Women in the Word

This week, I've been doing worship planning. For the summer, I've decided to preach about women in the Bible. (inspired by a book by Lisa Wilson Davison, Preaching the Women of the Bible) Interestingly, most of the women are from the Old Testament--maybe because I've chosen either little-known women or because it's a longer testament. As I look at the schedule for the summer, I wonder if people will get tired of hearing about women. Maybe they will ask, "Why not just do four women--why ten?" Yes, it does sound like a lot! But think about it. For thousands of years, who have we mostly heard about? Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Job, Jesus, Paul, Peter ... and on and on. Yes, it's been mostly about men. So hopefully, there will be a little grace as we spend one summer looking at women and the role they play in scripture. Women still play an amazingly important role in the life of faith. My mind goes to some of the female saints of history, and the female saints I see every day in my own congregation and among my colleagues and friends. So here goes! We will lift up women who followed God's call throughout the years.

The Last Full Day of General Assembly

I'm writing at 8:05 pm. We have been at it since 8:30 this morning, and the day is far from finished. There is a lot of work that has been done by the various committees, and some items call forth very different opinions. As you know, our call is not to vote our opinions, but together to seek God's will through the Holy Spirit's guidance. This is HARD!

We have made decisions about how to name leaders, what do do about misconduct by leaders, how to approach the thorny division between Israelis and Palestinians, affirmed Presbyterian Foundation loans to help development and our call to care for creation. We issued a call to congregations and others to welcome refugees from world conflicts. We thoughtfully crafted wise words for the treatment of animals and our earth in farming to feed the world.

As we work together, we are not unmindful of events in other places in the world. We have prayed for the storms and flooding back home, for the loss of life and the safety of those in danger. We were advised that Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is already on the ground at work in West Virginia. (You can donate to help by going to the PDA web site or by sending a donation to Northside earmarked for West Virginia relief.) We lifted up the "Brexit" vote and those affected.

9:50 pm - One difficult issue we considered was in regard to investing or divestment in fossil fuel corporations to help mitigate climate change. While the Assembly is overwhelmingly in favor of action to combat climate change, negotiating a path toward divestment from fossil fuels is difficult to chart. We voted to use channels available to us to influence decisions by fossil fuel companies, while taking into account people whose livelihoods rest on these endeavors. I believe we chose a good path.

We heard a report from Annie Ntumba Tshiswaka, a representative of the Presbyterian Church of Kinshasha (Congo) on the dire situation in that nation. They asked for support and prayer for justice in their land. The General Secretary of the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba spoke of the possibilities for reconciliation between our countries. Dr. Lee Hong Jung, General Secretary, Presbyterian Church of Korea, asked for prayer for reunification of the Korean peninsula.

We approved a major peacemaking report (developed over the past six years) that calls us to renounce violence and pursue the ways of peace. A website available to view is http://justiceunbound.org/

These are only a few things we considered prayerfully.

10:53 Recess!

Thursday at GA

This day promises to be a long one. We began at 8:30, with prayers, presentations, and overtures. We worshiped before lunch. My lunch gathering today was with alumni of CREDO. You may remember that 8-9 years ago, I attended a CREDO conference, offered by the Board of Pensions, to offer clergy the opportunity for renewal in health, vocation, spirituality and other areas of vitality. I was happy to catch up with 3 others who were at that conference with me, although there are now over 1,000 clergy who have benefited.]

Your commission from Peaks--George, John, Jordan, Jude and I--has been working hard and holding up. Sometimes the decisions are difficult, and we do not always get what we prefer, but that is the beauty of our connectional church. There is room for differing opinions.

9 new mission workers were commissioned this afternoon, and we honored 41 who are retiring. A huge group of Young Adult
Volunteers (75) was commissioned for a year of service and intentional community. We paid tribute to Synghman Rhee, our former moderator, born in N. Korea, who died Dec. 31, 2015.

I don't know how familiar many of you are with Robert's Rules, but I can tell you that it's really easy to get bogged down in the minutiae of amendments, amendments to amendments, and whether a "yes" vote really means "yes" or "no." (I know this should be obvious, but believe me, it is not.)

