(originally posted June 7, 2016)

Beloved:
          VBS 2016 will go down as the year Pastor Annette didn’t burn the building down.  I was the last to leave Vacation Bible School set-up Sunday afternoon.  “Let me get tomorrow’s dessert out of the oven and I’ll lock up,” I told my excellent 12-year-old kitchen assistant.  The chocolate raspberry crumb bars looked and smelled perfect.  I turned off the oven and set the pan on the stovetop to cool overnight, not noticing the burner still on beneath it.  The retired men’s group arrived a few minutes before me Monday morning.  They had already opened the windows and cleared the smoke.  Some people think it smells terrible.  Compared to, say, six thousand square feet of smoldering ash, I think it smells wonderful.   
          Our other take-away from this week and next is the Habitat for Humanity Builders Blitz house we are sponsoring, which is literally going up as I type.  By day’s end today it will be completely dried in, with electricals and plumbing roughed in, lots of interior drywall and exterior siding hung.  As you can see, I’ve picked up all kinds of builder lingo lately.  I did a quick walk-through this morning and talked with our homeowners, Irma and Oscar.  They are very pleased with the process and with how their house is coming together.  Irma’s new front porch is to die for.  And thanks, to the UBC Gatorade crews coming and going from church to work site every afternoon too. 

June 9, 2026

Beloved:
 
          My 26th Vacation Bible School at UBC.  It would be 28 but we missed two during the pandemic.  Kids of those early kids now sing and dance and make crafts.  Last night they made paper chain snakes, like the ones who live in the rainforest.  Tonight a guest will bring a real python, and a 36-year-old tortoise, and a bearded dragon ~ as we talk about the wonder of God’s creation and the wonder of their little selves.  I’m never prouder of my congregation than when they spend so much of their precious time to welcome little kids to church.  For my part, I’m as tired as the 2-year-olds by the time I leave the building.  All I can do is feed the dog and take a shower before I fall into bed.  I pick up my book and wake up hours later to take my glasses off and turn out the light.

          Silly songs and paper snakes, popsicles, water games and a full-grown man dressed up like Tarzan ~ having this much fun after all these years must surely mean I’m still in the right business.  There will be time to rest and recover later.  For now this is where I belong.

          In other news, the weather has officially turned to summer, heat in the 90’s and a little rain.  On the good side, my tomatoes will take off now and the neighborhood pool will warm up.  My plan is to wear out my welcome at the pool this year.  But for people living outside, the heat is not good news.  Places where they can get cool are fewer all the time.  A new Indiana law goes into effect next month making it a crime to sleep on public property overnight.  Cities who don’t comply will lose necessary funding from the state.  Thankfully local agencies, including law enforcement, are hard at work creating alternatives for our affected neighbors.  Ministers are preparing for the possibility folks will request staying on church properties.  This is most definitely something we can pray about, and if a meeting (or two or three) would benefit from your input.  But in the meantime, I hope you are making time to enjoy the delights of summer, whatever your favorites are.  I remain ever so grateful for your partnership in the work.  
 
~peace & prayers, 
pastor annette

June 2, 2026

Beloved:

To be missed by someone else in our absence seems to me the essence of human connection. To be remembered fondly when and where we are not present. I really can’t wish or hope for more from the ones I call friends or family.

My closest neighbor has been in post surgery rehab for a couple of months now, so I’ve kept an eye on her house and swept her driveway a time or two. We always have sticks to pick up out back as well. I miss our small talk chats as we come and go, analyzing the weather and why the mail comes at no certain time. She asks after my little grandchildren and I after her grown ones. Everyone in our little patch of the neighborhood looks forward to her being home.

The time I spend watching tiny humans grow, bursting toward tomorrow as the song goes, has me thinking about the absolute gift it is to be present with people we love, and the gift it is to have loved them and been loved by them.  These little ones will be grown and gone in the blink of an eye, and I’ll live on the memories we are making now. I don’t regret a minute I spend with them.  Or my children. Or my friends.

People matter most. In any given conversation, the people matter more than the topic of discussion. If they don’t feel safe, if they are not respected, the conversation will stall and either fail in the moment or be meaningless in the end.

They matter more than the relationship itself - being someone’s mother is less important than the person being mothered. To be in a partnership is less important than the partner. That can be a hard notion to wrap one’s head around sometimes, that a child (or partner or friend) is someone apart and free from our identity in relation to them.

Letting go of others is hard and I struggle at it, both in my actions and my heart. But the reward is great when I am able simply to receive what connection comes my way, and enjoy the memories of time together. Besides, we are surrounded by others, people with whom new memories are waiting to be made.

I pray this day is gentle and kind to us all.

~peace & prayers,
pastor annette
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