In Trinitarian Fashion: Three Things for Spiritual Development for the Summer

First:   The Pentecost Mini Quiet Day on Friday, June 13th beginning at 9:00 am

"Shelter" is the topic for this year's Pentecost Mini Quiet Day.  Come for coffee and goodies at 9:00 am.  Morning Prayer in the Chapel follows at 9:30 am.  There are two presentations scheduled, the first at 10:00 am and the second at 11:00 am, each followed by a period of time set aside for silent reflection in the church or gardens.  I will be available for private conversation in the Garden Room.  Noon-day Prayer concludes the morning's Quiet Day. 

Lunch follows in the Parish Hall.  Participants are asked to bring a side dish or a dessert to share.  The main dish and beverages will be provided.  Please RSVP to the parish office by Friday, June 6. 

All women of the parish are invited - as are friends and neighbors.  Invite someone to join you in this quiet time of reflection and fellowship.  Participants are also welcome to come for any portion of the program or for the entire morning.  Come when you can.  Leave when you must.

Second:  The Adult Discipleship Group on Monday, June 23

This will be the final meeting of this group until September.  We missed our meeting in May (I had a flat tire in Little Falls) so we will be "wrapping up" Psalm 23 with its last two verses.  We gather at 1:00 pm in the Garden Room and conclude at 2:30 pm.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;

thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life;

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Come, even if you have missed the earlier meetings.  Conversation about blessings as we begin our summer holidays might be a wonderful way to set the stage for a deeper encounter with the Lord of Love this summer.

Third: A Summer Reading Recommendation

Try Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by authors Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher.  This book recounts the details surrounding the tragic shooting of ten Amish school girls at Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania in October 2006.  Five of those little girls died.

The authors make an in-depth study of the Amish response to those killings and how forgiveness shapes their lives both individually and as a community.  The words from the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," have taken on new meaning for me after reading this book.  Many of us struggle to forgive others.  Many of us struggle to forgive ourselves.  This book reminded me that the process of forgiveness is not just the work of the individual, but the work and striving of an entire community under the gracious and merciful hand of God.