The Rev. Liam Collins is teaming up again with Canon Frank and Victoria Logue to offer the Fall Prayer Retreat which will meet September 23 at 5 p.m. and conclude by 2 p.m. on the 24th.  

The rates for the conference including three meals are: Lodge 1 Single $144, Lodge 1 Double $99.50, Lodge 2 Single $133, Lodge 2 Double $94, Cottage $90, and Campers and Commuters $64. 

John Seldon Whale, who died in 1996 at one hundred, left a significant wake of influence in both North America and the United Kingdom. He was a pulpit master, endowed with the charisma of authority. Whale once observed that "Faith without consequences is a lie. God does not need our sacrifices but has, nevertheless, appointed a representative to receive them, namely our neighbor".

Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan is one of the best loved of his parables-which is interesting, because it was not intended to make those who heard it feel good. It was supposed to make the lawyer who asked the question, as a sort of opening gambit, handle its answers with integrity. The question, of course, was cloaked with a thin veil of contempt. The lawyer's tone of voice probably had the sound of a sneer: "And who, my dear Jesus, is my... er...uh...'neighbor"?

And, of course, Jesus knew the calculating heart of the lawyer who posed the question. So he asks back, in not so many words, "Well, Mr. Lawyer, What do you think? Who is your neighbor anyway? Jesus could certainly read faces. So he saw that the lawyer's cold absence of compassion was the perfect launch-pad for what comes next: 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho...."

And we all know the rest of the story!

Or do we? Let's check it out.

We, who will hear of the Good Samaritan once again this Sunday, July 10th, will join the thousands of people to visualize the warm images already painted in our minds since childhood. But here is where there may be an unexpected challenge.

Start by considering something simple: reading glasses. For most of us, they make seeing the print of the story easier - unless the lenses are covered by the dust of sentimental familiarity. Do we need a reminder to wipe the lenses off? When we do clean our glasses, are we surprised by the light that comes in?

The next step is to consider another simple visual aide: a mirror. Parables and other really memorable stories have a way of reflecting back to us our evolving images as we progress through time in our pilgrimage to the spiritual maturity that comes with age. How we grow in our relationship to the parables of Jesus are like that.