Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Summer is soon coming to an end and I am writing this on the first day of my vacation. Anne and I aren't going anywhere, but that's okay. Sometimes it is nice to just be. To sit on the porch in a chair and enjoy life. Some of Anne's cousins are coming over tomorrow to help take down some trees and we're looking forward to the day with them. We hope to see some friends we haven't seen in a while. It will be good.
Many in this congregation are perpetually moving from one location to another, while some of us continue to toil unto the Lord. The birth of a child is coming to one family soon! And we can't forget the grandchildren, and grandparents don't!
Some are dancing these days, some are mourning, some of us are struggling with health concerns. Many of us are caring for family members, and each other.
This summer Anne and I have been blessed by this community of faith and those new to our lives. We long to see Mark and that will happen at Christmas.
I have enjoyed a new sense of the creation of which we are a part, sitting on a little white bench in the woods, built by Anne's grandfather. We do live in a beautiful place but often do not take the time to notice it.
God has done this, gifted us life, the seasons, the relationships. God is with us in our dancing and our mourning, in those times when we are in need of healing in many ways. God is with us as we remember, as we live now, and in our anticipation of what is to come.
I am reminded of the hymn written by Brother John, "Borning Cry." May we be renewed in our Baptism in all of the stations of our lives, as we await the never-ending surprise, the gift of the Resurrection we receive from our Lord.
This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Pastor Frank Kauzlarich