My Last Week - Beauty in the everyday

Exactly one week from today I will be back in my office at Sunset United.  I decided it would be good to have one last post on this blog - hopefully sharing some of the gifts of the past 3 months.

One of the books that I have been spending time with is by Krista Tippet:  "Becoming Wise: an inquiry into the mystery and art of living."  She has a great quote in her chapter on learning from our bodies.  She says:  "At younger ages our bodies are tuned to learn by novelty.  At this stage of life, they incline to greater satisfaction in those things that are routine.  Slowing down is accompanied by space for noticing.  I am embodied with an awareness that eluded me when my skin was so much more glowy."  I love that turn of phrase - it has been a long time since I could describe my skin as "glowy", so I knew exactly what she meant!  

Basically she is saying that it is those ordinary, everyday moments that bring her the greatest pleasure these days.  That was very clear as we once again were gifted with time on our piece of property in Manitoba.  The first weekend we were there was a little chilly - but we were prepared, and it still felt good to be there.  These pictures are from October 30th:

One week later (November 6th) we were back, and in typical, unpredictable prairie style, it was a lovely warm weekend!  We were able to have our breakfast sitting on lawnchairs looking out over the valley.  No need of our dining tent this time - no bugs to be seen!  Although there were a few butterflies that flitted by, which surprised us.

As the sun continued to warm the air, it was stunning to see the white trunks of the poplar trees against the amazing blue of the sky.  In Halifax it was watching the red, red leaves.  Here, it was seeing the trees bare of all their leaves, and stunning in their stark beauty.

The other thing that happens when there are no leaves on the trees, is that you can see through the bush in a whole new way.  Usually the underbrush is so thick, that it is hard to see very far.  It is kind of nice to have greater clarity - to see the way ahead a little easier.  Kind of what I have experienced on this sabbatical - lots of space to gain clarity of thought and to figure out the path that I need to be walking right now.

Before I left Regina, I spent time in conversation with 14 of our "elders" in the congregation.  I told them I didn't want to get bored while I was away, so I needed a project to help focus my time.  I have had fun writing up those conversations.  We are so blessed to have these folk who are all connected to our community, even if they aren't able to be in church with us very often.  Once I get back to work, I will figure out how to pull it all together and turn it into a Sabbatical Reflection book for the Sunset community.  I will post a couple of the pictures to give you a teaser of what's to come.  How could I not smile when I spent time with these people?!?

I know that I am very ready to head back to work.  I am missing my Sunset community.  I am coming back with a whole new series of stories from my Halifax experience.  I have rested, and I have reflected, and I have done my best to truly live into the Sabbath time I have been gifted with.  I am spending this last week in rural Manitoba - going for long walks and enjoying the unscheduled moments of each and every day.  I will move back into professional mode once I return to city living.  In the meantime?  It's nice to be living true to my rural roots!  Thank God for the gift of this Sabbath time.  And thank you to all of you who were able to virtually travel along with me on this path!

Last post from Halifax!

Here I am - last full day in Halifax!  These past 2 months have been an incredible gift of no schedules and no agenda.  I have wandered this amazing city and taken a ton of photos (can't wait to see some of them on our big screens for worship!).  I have done my best to be fully present to this place and not to worry too much about what may or may not be happening back in Regina.  I have listened to a couple of the podcasts of the worship services back at Sunset, and have found myself laughing out loud to hear the energy in the room - an energy that I am hugely looking forward to tapping into again in a few weeks.  In the meantime, here are a few random thoughts from the past week or so...

On Sunday, October 23rd, Stairs Memorial Church celebrated their 103rd anniversary.  Sarah did this wonderful children's time about the ways that the spark of God's love inside each one of us holds us together and brings good energy to the world.

The guest preacher for the day was Ross Bartlett.  One of the things he said that really resonated with me was that church communities need to let go of the phrase "we are all tired" - he said if you personally are tired, then you need to own that, but don't assume that everyone else around you is tired.  I told him it is one of the things we speak about often at Sunset - that we each need to find ways to speak about what is vital and lifegiving about the community.  If our only message is that we are tired, it is certainly not going to draw anyone into the circle!  

I have really appreciated the warm welcome I have received from this congregation, and the fact that I have been welcomed as an extra volunteer at their food bank whenever I could find my way there.  My last Wednesday with them I got big hugs from Helen and Frances, the two women who I have gotten to know the best during my time here.  This last time I was introduced to Dulse.  The pictures I took were very blurry - because we were laughing so hard!  Dulse is very much an acquired taste.  Frances told me that when she was a kid, she remembers going out with her dad - they would roll up their pant legs, and walk out to find it once the tide was out.  Then they would lay out their harvest on the rocks to dry in the sun.  The man in the picture below harvested this batch of Dulse in the Bay of Fundy and then brought it to Frances to prepare.  She swears it is the best thing for your health - tons of minerals and vitamins which are very good for you.  But Helen says it is the worst taste you can imagine and she will never ever eat it again!  However, she did say I should at least try it.  Which I did.  And now I can say I tried it!!  

Yesterday I spent most of the day with these 3 women:

They are all ministers - Sarah is on the left as you look at the picture.  We met in her home, which meant we enjoyed time with her dog, Chester!

