I have been a
member of Community of Christ now for nine or ten years. I discovered Reunion the first year and look
forward to this adventure every year.
I love being in
God’s creation, the sound of the wind in the pines, that special early morning
soft smell of the woods, a call of a small bird, and the somewhere whiff of
coffee, new friends and some I have come to love, as the years have gone by.
This year I was
signed up to attend Cascade Reunion.
I was asked if
I would put together the Sunday Service for the Samish reunion and someone
would use the outline for the service. A
few weeks later I heard a friend needed a ride to Samish and thought why not.
What a treat. My new road trip buddy and I dashed off early,
heading toward the west side. Traffic
was light. We made our first stop at a
small gas station about an hour out. No
road trip is complete without snacks. We
watched the traffic pile up in the eastbound lanes as we flew over the pass and
onto 405. I decided then to come home
the backway over the North Cascade highway.
Arriving at
Samish I was greeted with hugs from good friends and the news that our cook
this year was Tyler Marz a chef, the meals were to die for.
David Anderson
was the guest minister, and I very much enjoyed the adult class, and the
guidance he provided on the spiritual practice of dwelling in the word. The young people attending were a delight to
spend time with around the campfire. Several of them promptly agreed to serve during
the Sunday night service.
Due to other
commitments I had to dash home after only a couple days, the trip through the back-country
home included amazing vistas, almost no traffic, and interesting discussions on
NPR.
A few weeks
later I was off to Cascade Reunion. Again,
the opportunity to find peace in God’s creation, as I listened to stories of faraway
places, and devoted disciples as David and Carolyn Brock shared adventures of
many years of service in the church.
More guidance on spiritual practices, silly campfire songs with amazing
youth, and lots of hugs and conversation with dear friends.
On the way home
my spirit was filled but sad, as the attendance at both reunions was minimal
and the budget was made only by the generosity of everyone who attended.
The end of
August I will be attending the Women’s Retreat at Cascade, and in September the
Mission Center Conference in Whitehall.
I look forward to these events because I know my spirit will be
filled. The hymn, “As We Gather” so
beautifully calls us together. As we
gather may your spirit work within us, as we gather may we glorify your name. Knowing well that as our hearts begin to worship,
we’ll be glad because we came.
This hymn was
written in 1946 when so many more gathered.
It calls us today.
