Vickie Robinson (formerly 2PC's office administrator) writes: Since the Thanksgiving Holiday is over, my focus has now shifted to the excitement and joys of the upcoming Christmas and New Year's Holidays. My mind is forever filled with those who are not so fortunate, who cannot enjoy either holidays or life in general. During the pandemic, I was blessed with my position at 2PC and the ability to work from home during those uncertain times, when so many people were getting sick, dying, losing their jobs, and their homes. Neither my finances nor my life was interrupted. Being given such an opportunity made me realize how blessed and fortunate I was, and still am . Due to this appreciation, I was able to donate to the Good Ground Food Pantry to provide a family with a holiday meal and other necessities.  When I was a child, I often heard the saying, "It's better to give than to receive." I didn't realize how profoundly that saying would impact my life until ...

Tim Woodcock writes: Back in the summer, I read Annie Lamott’s Help, Thanks, Wow – Three Essential Prayers , mentioned in a previous blog post . While I appreciated certain passages in this 100-page book in it but wasn’t sold it on it as a whole. Before returning it to the library, I made a photocopy of the section about giving thanks, thinking I might be more in the mood for it at another time. In this Thanksgiving week, I revisited it and indeed there was more waiting for me, when I dug into the book for a second time. Lamott’s great gift is her constant swerve to avoid conventional religious language and in doing so, she makes things appear fresh. She writes: You may in fact be wondering what I even mean when I use the word “prayer”… Let’s not get bogged down on whom or what we pray to. Let’s say prayer is communication from our hearts to the great mystery, or Goodness; to the animating energy of love we are sometimes bold enough to believe in, to something unimaginably big, and ...

  Tim Woodcock writes: With National Poetry Month coming to an end, it’s time to share a poem by Mary Oliver that I had put aside and earmarked a few weeks back. Coincidentally, with Earth Day Sunday in mind, Mike Willock, had also sent me a reflection by Oliver about her relationship to nature, which I will incorporate into the second half of this blog post. I came across Mary Oliver's poem "Praying" a couple of months ago on a Monday morning. Why do know it was a Monday morning? Because at the school where I work there is a tradition, which dates back about 15 years, of beginning Monday's assemblies with a “poem of the week.” Usually the poem is one selected and read by a teacher, but sometimes it’s by a student; it is also a platform for students to share their own poems, if they have won awarded in local contests, which happens with some frequency. It’s lovely moment of settling in and refocusing as the school week begins. Even during the COVID-inflected turbul...

Vickie Robinson writes: When I watch the world around me slowly repair itself, and life as we once knew it returns to the world, I am forever grateful and thankful for every single time when the news reminds me of the staggering numbers of Covid cases, catastrophic events, and the number of Afghan refugees and migrants trying to cross the border. Knowing this, I have realized how blessed I have been. I have not had the virus, nor have any of my family members; I have not experienced natural disasters such as Hurricane Ida; and I have the freedom to do things that others can only dream of. If you run into a rough patch in life, remind yourself how blessed you are to have your health, freedom to live your life the way you want, and no natural disasters.  And remember to thank God for it all.

In this week of Thanksgiving, it thought it would be worth sharing this photo from a chalkboard at school (TW).

Barbara Bowyer, inspired by Pastor Travis’s Sunday sermon, writes: November has got to be one of my favorite months of the year. The weather is beautiful, the last days of fall are showing off their vibrant colors, and there’s a noticeable chill in the air. I especially love to walk in Forest Park and kick my feet through the leaves underfoot, making the most wonderful crunching noise. The holidays are on the brink of erupting. My life is filled with many happy memories. The point is: it’s November. AKA Turkey month. AKA the time of year when stores put up all the Christmas decorations (if they hadn’t already done so!). But this year is different. Large gatherings of family and friends are discouraged as COVID continues to ravage our community. Residents of local nursing homes are continuing to feel isolated as visitations are curtailed or stopped. As we enter this season of Advent, it’s easy to be downcast, to think we have lost so much. But we have much for which to be thankful. If...