Church News: Aug.

Our last month of summer is upon us here on the Point. Those of us who follow the more mainline religions may look towards coming together in familiar rituals and prayers, hymns or chants, into churches or temples as part of our personal practice of seeking refreshment. Others seek refreshment out in nature. Still others, especially in summer, look to music in outdoor settings that touches the soul. Or look for good summer reading to restore balance and find renewal. Many of us turn to each of these offerings in turn for “the beauty that refreshes.” We rely on such practices and such habits and there is much to find and appreciate.

I recently found restoration in visiting with family and in the beauty of national parks in nearby mountains. Renewed relationships with each recentered me in the simple joys of meeting young and old, discovering family ties and stories, familiar shared hopes and visions. The huge dollop of glacier-fed streams that came with the visit was surely a spoonful of sugar that “helped some medicine go down” (the medicine being acknowledging family complexities and life challenges that anchored the experience in down-to-earth, perplexing issues and concerns and their still-to-be assembled solutions). Hope seems to be the bridge, how we get from here to there.

The honey of sensing “we can do this,” even if we don’t yet know how, seemed fed for me by the awesome presence of mountain vistas and the sheer color and beauty of rolling waters, waterfalls, and awe-inspiring wildlife.

We all share the stresses of chaos amid the current breakdown of structures and institutions, the potential and growing losses of once-treasured relations and freedoms depended upon — the ups and downs of this time and age. 

May you find your own right guiding light and love through these times and find hope in shared values, some good food for the finding and assembling of the steps along the new paths now called for.

At Trinity, we rely upon the Christ energies, seen emerging and felt in many ways and along different spiritual paths, and we look to embracing more among the wider spectrum of our community, even as we follow and renew the time-honored traditions of this 113-year-old community church with Icelandic and Lutheran roots. Come visit us and join us in our services as we slowly learn from each other and our guiding lights and teachers, and take steps toward walking arm in arm with all our relations, who share this planetary home. 

Mostly, though, remember to take time to refresh yourself. If needed, book time on your calendar for a date with “Refresh” each week this month. Your body, soul and true self will thank you. A blessing be upon you and all you encounter.