Dear Ones of St. C's,

The rain is here and we are officially settling into our rhythms.  For me that means comfy sweaters, scarves, boots, lots of tea, and wood burning in the fireplace.  While I am settling in, it continues to amaze me how the smallest thing can throw me off my routines and rhythms.  

Our faucet in our kitchen sink started leaking and when my husband and I went to take a closer look at it, the faucet broke for good.  We didn’t have time to deal with it that night or the next day so we went without a kitchen sink for about 45 hours.  Not that long in the grand scheme of things, but enough time to realize how much the efficiency of our lives runs on that working sink.  It is sometimes hard and vulnerable to step back and realize how many small things like our kitchen sink I am dependent on for the full functioning and sanity of my life.

I have been thinking about this in light of our stewardship campaign.  What if St. Columba’s could not function at its full capacity? How would it impact my functioning and sanity and the functioning of others?  

This community that welcomes all who enters its doors with a huge smile.  That provides a safe and warm place for people to wonder and ask the big questions of life.  That provides shelter for men in the winter, a garden for refugees, food for those who are hungry, and a home for bees to live and produce honey.  A worship space that seems to both encompass people as they arrive and give them amble space to breathe and be just where they are in that given moment.  A place and people who invite you to see the world through God’s eyes, calling you to be more for the world, while at the same time reminding you of your worth and belovedness just as you are.  

I know without St. Columba’s my spiritual life would suffer.  This place anchor’s me in my beliefs and reminds me to keep fighting for justice, hope, and peace.  As I break bread with you all each Sunday I am reminded of God’s promise to us that God is ever present, that Jesus believes in my goodness, and that the Holy Spirit is pushing me to be more for the world. And as I see this community come forward to receive this bread I am given strength that there are people out there that have hope in God, hope in humanity, and hope that together we can create a more loving and better world. 

Thank you for all who give to this community and help it to function at its full capacity, I am so thankful for you.