Musings: On Changes & Planting Trees…

On Wednesday of last week, I gathered with my Newell cousins as they buried their mother. Sheila was a strong woman who raised five children in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto – four of them boys who did not need to look for trouble – it found them! We buried their mom alongside their dad who died when the oldest, Van, was only 10 years old. So much change and growth over the course of sixty years!

On Thursday evening Jennifer flew into Toronto, to join me in return to my past where I got to witness first-hand the change that forty-five years brings as we returned to the community that I left in 1980 when we moved from Bolton, ON to Pleasant Grove, PEI.

On Friday, as it rained intermittently, we drove from Bolton through Elmira to Cambridge where we visited my aunt Irene who is 92 and still living in her own home. The fall colours were even more spectacular than the many too big homes that we saw along the way! And before heading onto Waterloo we went next door and visited my cousin Leta.

In Waterloo we made an impromptu call on Caroline, our Korean child from other parents who came to us as an NSISP student and has returned twice for Christmas with us! We ended the evening in Milton where we shared supper with my cousin Joe (Irene’s youngest child) and his wife Carrie and one of their four daughter Maddie. It was a lovely evening of laughter and stories!

Saturday brought us to Bolton proper and a visit to the place that was home from the time I was 6 until we moved when I was 15. So many memories. So many changes. So much is not the same. The house is still standing. What was once a two lane road is now and 4 lane highway and cattle pastures have been turned into a container storage and transfer yard. But the trees remain. The maple trees that my mom and dad planted from slips harvested in the woods.

We drove from Bolton through Nashville and Klienburg, and eventually ended up at the airport where we returned the rental car and caught the UP train to Union Station where we set off on foot to the Eaton Centre on Younge Street, then to The Rogers Centre for some Blue Jay swag and a beer at Steam Whistle Brewing Co. We ended the afternoon at the St. Lawrence Market where we shared a dish of fresh handmade ravioli and sauce seated outside in the square in the sun before catching the UP train back to Pearson.

So many changes in 45 years – but the trees planted so many years ago still offer shelter to those who gather in them and under them, a reminder to us all, an exhortation even, “to plant trees we may never sit under”.

Faithfully,

Lloyd

Looking Ahead

Today I am in Moncton for a full day of meetings and visits. This evening, I will gather with the Collaborative Commission for their regular meeting at 7PM.

On Tuesday I will gather with the Lectionary Study Group for the last time. Click the link to join in the discussion on the text for Sunday: John 15:12-17. Lunch will be shared with the Seniors Lunch Group at Pattersons Family Restaurant and the rest of the afternoon will be spent with Jennie in the office working on transition matters and doing recordings for the November 2nd Anniversary Service for Sackville United Church.

On Wednesday I look forward to sharing in Coffee and Conversation with folk from Open Sky and the larger community after which I will be working on the next two Sunday Services and packing up my office.

Thursday will be devoted to crafting a reflection for Sunday and making visits in the Sackville area.

On Friday, one of my regular days off,  I will be stepping into my new role early as I travel to Saint John for three different meetings before a day off on Saturday.

On Sunday we will gather for a celebration of Word, Water, and Wonder and I am honoured to know that the communities of Central United and Visions United will be joining Sackville United in this special time together.  Leanna and Annalee Everill, daughters of Chrystal and Carrie will be baptised. We will share in pondering the wonder of the Word and break bread together, before I return the symbols of ministry to communities that entrusted them to me for a time. I will be a day of blessings, gratitude and goodbyes.