Summertime.  Ah, the sweet smell of freshly cut grass.  The scent of the neighbor's barbeque wafting through the thick, muggy air, our mouths watering for a taste of those ribs and steaks they've got cooking up.  The sun warms our skin and we graciously welcome any breeze that comes our way.  Summertime also stirs our memories of long ago days; when the streets were filled with kids playing baseball, little girls jumping rope and parents sitting on their front porches, taking in the sites and sounds, relaxing after a long and demanding day that began before the sun rose and didn't finish up until the dishes from dinner were washed and put away.  Certainly for me, this is the picture I can draw, taken right from my personal memories of growing up in a blue-collar neighborhood in southwest Detroit.  The entire block knew one another.  We were not strangers.  We were neighbors and we were friends.  I wonder how many of us can say the same today, that is, do we know our neighbors on our particular block?  Not just the folks on either side of our home, but the people across the street, the people at the corner, up and down the entire block.  Do we know who they are?  Do we even know their names? 

The community of a church is sort of like the neighborhood in which people live.  We all have our particular seats we prefer, week after week.  That becomes our "home."  Do we know the folks who are sitting on the other side of church, those "neighbors" at the end of the block, or across the street?  Our Sign of Peace is unique.  Truth be told, while I've been to many, many churches, no one shares the Peace like we do at St. Nicholas.  This is something of which we ought well be tremendously proud.  Two thumbs up, St. Nicholas!  We are blessed in so many ways.  In my other church experiences, 27 years worth of ministry and celebrating the Holy Eucharist in churches from southern California to the northern most tip of Maine, in Paris, Rome, London, Toronto, Stuttgart and Birkirkara, Malta,  I made a point of walking up and down the aisle, shaking the hands of as many folks I could reach.  Mind you, in some of those churches, Roman Catholic and Episcopal, the congregation was rather taken aback by my gesture.  Their tradition was to turn to their neighbor and share the peace.  Nothing more than that.  No one said anything about turning all the way around or getting out into the aisle and visiting with the people sitting across and behind us. But you know what, once they visited with that first person sitting across the aisle, or turned all the way around, face to face with those behind them, the barriers was broken, the dam had burst, the die was cast.  Eventually, this practice became natural, another part of the Liturgy, a once foreign tradition was now the norm.  I take no credit for it.  Rather, I give thanks to the Good Lord for inspiring others to reach out and share love, happiness and Christ's peace.

Again, when I see my church family, my beloved sisters and brothers share the peace of Christ, my heart is filled.  I'm not in any hurry.  I may stand at the altar waiting for the opportunity to continue with the prayers.  But, and always remember this...the peace of Christ and the sharing of Jesus' love and grace can go on as long as it needs.  Why would anyone want to rush through sacred time with our Savior and with our community of St. Nicholas?  Jesus smiles warmly and widely, (that's how I visualize Christ watching us at worship, especially at the Sign of Peace), seeing how we greet one another, how we share blessed peace, love and joy.  We are a neighborhood that truly knows one another.  Let's make sure that if there is anyone we are not familiar with or do not know...tear down that barrier and get to know them.  There is always room for more in our worship neighborhood and it is a rather short walk from one side of the church to the other!