We are finally getting real Portland weather--that is, it's really raining! Not my favorite weather for trekking back and forth from hotel to convention center. Please keep your General Assembly in prayer these next couple of days. Besides being tired, we are now damp around the edges, so we pray for civil discourse, and not too many amendments.


Jordan and me at work.

Finally, another post from General Assembly

Well, so I promised to blog every day, and . . . oops . . . I have not. I've put a lot of things on Facebook, but by the end of these LONG days, I mostly want to REST! My committee, Church Polity and Ordered Ministry, spent a day and a half going over all the overtures submitted to our committee. It is so rewarding to see the careful attention that ruling and teaching elders put into considering the merits of proposed actions. Everyone doesn't "win" but everyone has a voice.

We are now back in the plenary part, where the whole body of commissioners will consider what we will do with what the committees have referred back to us. You can follow all the action at pc-biz.org. We spend much time in prayer and in song. I hope you will all remember that General Assembly is not "them," it is "us." We are all here because our presbyteries put faith in us to discern God's will as we debate together. Pray that we hear the Holy Spirit.

This is Jordan Phillips from Pulaski Pres. and me.

Work begins tomorrow

Today I got to know a lot more Presbyterians--from Long Island, Idaho, North Carolina, Philadelphia, and lots of other places. Most of them I met on our "mission trip" up the Columbia River Gorge. We visited several waterfalls, a 1917 "rest area," and the Timberline Lodge halfway up the 5% active volcano, Mt. Hood. That lodge was the hotel featured in the Jack Nicholson film, The Shining.

Tonight I attended a briefing offered by the Covenant Network at a beautiful UCC church. They are still at work for unity, justice, and reconciliation within our denomination. We met the candidates for co-moderators and stated clerk. We were also treated to Voodoo doughnuts, and I am still in a sugar coma from that!

I want to remind you that General Assembly is US. Commissioners have been elected by presbyteries represented by each church in each presbytery. Surprisingly, the way our polity is set up, smaller churches have a much larger voice in church government, as even the very smallest churches are entitled to one commissioner at Presbytery. Whatever decisions are made at GA, they are made by "us," not "them." It is a great strength of our church, but is often misunderstood. Even though our U.S. government was modeled on the Presbyterian system of representation, it does not work as well, probably because of the huge expense of running for office, often funded by larger corporations expecting payoff for their contributions. Leaders of our church do not run for office, they STAND, and do not campaign. They owe allegiance to no party or donor, but to God.

Please pray for your church tomorrow as we begin our work with worship. You can live stream the service, which will begin at 2:00 pm EDT. Prayer surrounds this Assembly, as the entire Cascades Presbytery (our host) has been praying for all events, and each commissioner by name by prayer partners. At the beginning of each day of work, a team of volunteers will visit each room being used that day, and will "pray into" that space, invoking God's presence and a spirit of reconciliation and hope among the commissioners. Tomorrow evening we elect co-moderators who will serve for the next two years.

Portland!

I spent a great family and sightseeing week in and around Dupont, Washington, and today made my way to Portland for the PCUSA General Assembly. This place is CRAWLING with Presbyterians! The first familiar face I saw was Moderator Heath Rada. He has been a wonderful representative of our denomination over these past two years.

Highlights from last week: my two beautiful granddaughters! They are charming, witty, and very loving children. There is nothing better than hearing two little voices scream, "Grandma's here!" We spent a morning at the Olympia Children's Museum--very cool! Aaron and Mary had to work on the weekdays, so I went adventuring on those days--Seattle (Pike's Place Market and the Space Needle), a Nature Trek out in the woods, and a real adventure up as far as the car could go on Mt. Rainier. It was snowing there! In June!

I am now at the Doubletree in Portland with lots of those other Presbyterians--we are scattered over the city in many hotels. The Convention Center, where most of the action takes place, is impressive. They are getting all the electronics in place--we will e-vote and be wired in through our computers--the Assembly is paperless, so everyone needs a tablet or laptop.

