August 4, 2023

Were your ears burning?

I have had the great honor and joy of officiating two weddings in the last two weeks. Both were weddings of old and dear friends, and both were out of town, full-weekend events, which meant I had lots of time to meet and chat with many new people. The number one question I was asked, aside from how I knew the wedding couples, was about you. "What is your church like?", people asked me over and over again.

And oh, I told them. I told them how engaged and involved this community is. I told them how we're always looking for more ways to spend more time together. I told them how more often than not, our Vestry meeting contains real, and ongoing laughter. I told them about how kids are welcomed into every aspect of community life, and how welcoming everyone is to newcomers. I told them about our beautiful grounds, including our lawn signs. I told them we do our very best to follow the Way of Love that Jesus taught and modeled, and that there is so much beauty in the trying and fumbling and trying again that sometimes I am overwhelmed with the gift of it all. I told them how proud I am to be in community with you. I told them we have the best potlucks.

My prayer for each of you this week, as we are celebrating the Feast of Saint Anne, is for you to know how valuable and important you are to this community. We don't all think alike about every issue, we don't all vote alike, we don't all see the world through the same lens... and yet the care, compassion, and love between is real. The joy in learning and growing and being together is real. My prayer for you this week is to marvel at the holiness of it all.