I’ve decided to take a helpful suggestion from one of the blogs I read and no longer waste time agonising over suitable titles for each post, (hence the date above) 😊. As summer approaches it is likely that each post would have a title something along the lines of “a Manic Week” or “Stressful Week” etc. and you readers might get super bored, so hopefully just the date makes sense, maybe I
shall return to catchy titles when things calm down in the autumn (ha ha).
shall return to catchy titles when things calm down in the autumn (ha ha).
So, yes, it has been a very stressful week, especially as news came that another Team Leader on whom we were counting, is now not available for the summer. Sigh. However there have also been some items of good news- like I think we may have filled the 2 vacant slots for our Ontario Teams and we are now up to 10 Team Applicants!
Also personally, I have received several signs of encouragement that have lifted me from the annual “Slough of Despond”. The first was the opportunity to attend the closing Eucharist at the Clergy and Spouses Retreat, which I catered last weekend. The Lectionary Gospel reading for last Sunday was from John Chapter 14.Everyone is pretty familiar with this passage at funerals but I had never considered it in a different context. Alex’ homily focused on the fact that Jesus tells his disciples he is “going to prepare a place for them; those “places” that he prepares are here on Earth as well as those promised in Heaven. Interestingly, Bishop Mary had also used this text the previous Thursday when she celebrated our House Eucharist and she used it to illustrate that Jesus had prepared for our new small community a special “place”. At the Sunday Eucharist Alex was encouraging the young couples who are all involved in difficult Church-planting work and used the same analogy in their context. We also sang this praise song and although I see it is 3 years old I had never run into this setting that incorporates the old Hymn “It is well with my Soul”. I’ve been humming it all week and it has brought me times of peace in the current season of stress.
Finally, on Thursday evening one of our Prayer Support Group called from Malaysia and offered encouragement from the passage in Luke 24– where the women were all worrying about who would roll away the stone at Jesus’ tomb, only to find upon arriving that the Lord had already taken care of their worries. It is fantastic when friends reach out and share words of encouragement, but I must confess to being a very fallible human being who constantly bundles up my worries, drops them at the foot of the cross and then picks them up again instead of leaving them there. AGH!!!
Well enough exegesis, today is a super special day- Jessica’s and Tyler’s Wedding!!! It is sunny and cool and I’m just about to walk to St. Matthias’ Church for the ceremony so more later on…
The ceremony was very lovely and included a lot of beautiful music, both in the form of hymns that we all could sing as well as some great organ music, played on the church’s fantastic tracker organ. The Processional for the bride was the “Shire” theme from the Lord of the Rings, a somewhat unconventional choice but a real favourite of the couple, and sounding perfect when played on that magnificent instrument! Natalie and Andrew came and sat with me, which was really kind of them as I’m sure there were a lot of other young couples they could have joined, however all of them were heading on to the Brunch Reception and I was heading home, so I did not feel too guilty having
them for company during the Service.
them for company during the Service.
It is a 40 minutes walk each way to St. Matthias so I had a VERY late lunch and then whiffled around the garden before the “Wil Walk’ during which I stopped at the CO-OP to pick up some ingredients for the Crossroads snack tomorrow evening.
The next two days are pretty packed with church in the morning, a CTM Board meeting in the afternoon, Crossroads in the evening and the Huyer family overnight, followed by a SYC staff meeting here at the house on Monday. Once all of that is over the plan is to turn my attention to the “Changing of the Decorations”, this time for the Pentecost/Summer Season. So right now I intend to enjoy the sweet peace of a sunny late spring evening, with a quiet dinner on the porch. It is the lull before the storm 😊.
Before I head off to make supper we need a recipe to close off with. Last Monday for the Day Camp Committee Dinner we enjoyed some “Rice and Bean Bowls” and they were really tasty. Here goes!
Rice and Bean Bowls
- 2 cups brown basmati rice
- 1 ½ cups each cooked black beans, kidney beans and chickpeas
- 3 cups shredded red cabbage
- 2 ripe avocados, diced and tossed in lemon juice
- 1 English cucumber, thickly sliced
- 6 cups mixed spring greens
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 lemons, cut in wedges
Sauce-
- ½ cup Tahini
- 2 Tbsps. lemon juice
- 2 cloves finely grated garlic
Cook the brown rice just before assembling the bowls. Arrange all the other ingredients in serving bowls or on platters. Whisk together the sauce ingredients, adding several tablespoons of water to obtain the consistency of liquid honey. For each person place a scoop of warm cooked rice in individual bowls and top with the beans and vegetables as desired. Finish with a ladle of Tahini Sauce. Serves 4-6