I met a YAAD (Young Adult Advisory Delegate) at the airport and we navigated the light rail to our hotel together. We were a bit worried about identifying the "red line," but one of the Assembly volunteers said: "Every train is the right train right now." I love that! We go in so many directions so much of the time, and wonder if we are on the right track. Maybe we can claim that, in God's gracious guiding, every train is the right train. Wherever we are heading, God is going along, and will bring us to the completion of God's plan.

Off to the West Coast

June is a big month for our denomination! Commissioners and advisory delegates from all 171 PC(USA) presbyteries, along with other participants and observers from around the world, will converge on the Oregon Convention Center in downtown Portland for celebrations, deliberations, and inspirations in support of the denomination’s biennial gathering. Hosted by the Presbytery of the Cascades and united under the theme “The Hope in Our Calling,” from Ephesians 1:18, the General Assembly will include rich worship services, the election of the Moderator, action on a plethora of overtures, and much more. This year’s GA will consider the nomination and election of a Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to serve, in the words of the current job description, as chief ecclesiastical officer of the denomination to succeed Gradye Parsons, who is not standing for another term. The nominating committee is presenting The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson as candidate. Dr. Nelson currently serves as Director of the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness (OPW) in Washington, DC. The Office of Public Witness is a prophetic office of the denomination and implements the social justice agenda of the General Assembly through advocacy with the executive and legislative branches of the federal government. The Rev. David M. Baker, stated clerk and director of communications for the Presbytery of Tampa Bay, is also standing for the office. The election will be held June 24. A new moderator of the GA will also be elected. Standing are Jan Edmiston and Denise Anderson, and David Parker and Adan Mairena (standing for co-moderators). You can follow all the business of GA at http://www.pcusa.org/events/24275/222nd-general-assembly-2016/. Plenary sessions will be live-streamed. Please keep the GA and commissioners in your prayers!

Fecundity!

It's not often that a person gets to use the word fecundity! Yet that is what the month of June has offered me. In case you don't want to look it up . . . fecundity - fruitfulness in offspring or vegetation : prolific; intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree Offspring--Doug and I have visited with so many loved ones over the past month. Doug's daughter and her family in Alabama--especially good to see our granddaughter, Ellen, who was on leave before being posted to Naval Base San Diego. Doug's son, Jeremy, and his wife and daughters came for a visit on their way to Connecticut to visit their sailor son, JT. We spent time with Doug's son, Chris and his wife, Heather in Atlanta. I was able to watch streaming video of my son, Aaron's, graduation, where he received his Master's of National Security and Strategy. We spent a long weekend in High Point watching (in between thunderstorms) our grandson, Nate, play baseball in Pony League All Stars. Really, I can't remember so much family in so little time ever! Vegetation--the garden is producing! We have just begun harvesting squash and cucumbers--the tomatoes will take a while. But the berries! Red raspberries--a whole patch of them, from just three little plants given to me by Ernie Bentley two years ago. And lovely blackberries (no thorns!). We have been eating berries on cereal, in yogurt, and--you guessed it--in homemade ice cream! And the freezer is filling up. Berries really do seem like a gift from God. Once you put them in the ground, they just come, every summer, no effort needed except the picking and the eating. Intellectually productive--Yes, that, too! I have digested more books than I could list here, and have even delved into the Greek New Testament--which is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for me, since I have forgotten more Greek than I ever learned! I have to say that the "input" side of the sabbatical has been full of fecundity, but, so far, the output is small--at least in any measurable way. I suppose the prolific material I have read has to percolate for a while. I need to consider what kind of output I want from all this information. Should it be a book, an online course, some kind of audio or video production? And how shall I share my learnings with all of you? Matters for thinking. I would add one more aspect of fecundity--the blessing of time with my dear husband, Doug. In the normal course of events, we really don't see much of one another, and I'm grateful for these long days together--whether we are reading or driving or packing or visiting. It's a joy to be together. So June, thanks for the fecundity! And thanks be to God, who gives good gifts!

