Lucky Leftover Friday

Dear Friends

I would argue that today is not only "Black Friday", but "Lucky Leftover Friday". By lucky, I'm not just talking about those lucky enough to be warming up a plate of turkey and side dishes today, (not to mention those turkey sandwiches coming soon). I'm talking about the turkeys who survived!

Just consider the lucky flock of turkeys we came across on the grounds of Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Salinas, as we continue to explore this beautiful area and found our neighbor parish. (see picture above)

Or consider the luck we had in finding a fresh turkey on sale which survived yesterday's dinner table, but will find a home on ours soon. Even the price label, if you look closely, identified it as "Lucky". (Did I mention we bought it at Lucky grocery store?...see picture below)




"With a Little Bit of Luck", of course, is a song from "My Fair Lady". We are thankful for our little bit of lucky timing represented in these two pictures, including the Lucky meat manager coming out to change the price label on the turkey just as we were looking at it! 

Could all this luck have anything to do with the fact that we drove to Dublin (California!) for Thanksgiving dinner with cousins yesterday? Or that Kathleen is half Irish?

Happy Lucky Leftover Friday!

John

Illustrations Everywhere

Dear Friends

Sometimes, I have found sermon illustrations after I have preached the sermon in which I could have used them! In my All Saints’ Day sermon, I was trying to make the point that saints are not perfect people; they come in all shapes and sizes and colors, and from all countries and cultures. They are people trying their best to make God’s priorities their priorities and some days go better than other days. Even the greatest saints we admire---from the past or in the present, from the apostles to church history heroes, to even you and me---none would survive a background check under a microscope. But we call them saints because they dedicated their lives to God and inspire others by the way they chose to live for God.

A few days later, in preparation for a visit to Monterey for “Cannery Row Day”, I checked out Steinbeck’s book by the same name at the Carmel Village Library. With All Saints’ Day still on my mind, these words from the introduction caught my attention:

     Its inhabitants are, as the man once said, “whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches” by which he meant Everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole, he might have said “Saints and angels and martyrs and holy men” and he would have meant the same thing.

At the end of a tour of Rickett’s Pacific Biological Laboratories (led by a man channeling the character of Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck’s friend and inspiration for the character “Doc”) he told us wherever we come from, go and find the extraordinary people close by, because they are there.

So, I guess the lesson for me is that every day and anywhere, we may find an illustration or example of a biblical truth or lesson, whether or not it shows up in the sermon we have heard (or preached) on any given Sunday. 

It’s fun to anticipate how God may surprise and teach us.

John

First Week Reflection

Dear Friends

I thought I was off to a good start. All my first impressions of St. Dunstan’s were positive. I thought the feeling was mutual. But on the third day of my job (and my first Sunday), these two articles appeared in the Sunday bulletin, one right after the other. I was welcomed, and now they are already trying to replace me!

Kidding aside, it has been a wonderful first week. Kathleen and I were warmly welcomed on All Saints’ Sunday.  We have attended El Camino Real's Diocesan Convention. I have attended three meetings (including the weekly staff meeting), been briefed by the Associate Priest on pastoral issues and met with the Stewardship Chairman. In addition to the weekly Wednesday Eucharist there is, tonight, the monthly informal service called Common Thread which can include music from Taize to the Beatles! Two members invited me to attend Rotary where I met the local Rabbi. Kathleen came in to watch the pre-school Halloween parade and attend the weekly prayer shawl knitting group.

As half time interim (by choice), my official work schedule is Sunday through Wednesday and we are looking forward to enjoying our free time. Yesterday we saw “Harriet” a powerful movie about Harriet Tubman, the “Moses of her people”. Today, we will be exploring more of this charming Carmel Valley Village where we live (just five miles from church) including a stop at the library to get our cards. I’m going to check out John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” in preparation for Cannery Row Day which we will be attending tomorrow in Monterey.

Already, we are aware that this seven month, give or take a few weeks experience is going to go by quickly, so we are trying to enjoy and make the most of each day.

Of course, that is good advice for wherever we are living. Daily blessings abound when we are recognizing them and trying to share them with others.

John