I am usually a very chatty person, but for much of the time here in Halifax, I have been alone.  That has been good for me - I needed time to just slow down and spend time with my own thoughts.  However, I am getting very ready to enter back into community!  It was great to be with these women as we drank coffee and ate chocolates and talked about many, many aspects of our lives in ministry.  We also spent significant time talking about ideas for entering Advent and the Christmas season.  It is likely a very good thing that I have started to head in that direction since I am back to work for 2 weeks before the start of Advent!!  I appreciated their wise and faithful perspective - nice to be welcomed into their community for a day:

It is likely time to be heading home.  The leaves are definitely dropping:

These are the same trees that I took a picture of when Art was leaving:

One of the things that I have thoroughly enjoyed in the past two months, is the people who have been busking on the streets - especially near the Harbour front.  On Art's last day we enjoyed these two young women - they played a variety of instruments, and their voices were able to harmonize beautifully.  But what really drew us to sit on a bench and listen to them for awhile was how they seemed oblivious to the people around them - they were just thoroughly enjoying creating music together:

Today when I was walking downtown, I saw this man with his harp.  I saw him many times sitting down at the Harbour front.  I loved listening to his music - he was always in shorts, sitting right beside the water.  This is how I saw him today - far away from the Harbour front!

One of the huge gifts of this time in Halifax has been the view from the 10th floor of the Condo building where I have been staying.  There have been some spectacular sunrises, and some amazing photo opportunities for the ships coming into the Fairview Cove Terminal.  Here are some of my favorites:

More and more often, there are clouds and fog moving in.  This was my view the other evening:

The first week I was here the humidity and the heat were like nothing I have ever experienced.  I had to buy some summer clothing so that I could be outside without melting away in the heat.  Hard to imagine that now as the days cool down and the sun is not quite so obvious.  Time to move on...

I hope that wherever you are as you head into this last weekend in October, that you take a moment to reflect on moving from one season to the next.  I know that snow is around the corner - likely on the ground already for some of you reading this!  There was a post on Facebook that talked about how autumn can be an opportunity to watch the leaves falling off the trees and perhaps reflect on the things that you would like to let go of as you head into the winter months.  That may be a little too philosophical for those of us who kind of dread heading into the deep-freeze of Prairie winters.  However, I am going to do my best to carry this blessed gift of the time and space to breathe and to dream and to wander freely, as I move closer to the rather busy season of Advent that lies just around the corner.

Back to wandering a bit as I spend the last few hours in downtown Halifax!

Autumn reflections...

I am well aware that spending these two autumn months in Halifax has been a gift.  I keep hearing about snow and rain on the prairies - making me get out even more often to enjoy these last sunny days here on the East Coast!  

On Sunday, October 16th, our friends Paul and Sarah, took Art and I on a walk after church at the Shubie Park in Dartmouth.  Many years ago, the Shubenacadie River was seen as a possible transportation link between Dartmouth and the Halifax Harbour.  Although that has long since been abandoned, there is a beautiful series of trails along the river today.  Here are a few of the pictures from our Sunday stroll:

There used to be a series of Locks that helped the boats get up the river, and this is one that has been restored to tell a bit of the story of years gone by:

Right near this Lock, there is a building with a concession stand.  At one time the United Church in the neighbourhood actually operated the concession stand both as a fundraiser, and as a way of being involved in the community.  Kind of a unique ministry to offer!

When we left Dartmouth, it was a good to give Art a chance to get out on the water by taking the Dartmouth ferry across to the Halifax water front.

I know that in many ways the Halifax water front is very touristy, but there is something about being down there, beside the water, that I find very relaxing.  So, we sat at a little table and then played around with the timer on our camera to get a picture - felt like a good way to capture the warmth of the sun, and the fun of being by the water.

Once Art had left, it was beginning to feel like I had been everywhere, and done everything - but I did manage to find another trail to walk.  This one was at Hemlock Ravine.  It involved a new bus route, so that was kind of fun as well!  And the fall colors continued to be at their best.  Here is the entrance to the Park:

I set off down the trail - it was lovely to just wind my way down the hill on this very well maintained path.  There were other people on the trail, but plenty of room for all of us.  A beautiful fall day!

As with everything in this City, this park also has quite a history.  In 1789 John Wentworth lived on this property with his wife.  When Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, arrived to command the garrison in 1794, he took over the property and lived there with his mistress, Madame Julie de St. Laurent.  He developed the 200 acres of woodland into quite a magnificent estate, with beautiful gardens and a large oval pond.  Many of the elite from Halifax thoroughly enjoyed the festivities that would happen when Prince Edward would host parties on the Estate.  The Prince left Halifax in 1800, and the property eventually fell into dis-repair.  However, in 1869, Prince Arthur, Edward's grandson, arrived for a visit to Halifax.  He re-shaped the pond into the famous heart-shaped pond that is there today - he wanted to dedicate the pond to the 27 year relationship between Prince Edward and Julie St. Laurent - therefore, it is often seen as a place of romance, and is often called Julie's pond.  I found it a lovely warm spot to sit and watch the ducks for a wee while.

I made my way back down the trail to catch the bus, and passed some more of those stunning red trees along the way:

I was sitting on the bus thinking about how lucky I am to still be here, when this woman and her friend got on the bus.  I missed the moment when it was most striking, but truly - have you ever seen hair her color?!?  It was stunning when the sun shone through it!  Part of what got me is that my guess is this woman was actually a little older than I am - who am I to guess at age?  But she was no spring chicken!

When I first arrived in Halifax, this woman was often sitting down on the Harbour Front.  She plays music on a CD, which she accompanies with her spoons.  It was quite lovely to see her once more, and so I leave you with this picture of a woman enjoying the sun, the music, and the relaxed atmosphere of the Halifax Harbour Front!