A Whirlwind Month

It is hard to believe we have finished the first month of the sabbatical! Lots has been going on! I've been doing a lot of reading. Walter Brueggemann's An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination, proved to be 400 EXTREMELY dense, but wonderful delving into what scripture means, as it has been "traditioned" throughout the generations of its formation. On the lighter side, Polly Berends' Gently Lead: How to Teach Your Children about God While Finding Out for Yourself , offers stories and ideas about how to enrich the spiritual lives of our children in ways that enrich us as well. Sarah Juengst's Equipping the Saints has made quite an impact on me. It is a book I've had a long time, but am just now reading. Sarah (a former seminary professor of mine) says that we as churches cannot expect good leadership from members unless they are taught ahead of time--in Bible, Christian theology, and leadership. This is an eclectic list! For the next several weeks, I expect to delve into the New Testament. On the "family" side, Doug and I have been traveling! We spent a week with my mother in Pawley's Island, SC (and she returned the favor by spending a week with us). I attended the Homiletics Festival in Nashville--what a week of wonderful preaching and teaching! It was good to spend time with clergy colleagues as well as enjoy good Nashville barbecue. Next, Doug and I spent a few days in Chesapeake, VA for my niece, Lauren's graduation from high school. Then it was on to Philadelphia for a few days with our nephew and his wife, Zach and Aubrie. Many of you may remember Zach from the years he was part of our Northside family while he attended VT. Now we are off on a new adventure. We will travel to Daphne, AL, to visit with Doug's daughter, Talitha, and her family. The bonus is that our Navy granddaughter, Ellen, will be home for a few days before being stationed at San Diego. On the way back, we will hit "Hot-lanta" for a few days. I will be using Columbia Seminary's library and will meet with Rodger Nishioka and Kathy Dawson, Christian Education professors at the seminary. Hopefully, they will help me shape the material I want to bring back to the church. Hit my milestone birthday--60--last week! Hard to believe! This summer is a momentous one for Doug and me. He will hit the quarter century mark in August, and I will celebrate 25 years of ordained ministry. How time flies! At home, this past week, it's been gardening. Ernie Bentley tilled our vegetable garden, and the plants are finally in the ground, just in time for nice hot weather. Hopefully we will enjoy tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and basil. Our berry plants look to be producing well--I have just picked our first bowl of strawberries. God is amazing--look at what God does with a few plants! I miss you all, but have enjoyed meals with Martha and Kathy, and a shared birthday meal with Don and Louise Bloss and Sue and Ernie Bentley.

Getting Ready

My sabbatical starts in 5 days, and I've been getting ready for several weeks now. What to take with me? What do I need to read? To write on? To think about? And how to leave my "space" as I go. I've been sorting through the piles of papers that always seem to multiply, filing, making new piles, putting the piles into boxes so they don't look so awful . . . you get the idea. And strangely, although it's been crazy around here, I'm feeling that Sabbath feeling already. Maybe it has to do with making the space around me more serene, more orderly. Maybe it is just looking forward to days without schedules or appointments or deadlines. I'm sure the days will pass too quickly, and I'll be back. I pray that making space and time will help me get back in touch with my deepest self and with God--both get squeezed out sometimes with busyness. It's hard to step away from dear friends and colleagues, and from the life I lead when I am "at church." I realized this afternoon that I spend much more time here than in my home (if you don't count sleeping). I'll miss it. There is always a loss that goes with a gain, an ending with a beginning. But, here goes nothin'--I'm going to take a deep breath for the next three months.

Today I have been thinking about work, and how much pressure we (and certainly I) put on ourselves to be "successful," and, if truth be told, valued. I want to share a slightly edited version of a prayer in Marianne Williamson's book, Illuminata, as a prayer for myself and my work. Dear God, I release this ministry to You. I know that my tension, my control, and my direction do not always serve the Church or You. I know that my need to succeed and prosper do not always serve the Church or You. May my resources be used by You. I ask only that Your will be done. I have shown up, God. I have done as I have felt You have asked me to do. And now I place all outcome in Your hands. May my efforts gladden You. May my work please You. I am here only to do Your bidding, that I might feel lighter, that I and the entire world might be healed. Amen.

