I don’t have much to say this week. It’s been a very busy and somewhat intense week of meetings, medical appointments, study groups, and worship preparation.
Yesterday was a celebration of life for a friend of many years, and then the Olde Fashioned Christmas last night, which was absolutely a wonderful event (more on that later). I didn’t work nearly as hard as my colleagues to plan and carry out the event, but by the end of the evening I could barely stand up.
I was asked to do an opening prayer and blessing at the beginning of the Celebration of Life, which was held in the church hall at the Greek Orthodox church on Purcell’s Cove Road. I was honoured to do that, although I am always daunted when I am asked to pray on behalf of hundreds of strangers. Although many of them weren’t strangers …. it’s just that I hadn’t seen them for at least several decades. And for many, the idea of me as a minister getting up and offering a prayer would be as laughable as me piloting a spacecraft to the moon.
As a close friend since birth, Pat was one of the speakers. The two families, the Martins and the Dooleys, grew up together on Mabou Avenue. As Pat said, there was a Martin for every Dooley. Pat was the first to speak, and did a great job. He’s not comfortable speaking in public, and I can attest to the stress he has been under since he was asked to do it about a week ago.
There were lots of tears … and memories shared. Of the 70s and 80s … the LBR (yes, that’s me in the middle of an old grainy picture of The Farriers playing at the LBR in the late 70s), the Atlantic Folk Festival … and the music scene at that time. I don’t often like to look back on those times, for a number of reasons. I look at the picture and barely know that “token female” in the middle. And yet yesterday, I didn’t mind being surrounded by memories and people from my past. It felt comforting. Even hopeful … and I am not sure why.
Last night’s event at Bethany was a wonderful combination of worship, social, craft and cookies. It was lovely to see families working together on the banners and other crafts. And I felt blessed to be able to travel around and talk to many of them. Thanks to all the youth and staff and volunteers who made the event happen. It was joyful and meaningful.
Please check out the special page that Dana created on our website where we are posting your pictures (and poems, and reflections and stories). The link is below. And if you have a picture that speaks to you, but you can’t figure out which word your picture fits, send it along. Dana and I are having great fun putting things together.
This week in worship we have another guest … it’s John the Baptist … but it might be a side of John you haven’t seen before. Hope you can make it!
This week’s words are:
Hope
Perceive
Trust
Useful
Conviction
Transformation
Reorient
