July /August Newsletter

Summer of Spirit

I am writing this from the Saskatoon airport with a head full of thoughts stirred up by the ReJUNEvation event that finished this afternoon. There is a column waiting to be written growing out of the discussions of the last 3 days but I need more time to process my thoughts so it will come later, likely the next time I am scheduled to write the Faith piece for the Daily Herald Tribune.

The question that is in my head for this piece of writing though is:”How do you hope to feed your spirit this summer?” Not just what do you hope/intend to do and accomplish this summer but how will doing those things help feed your spirit?

As I ask that question a story comes to mind. Many years ago I was talking to someone who lived on the lake. They told me that once summer cam around they did not go in to town very often on a Sunday morning. Instead of attending worship they would sit on the deck and watch the lake and listen to the loons. That was what fed their spirit.

We feed our spirits in a variety of ways. Being with nature is one. Attending communal worship, gathering with the faith family to share the Good News is another. For some sleeping in and having no commitments may be the best way to feed the soul some mornings. For some a change of scenery, a trip to some other part of the country does the trick. But it is my base assumption that year-round we need to do something to feed our spirits, even if what that ‘something’ is will vary from time to time.

How will you feed your spirit this summer?

One of the things we are doing this summer is handing out church passports. The idea is to get people to have them stamped/signed wherever they find themselves worshipping each Sunday and then share their experiences when September comes. This way we can learn from each other how our spirit was fed. I know that my girls plan to get their passports signed while they are at Camp(or at least their parents plan they will get that done). Maybe your passport will be full of stamps from St. Paul’s. Maybe it will have a variety of churches in it. I may be biased but I do believe that worshipping with other members of the faith family is one of the best ways to feed my spirit. At the same time I find a walk along Bear Creek can do wonders for my spirit too.

One of the ways I am feeding my spirit this summer is family time. We are heading out to Toronto for a week, which will (hopefully) include a day a day at Niagara Falls. Despite the expected crowds I hope that going to this natural wonder will be as awe-inspiring as I remember it being last time I was there – 34 years ago. Another thing I am doing is taking some Study Leave time and attending the North American Interfaith Network (NAIN) gathering in Edmonton at the end of July. The presenter list for this event looks very promising. You can find out more at: https://nain2018edmonton.ca/

Then there will be the regular summer things like mowing the lawn, trying to find the desired plants among the garden weeds, a few BBQ meals... But even those things might have the chance to feed the spirit.

How will you feed your spirit this summer?

I look forward to hearing about it as the summer proceeds or in September!