Hello, Friends
     Wow, I think we've had enough going on in and around the church house recently!  Our mammoth repair project is winding down just in time for our mammoth garage sale enterprise to wind up.  Meanwhile, the usual array of meetings, cooking classes, community group  meetings and general comings and goings have continued without 
abatement--and, oh yes, we "made church" on Sunday--on the front  lawn, no less!
      Was it too hot?   Yes, just a bit.   Were there "distractions"  to our attentiveness  provided by passers-by, barking dogs, honking  horns, and other neighborhood doings?   Well yes, of course--it is a live neighborhood, after all, with people living in it, doing what  people do.
      And was it fun, and freeing, and enlightening, literally and spiritually, to be outside?   It seemed so, to me, and to a number of folks with whom I've since visited.   One church friend, back with us after a long absence, absolutely glowed (and not just from the heat!) when she exclaimed:  "That was so great!   We should do church that way every week!"
      Don't worry, those of you who love coming into the beautiful sanctuary and experiencing worship there.   We'll be back in there (please?) by Sunday, and, God willing, for many, many Sundays and  other holy days to come.   But one thing our sojourn in the  fellowship hall and now beyond the walls has taught our community, in  a fresh, new, healthful way, is this:  worship is about the spirit of the gathered people and the Grace of  God, not the worship space or its accroutements.   We know this, of course, but having that knowledge at the forefront of our  consciousness every time we gather should help us be more alive to all the richness and beauty inherent in the experiences we share--and  all the equally beautiful reminders from worship of how we're called to engage daily life, when worship time is over.
       Of course I'm looking forward to being back in the sanctuary-- and I look even more forward to discovering even more holy, human ways of gathering and growing with you this weekend, and all our days to come.

Shalom,
Sarah+