I spent six days in Northern California, mostly staying with my long-time friend Dave.  The first few days were sunny and warm, and then the rain hit.  This rainbow appeared during a break in the weather.  It is springtime and everything was so green.

The primary reason for the trip was to see my advisor at CDSP about my thesis for a D. Min.  I am not happy with the data I've collected and proposed some additional work.  The thesis is on preaching in the interim time and has two parts, the first is how I use what is happening in the congregation to inform my preaching (the easy part) and assessing the feedback (if any) to see if my message is getting across. (the harder part).  I also needed to find someone to replace a member of my committee who is now at another seminary.

I also got to go up to Sebastapol and spend a day (and night) with my friends Rod and Mary.  Rod is recently retired, but seems to be working as hard as usual, finishing up work on committees for the diocese and his Rotary presidency.

I also got to go over to Sausalito to church.  It's been over five years since I did the interim there and they seem to be doing quite well.  They've put in a brand new kitchen in the parish hall that came in under expected cost and it's beautiful and so much more useful than the old one.  Of course I was there the week after Easter and there was no choir and a somewhat depleted congregation, but that's Low Sunday for you.  It was fun speaking with parishioners I knew and basking in their praise.

I really do love the San Francisco Bay Area, but the prices are still out of reach.  David took me out for some wonderful meals while I was at his house.  The most memorable of which was at a fantastic Chinese restaurant in Lafayette.

When I returned to Maine, I discovered that the forsythia was in full bloom.  The weather, which had been quite warm when I left, had turned seasonally cool and the yellow against the red barn was quite wonderful.   The lilac outside the kitchen is leafing, but there won't be any flowers until late May. The daylillies are up about a foot, although it will be a few months before we see the orange flowers.

The week that I returned has been a very busy one.  I did a workshop with a  group in a church in Auburn.  I was training them to facilitate small group meetings to start an Appreciative Inquiry process.  They are working to discover what God is calling them to be at this point in their life as a congregation and make plans on how to get there.

Then yesterday I drove to Brewer to start working with the search committee.  The fastest way to get there is to drive up the coast, and even though it was a drizzly morning, the views of the ocean along the way and the wonderful yellows of forsythia and daffodils and the occasional white blossoms on fruiting trees was  soothing to the soul.  The willows are nearly in leaf and have that pale green haze on their hanging branches.  My Izzie enjoys car trips so I had her squirmy company on the two hour journey.  The committee and I decided that it would be far more efficient to work with me via Skype than for me to make a lot of trips up to Brewer.  That suits me.

Here is a blessing for times of search:

The God of Truth bless you with the discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficiality so that you live and make decisions from deep within your heart.  Amen

The God of Understanding make you tender in the face of pain and rejection so that others can know the comfort of your acceptance.  Amen

The God of Justice make you fierce in the face of oppression and exploitation so that others can live with dignity in the midst of your respect.  Amen

The God of all Wisdom bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can lead other to do what many claim cannot be done.  Amen.

And the Blessing of God Almighty, Creator, Redeemer and Life Giving Spirit keep you as Jesus' friends, in your search for a new leader, and forever.  Amen.

(The blessing is from Rob Voyle's "Assessing and Discerning Calls.")

Wednesday Morning Prayer for the Season of Spring

I've gone back to using Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim:  A Personal Manual for Prayer and Ritual by Edward Hays for my daily devotions. I do that every now and then. The Wednesday Morning Prayer for Spring contains the following:

Open as well my third eye that I may see you hidden in countless forms in the springtime beauty of creation and in my brothers and sisters, each made in your image.....I pray on this springtime Wednesday morning especially for the conversion of my society. May I by simple word and deed, be part of the redemptive work begun by your son Jesus and so bring about justice and peace on this small planet.

I've taken some pictures of a choke cherry tree in the lawn outside the rectory.  As soon as I transfer them I'll put one it on this post.  The lilac is beginning to flower and the church garden has patches of purple, red and yellow flowers.  The lupine is growing and I would expect than in a few weeks it will be in full bloom.  There's a patch at the golf course that is quite amazing and I am waiting for it to come out.  From the right spot, you get the lupines, with the lake and mountains as a backdrop.  Seeing God in nature is easy up here.  My deacon says God sat here when s/he created the world.  

What is much harder to do is to work as the prayer said, for the conversion of our society.   The apocalyptic world in the gospel reading for the Martyrs of Uganda (Matt. 24: 9-14) made me pause and sigh. It would be wonderful to live in a world where Jesus' gospel of love and forgiveness was the norm rather than the exception.  That would be heaven.

Signs of Spring

NY Times OPINION  

Video Library Player:  The Animated Life: Welcome Back 

The artist Jeff Scher looks forward to the colorful arrival of spring. 

Comment: This video was in today's on-line edition.  The video is delightful animated art work and just what those of us in the northern clime need at this time of year.

Signs of Spring

There is hope that spring is really coming to the mountains of western Maine.  The spillway between the pond and the lake is flowing rapidly.  There are small pools of water at the edge of the pond.  The grass is still dormant, but Phil the Goose has returned from wherever it is he (or she) has spent the colder months.  We worried about Phil because he was the last goose to leave these parts as the lake froze up.  He mooches off the kids at the school and the people who come to our church.  Last fall he came right up to the door of the undercroft looking for a handout.  In addition to Phil there are flocks of birds of all sorts returning and looking for food on the lawn and flying up into the trees when Izzie gets out of the car.  I need to get out my field guide or ask the many "birders" in the congregation what they are.

This Good Friday morning I'm feeling a bit fragile.  So much to do and so little time left.