Dear Ones of St. Columba’s, 

I am looking forward to seeing more of your faces and developing deeper connections as summer trips come to an end.  I recently heard someone say, “I love my summer trips, but I also love home.”  I could not agree more.  It is wonderful to be able to get out of your normal routine to go rest and play, but there is also something lovely about our routines and rhythms. As we begin to look at and to discuss the Way of Love together I am curious about what we will discover about our old routines that is deeply good and what rhythms we might want to add into our lives to help us draw closer to God and justice.  In what ways are we already turning, learning, praying, worshipping, blessing, going, and resting?  Those may seem like a lot of things in an already full life, but I imagine you are already doing all these things in one way or another.  This Way of Love is just giving us an opportunity to be more intentional and more reflective.  

As I prepare to go on a solo retreat for myself I have been reflecting on these 7 practices and wondering how I can integrate them into my time.  I am seeing that as I drive towards my destination I am turning towards God, as I go for walks in the woods I am praying, worshipping, blessing, and resting.  And as I take time in the quiet of the morning to read scripture and poetry, I must remain open to what these words have to teach me. These were all things I was already planning on doing, but I am seeing the Way of Love as a way to make greater meaning of my time.

I am looking forward to singing the way of love, the blessing of the backpacks, the way of love classes, the bee extraction and jarring, forming small groups, and gearing up for godly play with this community!  We have so much to be thankful for.

Blessings, 

Meghan