October 2007
The church year seems to be off to a pretty good start. There is a palpable energy and that is cause for celebration. This is a year to accommodate ourselves to some changes. This, my last year as your minister, is a time of transitions. Among the changes we are experiencing is a departure from lighting candles of Joy and Sorrow during our Sunday morning worship. The candles we have been using are not “green”: they are made of mostly paraffin and some tallow. We could switch to pure beeswax candles or soy based candles but they are prohibitively expensive. So the last few Sundays, we’ve been using beach stones. Feedback seems to suggest that most folks are OK with this.
Another pending change is our practice of signing up Service Leaders who are then invited to be worship associates for that Sunday. The Music and Worship Committee will train a small number of people to be regular worship associates who will also perform the duties of service leader, eliminating the need to recruit people on a weekly basis. Most will hardly feel the change but it will result in a “smoother” flow on Sunday mornings.
Isn’t Autumn in New England, in New Hampshire just glorious? I love every season but I may just love Autumn best of all. The weather still invites outdoor play ... for me this mostly means riding my bicycle but cool nights make for very comfortable sleeping.
I planted a small garden last spring but since we are moving the buyers of our house will reap most of the harvest. I knew that when I planted. We may not always be the personal beneficiaries of much of what we do in life to improve things. We should do our best anyway to help build better communities. In gardens we plant and in institutions we serve.
Amitiés and love,
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