Dear Friends,
We are in the glory days of summer now, aren’t we? The days are long and hot, though right now, not TOO hot, and vacations are welling up, ensuring that no one is in the same place at the same time, which means work slows down a bit, church slows down a bit. Though traffic and crowds in Chicago expand!
The slowness of summer, lazy days, picnics, and lighting bugs still bring joy to this middle-aged priest. I’ve immersed myself in long (and short) novels, lazed at the beach, slept in, and enjoyed a variety of crisp white wines.
But even the joys of summer don’t always blunt the realities of life as we mourn the loss of one of our beloved parishioners, Carol Reese, who I will miss the rest of my days, and send condolences to our Associate Rector Courtney as she gathers with family in Richmond, VA to mourn her mother Susan and make funeral arrangements.
Ah, life. Fast and slow, sweet and sour, joy and sorrow. How can we hold it all in one hand, eschewing bitterness when our joy is impinged upon, remembering the sweet when life turns, for a moment, bitter?
I think this is the secret of a well-lived life: counting the graces and beauties of life even in hard times and letting ourselves feel all the feelings until they soften and round out into something like grace.
I hope your days are slow, sweet, and joyful right now, but if they are not, know that we are here to walk though the difficult and sad ones, too.
See you in church!
Faithfully, Suzanne