Happy Thanksgiving & Thank You

Like many of you, over the weekend I enjoyed preparing and sharing a meal with extended family – hours of work peeling vegetables, cleaning the house, and cooking a turkey! And then, in a short hour or so, the meal is complete and the dishes are stacked (if you are lucky) waiting to be put in the dishwasher!

But most everyone will agree, the work is worth it – and it’s not necessarily the food that makes it worth it – but the time together, the stories told, the memories recalled and the new memories that are made.

As I look toward the end of my time with the Collaborative, and especially Sackville United Church, with whom I have shared eight years of ministry, it is gratitude that fills my heart. Gratitude for all the richness that comes in relationship. Gratitude for the diversity of experiences and opportunities. Gratitude for the opportunity I have had to share and receive the Mystery that is Love among us.

Thank you.

James Crews says it best in their poem, Winter Morning: 

When I can no longer say thank you

for this new day and the waking into it,

for the cold scrape of the kitchen chair

and the ticking of the space heater glowing

orange as it warms the floor near my feet,

I know it is because I've been fooled again

by the selfish, unruly man who lives in me

and believes he deserves only safety

and comfort. But if I pause as I do now,

and watch the streetlights outside winking

off one by one like old men closing their

cloudy eyes, if I listen to my tired neighbors

slamming car doors hard against the morning

and see the steaming coffee in their mugs

kissing their chapped lips as they sip and

exhale each of their worries white into

the icy air around their faces—then I can

remember this one life is a gift each of us

was handed and told to open: Untie the bow

and tear off the paper, look inside

and be grateful for whatever you find

even if it is only the scent of a tangerine

that lingers on the fingers long after

you've finished eating it.

You, each of you with whom I have had the privilege to walk with are that ‘scent of a tangerine’ that will linger with me for years to come.

Thank you.

Lloyd

Looking Ahead

I took Monday off, and this morning (far too early) I flew to Toronto where I am working remotely until Thursday afternoon. On Wednesday I will preside at my aunt Sheila Newell’s graveside funeral service.

I will return home late Saturday night in time to offer leadership at Visions United Church on Sunday morning as they continue discerning their next pathway. Julia will be presiding at the gathering at Central United Church and the Sackville United Church Executive will be leading that congregation in an exercise to support the updating of their Living Faith Story.

The week of October 20^th will be my second last full week with you. This week, and my last week are filling up quickly as I try to connect with as many as possible before my departure. If you’d really like to see me, please use the link below and schedule an appointment or call, and I will do my best to arrange to get together.

And please, mark Sunday October 26^th in your calendar. At 10:30AM, at Sackville United Church, as part of a Celebration of Word, Water, and Wonder, I will return the symbols of ministry entrusted to me for a time. I hope to see you there! In addition to returning/receiving the symbols of ministry, we will celebrate two baptisms and share in communion!  And then, at 4PM you are invited to gather again to participate remotely in the Celebration of Ministries Service from Shining Waters Regional Council where Julia Ye will be ordained to a ministry of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care. I hope to see you there too! If you cannot make it to join in-person with others at Sackville United Church, we hope to have the link to circulate so you can participate from wherever you are.