Reflections by Lynn Harrison and Shawn Newton.
On Sunday, as we end this month’s focus on the theme of Beauty, we will reflect on the many dimensions of beauty we experience in the natural world. Rev. Lynn and I will offer reflections. We’ll also celebrate the many volunteers who sustain our congregation. And Lynn will share an original song, while Gaby Byrnes will sing her cover of “What a Wonderful World.” We hope this service will instill in us all a deeper appreciation for the many ways the world sustains us and provides us succor in our times of need—a point made so, well, um, beautifully, in these words from the farmer-poet Wendell Berry:
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
A reminder that next Sunday, June 5th, will be our final service at 175 St. Clair Ave. It will be a poignant and powerful day to be together, as we take a bold leap into the future. This coming Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, our building will be open for a few hours each day so that you can drop by to light a candle in the chalice and say your own goodbyes to the building. Information about opening times can be found below.
See you online on Sunday.
In faith and love,
Shawn
