What's happening this month

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE… it’s already June, and the start of longer and warmer summer days, relaxed schedules and fresh opportunities to explore our beautiful Montana landscapes. In the spirit of traditional school schedules, I often think of this time of year as “recess.” Who remembers the joy and freedom that came with a brief game of kickball, or hopscotch or four-square, not to mention reaching new heights on the swing set?

In Genesis, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. God modeled for us the importance of setting aside time to pause, reflect, and appreciate God’s creation. Summer offers us the perfect opportunity to step back from our regular routines and reconnect with God in a different way...to enjoy a “Spiritual Recess.” 

Our Mountain Sky Conference will be meeting in Billings June 10-13 for our Annual Conference, uniting clergy and laity from across our five state region. In this time of holy conferencing we will step away from our day-to-day routine and explore how the Holy Spirit guides us on “The Way of Loving Boldly!” I invite you to do the same. How does love intersect with acts of service, repentance, and reflection in your life? What are some ways you can invite God’s gentle spirit into your day to offer rest and renewal?

One of my favorite poets is Wendell Berry. For nearly thirty-five years he worked on a series of poems occasioned by his solitary Sunday walks around his farm in Kentucky. Berry embraced “spiritual recess” and shared it in his book This Day: Collected & New Sabbath Poems. 

Whatever is foreseen in joy   

Must be lived out from day to day, 

Vision held open in the dark 

By our ten thousand days of work.   

Harvest will fill the barn; for that  

The hand must ache, the face must sweat. 

And yet no leaf or grain is filled

By work of ours; the field is tilled

And left to grace. This we may reap,

Great work is done while we're asleep. 

When we work well, a Sabbath mood

Rests on our day, and finds it good. 

Let’s journey together…some more –

Pastor Sue