Church on the River...

So as I look out my front window, I see the tall white spire of  Salem United Church (one of the points in my two-point charge), reaching toward the clouds, just across the river.  Since today is Sunday, I got to do one of my most favorite things...leading worship with my fantastic people.  I started something that I have only done once before; a sermon series...this time, focusing on the Lord's Prayer.  Sometimes I think we take this prayer for granted, not giving it the thought or reflection that it deserves.  And so we started reflecting on it, line for line and we'll do so for the next six weeks.  Because of the beauty of this place, it is hard not to reflect on the beauty of those words and be brought into a place of Holy Mystery and Wonder.  So, over the next six weeks, this will be the picture of worship across the river.  Who knows where it will take us, or what the picture will look like! Let the journey begin!

A Grey Kind of Day...

Today on the river, the scene is kind of grey.  That didn't stop many people from going to the local farmers' market.  We bought tomato plants that will hopefully end up in our garden (if it ever gets warm enough) but for now, they call the window sill in our kitchen home.  We have already planted grape vine and hope to plant corn, carrots, green peppers and cucumbers.  Yum! Even for a grey day, things are looking pretty good on the river.

The season of sunsets has returned!

Now on the other side of the longest day of the year, beautiful sunsets are one of the wondrous pictures I see through my window.  Their hues of orange, pink, and yellow melt toward the deep blue color of the water and set the tone for the evening in their own gentle way.  These sunsets mark the return of summer to the river, as the winter ones are not as close to the water or as brightly colored.  And so the dreamy days that turn into evening are marked by this beauty...these colors...and most mysteriously, the light that dapples and shines through my window.