I’m still buzzing a bit from our Flower Service. Right next to me as I write this is one of the calla lilies that I claimed at the service. Seeing it reminds me of the beauty of our congregation, of all the beloved faces that I see in the sanctuary, and the ones I imagine when I read the names of the online participants.

It reminds me of a time when I was in a Catholic church for an interfaith service and enjoying listening to people as they gathered. There were the ongoing murmurs of people greeting each other, and the joyous babble of tiny baby that was being passed from one person to another.

A robed man came out of a side room to light the candles in the front of the church. I watched him as he paused and bowed to the small cupboard where the bread and wine of communion was stored, then walked a little further and bowed again at the cross. He lit the candles as he went and returned to the side room, bowing again at the cross and the cupboard.

He was bowing to what was most holy, I knew, but it dawned on me that I might not know when to stop bowing had I taken on a similar task. The gathered faces, of the congregation, the light streaming through the golden windows, the burbling baby – all of it holy.

That’s what the flower service felt like to me: the faces, the soft murmur from the kid’s corner, the wild profusion of flowers that came forward when I worried that I had too many vases. All holy. All blessed. I continue to get a buzz when I think of it.

This Sunday, Jake Hearen will be our guest speaker, and we’ll be multi-platform, as has become our practice. After the service, I look forward to seeing folks for our annual meeting, also to be held multi-platform. We need a quorum of members, so come one, come all to ensure that we can do the business of the church. We’ll vote on the slate for our Board of Trustees and the budget. As has been noted, our pledge drive came in significantly below what we need to fund it this year, so do come along. I’ll be sharing some of the work the Board and I will be doing over the summer and into next year, too. Information on how to join the meeting online will be available in the ENews.

I hope to see you all there!

Linda