Summer is here, and some things slow down for a quieter summer pace. Here at All Saints, I’m excited to offer a few opportunities to gather for connection, conversation, and restoration. The first is a Summer Days devotional by Saltproject.org, including gatherings on four Sundays following worship. The second is a series of summer Potluck and Movie nights, once a month on Wednesday evenings.
Summer Days From Saltproject.org: At its best, summer is a season of rest and joy – tapping into the ancient, sacred practice of sabbath restoration. Mary Oliver can help us reconnect with this dimension of summertime, savoring what she calls its “luminous sprawl of gifts.” At each of the four steps, you’ll find a gentle rhythm to guide you: the lighting of a candle, a passage from Scripture to pair with poems in Oliver’s Devotions, a short prayer, and a song or two. Each step also includes a bouquet of “daily practices” to try, activities to help deepen your experience of the poems, the biblical passages, and the wider world they call us to love.
So grab your favorite Bible and Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver (the poems can also be found online and will be available at Sunday gatherings). Step by step, we’ll make our way deep into the heart of summer, the heart of sabbath, and the heart of being human: joyful, rested, and free.
The print devotional will be available in June. You are also invited to gather on four Sundays following worship to read and discuss the scripture, poems, and suggestions for restoration offered in the devotional. Those dates will be June 15 & 22, July 6 & 27.
And . . .Movie Nights
We will meet at church at 6:00pm for a summer salad potluck before each movie.
Pride – Wednesday, June 18. U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. A lovely and hilarious movie about building bridges between communities. Starring Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton.
The Miracle Club – Wednesday, July 9. There’s just one dream for the women of Ballygar to taste freedom: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes. A heartwarming tale of faith and forgiveness. Starring Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney.
Babette’s Feast – Wednesday, August 6. During the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor’s daughter. Babette gifts them with the feast of a lifetime. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1988; based on a short story by Isak Dinesen. The film is in Danish with subtitles.
See you this summer!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Kristin