Dear Friends,

Time has slowed and our usual creature comforts are not  readily available.  I enjoy time with my family and friends on a usual basis.  Coffee out, lunch out, having the grandkids for the evening, and even having them staying over with Grandma and Papa when they can do it.  I am fed by contacts with people and in the interactions that come as a result of time spent together.  Now, when I do interact with others, our veterinarian for example, we talk about what we can’t do.  I’m working on that!  

From my corner of the exam room where we’d taken Daisy-the-Dachshund for her vaccination updates and yearly exam, I was masked, and our young veterinarian, standing in the opposite corner, lamented the loss of interactions with people – the reason he became a vet, he said.  No matter where we are in life, we are missing time with one another.  And yet, love for other is the motivator in all of these changes.  

From an email from Bishop Rickel, I am sharing this wonderful poem, that speaks wisdom and reminds me that love is at the center of current changes.  The anonymous poem was published in the Grace Episcopal Church, Bainbridge Island, Newsletter.  It is, it seems, all in how we look at things!   

When you go out and see
the empty streets, the empty stadiums,
the empty train platforms,
don’t say to yourself, “it looks like the
end of the world.”
What you are seeing is love in action.

What you’re seeing in that negative space
is how much we do care
for each other,
for our grandparents, for our immune-
compromised brothers and sisters,
for people we will never meet.

People will lose their jobs over this,
some will lose their businesses,
and some will lose their lives.

All the more reason to take a moment
when you’re out on your walk, or on your
way to the store, or just watching the news,
to look into the emptiness and marvel at
all that love.
Let it fill you and sustain you.

It is not the end of the world,
it is the most remarkable act of global
solidarity we may ever witness.

How do we look at things? As loss or gift?  Be in touch!

Faithfully,

Rilla+

ZOOM COFFEE HOUR...WHAT HAPPENED TO IT???

Last Sunday’s Zoom Coffee Hour was a good gathering, a time of sharing, and enjoyable for all who attended.  However, because I sent you the wrong information in the emailed invitation I sent you, many of you were unable to access the Coffee Hour.  I apologize for my error and hope that you will try again this Sunday.  Please do join in for the second weekly Zoom Coffee Hour!  The Zoom meeting information is below. Bring your coffee or tea in your favorite mug and come to a virtual coffee hour.  Lots of time to see and chat with each other!  See you there.  10:45am on Sunday, May 3.         

Rilla+

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GOD HAS NOT ABANDONED US:
Cathedral Conversations
with Bishop Rickel

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CHRIST CHURCH CALENDAR