Bob works at the Church of the Epiphany and I work close by so we enjoy many lunch times together. On one of these occasions, we were sitting on a bench in the outdoor shrine at Epiphany when the Kindling Editor came walking along. She realized that Bob was going to be working in the kitchen later that day for #363 and that I would be working the following weekend for #364. This realization caused her to pause and ask if we would be willing to share a paragraph or two about the weekend.

Here are a few phrases that sum up the two weekends; “Service with Joy & Praise”, “Fellowship with God” and “Teamwork”. There are many little tasks to be done as the weekend proceeds and hearing the leaders say, “I knew a task needed to be done but it was completed before I asked” is a sign the “Team” is working together.

We arrive at the weekend like seeds. We are a closed, some tightly while others are ready to split wide open. We fall into our basket of tasks and begin to shuffle around. We begin to sprout and share information. Little by little, the shell is shed and we are exposed. We move within and outside our small groups getting fertilized in God’s word and action. Respect of our faith strengthens the roots. By the end of the weekend we have grown through what we shared and received and our growth is seen by others. We are a garden in full bloom.

Like the stool of piety, study and action, the teams of kitchen, palanca and Rollo work together as a stool to stand on and use. We encourage you to work a weekend if you can and thank you for the prayers that make all weekends success-ful. Until the next time ….

Nancy & Bob Mathewson