When I was a teenager (many moons ago), I loved to read novels about the future. I remember reading Farenheit 451, Brave New World, 1984, and others of that ilk—and watching television shows like Star Trek and The Jetsons. I wondered about whether we could ever get so far into the future as 1984, and what that future would be like. I speculated about whether I would live to see the turn of the century, but could not imagine that time so many years ahead. Now I am astonished that we are all living in 2012, and that what life is like is way beyond anything I could imagine.

No, we are not flying around in “space cars,” but the shuttle has been to space so often that before its end, most people didn’t even bother to watch the takeoffs. We have computers we can carry in our pockets or hold in our hands. We can instantly text people all over the world, and international news comes to us in minutes, not weeks. We can take pictures with our phones and post them online in seconds. The future is far different than I imagined in the sixties.

Now that I am closer to the end of my life than the beginning, I suspect that there is yet more the future has in store for me. As in my youth, I probably cannot imagine what that will be—for me, for our church, for our cosmos. But what I do not have to imagine is the faithfulness of God, the grace of Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. These, which have been here from before the beginning, are here now, and will continue until God wraps up history with a new heaven and a new earth.

Happy New Year! 2012 will bring changes, but rejoice in this: “Great is God’s steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 117

Nashville Pentecost

What a great week! Being fed spiritually, musically, "homiletically"--all at the same time! The Festival of Homiletics was packed full of worship, study, and music. We began by 8:30 every morning and did not get back to unwind until almost 10:00 each night. The people of Nashville, and First Baptist Church, in particular, were so hospitable, in spite of the challenges they have been facing since the flood.

For me, the same theme seemed to be reinforced over and over again all week, and especially encapsulated by the Bonnie Raitt song (written by former NFL player Mike Reid), "I Can't Make You Love Me . . . You can't make your heart feel something it won't." How can a Nashville love song reiterate God's song and our song? The Spirit moves in strange and wondrous ways. Tongues of fire, rushing wind, country music . . .

God in Jesus Christ put it all out there for us, loving us without strings, becoming ultimately vulnerable to our response--which, too much of the time, is NOT to love back. Unrequited love is the Gospel story. Sometimes we make a start to love God back, but mostly we don't. All we like sheep have gone astray . . . the younger son, wandering to a far off land . . . the older son, standing grudgingly in the dark outside the party . . . the father, waiting for both of them to come home.

It's the call for us as Christians to do that, too, which makes being a disciple of Jesus supremely hard, I think. It's our job to love others, not to BE loved back. I always find it painful to learn how to do love that way. I'd rather have guarantees. Maybe that is what it means to take up our cross--loving without expecting reciprocation. Maybe not doing that is part of what sin is.

In any case, I am renewed in many ways, and nourished to keep following, and hopefully, to keep growing and learning how to love.

One Great Hour of Sharing

Since 1949, Presbyterians have joined with millions of other Christians through One Great Hour of Sharing to share God’s love with people experiencing need. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities.

Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our sisters and brothers around the world find the hope for a brighter future.

Helping One Another

After a Monday morning spend cleaning garlic to help a farmer friend who is seriously ill in the hospital, I thought what a gift it is to allow people to help. When there is a catastrophe in life, our friends and family want to help, and so frequently there is little anyone can do to "fix" anything. But giving someone a chance to share the load not only gets the work done, it gives those who come the opportunity to feel better because of helping. It offers folks a chance to exercise their "compassion muscles." I've been thinking so much about a very old song (since I'm a pretty old person these days):

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there

For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share

And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy he's my brother

Work and Faith

"If I am supposed to hoe a garden or make a table, then I will be obeying God if I am true to the task I am performing. To do the work carefully and well, with love and respect for the nature of my task and with due attention to its purpose, is to unite myself to God's will in my work. In this way I become [God's]instrument. [God]works through me." (Source: Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation)

How does this apply to my professional life? My family life? My friendships? My use of time and money? My own self care? I think I ought to keep this thought before me all the time.

Waiting for Number Eight

Why is it so hard to see God's design--or to wait until it unfolds? Samuel didn't want a new king for Israel at all, and when he was choosing one from Jesse's sons, he was ready to choose the first one. God said NO. Samuel had to go through seven sons, all of whom looked like a perfect king, before the eighth son, David, showed up, young and inexperienced, dragged out of the fields. He was totally unlikely--the wrong one. Just as Jesus was unlikely to be God's chosen Messiah, and he was rejected, until God did a new thing in his death and resurrection! How many possibilites am I missing, because I think I have it all figured out? Hopefully, I can wait until number eight every time I am trying to find the right path to follow Jesus.

