Uphill idealist

Several months ago, I noticed that a small church in a sleepy Western NY town was up for sale. A few weeks ago I noticed that the "For Sale" sign was gone and what had been a tender little white chapel had been flipped. It had not been made into a residential space or even yet another hair salon (even though one never can underestimate the need for a good salon in a rural community). The quaint little parish building had been refreshed, with new landscaping and the whole bit. The once weary but well loved building was dusted off and spiffed up, and now it was something altogether new. The church, was now, an antique shop. Wait. Hold on. The CHURCH was now an ANTIQUE SHOP. This statement concerning the flipped building did more than pop in my brain. The statement poured out of my mouth and filled my ears. "The CHURCH is an ANTIQUE SHOP!" I know this may initially appear to be a simple observation of a real estate transaction. But to me the sale...

There are a few things you should probably know about me. 1. It is necessary for me to be creative. 2. Relationships born and fostered in community are my life-blood. 3. Serving God in the Church is my long-standing vocation. Image found at: grdodge.org 1. Creativity "31 he (God) has filled him with divine spirit,[a] with skill, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft," Exodus 35:31 Perhaps it's because I grew up in a rural community in North Western Pennsylvania where I had time and space to play or the fact that my family valued music, art and reading; but I love to create. While some folks may designate a specific hobby or art medium they prefer to work with; I love to choose from a varied array of subjects to engage in creative process. From cooking to painting or singing to writing; creating beautiful things to taste, touch and view is a hobby and focus that gives my life, well, life. Part of what I feel God has called me to is using my cr...

Doodle pattern a sample of Mary Corbet's drawing found at her blog: Needle-n-thread. When I was a little girl, I had a terrible time sitting still for any extended period of time. In light of this my Dad used to call me "Tigger", because I bounced everywhere, all the time! One of the most difficult places for me to sit still when I was little was church. It might have been the combination of the itchy lace on the collar and hem of my dress, the shiny patent leather shoes, and the big sanctuary that seemed made to run and romp through with it's high ceilings and all, but it usually took an act of God to make me sit still. My Dad was the person I'd usually sit next to. I suppose he might have been considered the muscle in this circumstance. Most of what I remember about sitting next to him was holding his hand, singing from off his hymnal, swinging my feet that were too short to touch the floor and doodling on visitor cards that were sitting in the back of ...

Today was the retirement reception for Pastor Billy at First Lutheran of Jamestown, NY. Pictured with him here is Nigel (my son) and Tony and Abby who are all a part of the youth at our church. I know that the students will miss Pastor Billy, I know I will as well. Thank you P. Billy for always reminding us to... "Love justice, seek mercy and walk humbly with God, this is what the Lord asks of you." Micah 6:8

Starving by Suzanne Muna 2005 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" (Acts 2:42-47 TNIV). The Acts 2 scripture is challenging and somewhat haunting for me. I remember it being a focus point for ministry and outreach in not one but two different occasions and locations in ministry. I feel the connectedness of the Acts 2 community is so much of what the church and people in common are also starving for today. People need relationships wi...

Image from Cartoon Stock The last week has been full of car drama and the rescheduling of plans due to the reduction of independent transport. I've learned a couple things the last few days as a result of all this juggling. There are people around me that are more than willing to help me get to were I need to be. Sometimes relying on others and adjusting schedules makes opportunity for new perspectives. Relying on others - Although it can be difficult for me to ask for help, its a blessing to know that the people in my life are not annoyed with my requests for help. Thank you to everyone for that - you've made the last couple of days much easier. New perspective - As to the adjustment of schedule and such, this morning I rode downtown with my husband as he took all of us to our appointed places. What a nice taxi driver he is. Instead of being dropped off directly at my office, I told him I'd get out at the high school with my daughter. My office is less than a block away,...

Cartoon found at Cartoon Stock . While driving up the steep hill to work the other day, I was looking all round as I waited for a long red light to change to green. I looked towards the sky and noticed that even from the valley I was idling in, I could see the cross at the very top of the bell tower of the church I work at. My first thought was, "Wow I wonder if there are any other buildings that surpass the height of the cross up there?" I looked across the skyline as I puttered up the hill, and could only find one building that could possibly be taller that the bell tower. City hall is one of the tallest buildings in town, but the communications antenna tower on top of the building looked to be close to the height of the cross of the church. In looking the two highest points in my point of view that morning, I was amazed to consider how in practice and correspondence to each other how important faith and communications positions actually are. Faith should be a venue of upli...