] Physics C MVP” and “Outstanding Senior Mathematician.” Next stop is Rice University in the fall to study pure math. 💙🩶🦉
The largest medical center in the world is within my parish here in Houston, and earlier this month I met a world-renowned cardiac surgeon . . . as a patient.
Greetings from Houston. 🗳️ (No, I did not vote in the primary runoff election that’s all over the national news today.)
Thirty-one years ago today, I received a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School. One class I took there was with the famous Roman Catholic liturgist Aidan Kavanagh, born in Mexia, Texas, who once wrote:
St. Philip’s Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is the oldest active Black church in the Old North State. On May 21, 1865, a Union Army chaplain told the enslaved members of this congregation that they had been emancipated and were now free. Then there was singing. ⚓️
As an Episcopal priest in Houston, Texas, this is my favorite warning sign. ⚓️
My hometown of Kernersville, North Carolina, is where the Carnivorous & Exotic Plant Symposium & Expo will be held next weekend.
Greetings from the City of Houston in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. ⚓️ Palmer Memorial / St. Stephen’s / Cathedral