Happy Birthday!

I just received a new T-shirt for my birthday. On the front it says Columbia Theological Seminary (my alma mater) and on the back is a LARGE picture of John Calvin. Probably only a Presbyterian would ever wear this shirt, but why would anyone (including Presbyterians) really care about a French Protestant born exactly 500 years ago this July?

As our PCUSA web site asserts: “Lutherans adore Martin Luther. Methodist hearts are strangely warmed by John Wesley. Anglicans even have a sardonic fondness for Henry VIII. But Presbyterians are uncertain about John Calvin and his legacy. Calvin is not a Reformed idol. John Calvin would have been pleased by our reluctance to revere him. He did not want to be idolized by future generations. In order to discourage veneration, he specified that he be buried in Geneva’s common cemetery in an unmarked grave.”

Yet we cannot help but be grateful for Calvin’s influence on the Protestant Church in general and the Presbyterian Church in particular. Calvin placed highest value on education in the church, on teaching all Christians to read and understand scripture, not just as material to be memorized, but as a lens through which to understand the world in which we find ourselves.

Calvin saw economic justice, social compassion, and education to be central to our mission as Christians, and he established hospitals, schools, governmental support for the poor and weak. He insisted that theology could not be separated from life, and that Jesus Christ is Lord in every sphere of existence. We are who we are in many ways because of his leadership and influence. So Happy Birthday, John Calvin!

Earth Day - Outside and Inside

As I write this, I am keenly aware that it is Earth Day. The earth—or at least the atmospheric portion of Earth—has been making its presence known today, in wind and rain and even snow—but now the sun is shining and I can hear birds outside the study window. It is an awesome time to think about God’s great gift of creation . . . and new creation.

Psalm 24 reminds us:

The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for God has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

It is easy to see new creation in the environment around us. Perhaps not as easy to see is the new creation that is within us. There is an environment that is our own self, soul, psyche, being—our “within” environment. It is as important to care for that environment as it is to cherish and maintain the earth. We face storms in our lives, too—wind, rain, ice, thaw, the falling and dying of leaves, the greening of newness in spring. We sometimes endure toxic dumping from others, pollution from sin, hatred, grief, guilt. We find old feuds, disappointments, and current fears and ailments littering our spirits.

As we remember that the earth is the Lord’s, let us remember that WE are the Lord’s, too. God has created us, sustains us with God’s Holy Spirit, and offers us every moment the possibility of new creation. God has promised that to us in Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God for eternal Spring!

Hints of Easter

Dictionary.com defines hermeneutics as “the science of interpretation, especially of the scriptures.” During my ministry, I have increasingly seen what I do—in almost every area of pastoral work—as hermeneutics. I see what is going on around me, I reflect on it in light of the Bible and theology and experience, and I try to make sense of it to myself and to others—in preaching, teaching, pastoral care, even during meetings and seemingly unrelated activities.

I suspect we all do a lot of hermeneutics in our lives. It is part of how we live as disciples of Jesus Christ. We interpret the world we inhabit in light of what we know of God through Jesus and scripture, and what we have learned in the hundreds of worship services and Sunday school classes we have attended.

Yesterday afternoon, I traveled “down the mountain” for a lecture at Second Presbyterian. As you all know, around here spring is giving a few little hints, a bit of green lawn here, a few buds there, daffodils and crocus—but in the valley, all the trees have bloomed out—the tulip trees, the redbuds, the pears—and everything gloriously green and lush. As I soaked it in, I kept thinking about Easter—about resurrection—new life—and the hints of it we keep getting throughout our earthly lives. If heavenly life is anything like spring, what a wonder it will be! And if is anything like our glimpses of joy, peace, and love that we share as we worship, fellowship and study together, what a wonder that will be! Even in death, we are in life—life today, and life complete one day. Thanks be to God!