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The Rev. Dr.Cynthia Cearley
Lead Pastor of Congregational Life
Friends,
As summer begins in earnest, the church will be a bit more "dispersed" than we are during the program year. Many will travel to visit family or experience new places, others will find time to spend in the beautiful outdoors or Colorado and some will take a break from the routine schedule of their weeks and days.
In the midst of such a dispersion, we will still be the gathered community of Montview. Our identity here and with one another persists and our communion with God does not take a summer vacation.
One way to stay connected is to enjoy Montview's summer book together. Beginning at the end of June, there will be 4 times to gather before worship to discuss this year's book by Joan Chittister, "Following the Path: The Search for a life of Passion, Purpose and Joy." We hope you will join us when you can. However, present or not at those discussions, we can still experience the gathered community by reading, thinking and praying together as the book guides us.
I pray that you will feel the gathered community of faith wherever you are this summer and that these days will offer you rest, new experiences and warmth.
Blessings,
Cindy
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The Rev. Ian Gregory Cummins
Lead Pastor of Spiritual Life
Reflections from Spain
As many of you know, I recently had the chance to travel along the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), which is a 1,000 year old pilgrimage route along northern Spain. My friend and I drove in ten days what takes traditional pilgrims over a month as they walk more than 15 miles a day along the path that has been walked by literally millions of others since the 11th century.
One of the unexpected blessings for me was seeing the modern day pilgrims, with their backpacks and distinctive shell (the symbol of the pilgrimage) almost everywhere we went. Even as we drove along the highway we would sometimes spot them in the distance, walking single file through the fields.
There was something powerful for me in having this steady visual reminder of faith at every turn. Just like us, these modern day pilgrims tried to stay on the right path, they sometimes got lost, they often became tired, and every morning they rose with the hope and determination to move a little closer to their destination. Physically that destination was the cathedral at Santiago, where tradition holds that the bones of the Apostle James are buried. Spiritually, their journey is - like ours - about healing, forgiveness, and ultimately about coming home.
Perhaps we should try to imagine each other with an invisible backpack and a shell around our necks. Even in the most mundane and ordinary of moments we are each on our own pilgrimage, trying to move closer to God. The journey is long and unpredictable and we help each other along the way just as the pilgrims do with prayer, words of encouragement, sharing meals and sharing our lives.
Buen Camino!
Ian
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