My summer holidays begin today! The day began with the BUC Book Club gathering at our place to select the book list for the next year. I always enjoy this process because we get to learn about a lot of wonderful books and we get the delight of choosing just a few for the Book Club’s monthly read.

Now what lay before me in a month of nothing! Well, that is not entirely true. We have a few plans made and a few commitments to keep. But, I think you would agree, there is something delicious in the anticipation of a stretch of holidays. Sabbath time is something that was identified as needed way back in the time of the earliest record of our faith story. According to the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments God decreed that Sabbath – a time of rest – was to be both practiced and honoured.

There is something about the pace of summer that seems to slow us down. Groups stop meeting over the summer. Meetings are cancelled because, well, it’s summer. People slip into the mode of relaxation. More entertainment happens, as do spontaneous get-togethers as friends make time just to be together.

For me, the break from the constant onslaught of meetings, e-mails, and ‘to do’ lists is like a gift of renewal. I am so ready for this time to move to a schedule of my own making and to get to some of those jobs around the house that there is just never time for when I am at work.

I won’t be writing a Blog again until August. Thank you for reading my occasional entries. I hope that, on occasion, they might prod your thinking, stir your conscience or challenge your faith. I hope that you will also get some ‘downtime’ over the next couple of months.

And now, my first objective is to hang the hammock and crack open one of those great books we discussed this morning.

Today is the beginning. All those leaders of the various countries invited to the G8 Summit begin arriving in Muskoka today. The Summit begins tomorrow and then in what will seem like a few hours it will all be over!  It feels like we have been readying ourselves for these two days for a long time. Well, in fact, we have been. The G8 has been talked about for a couple of years. There has been a lot of money plowed into improvements in our communities. There has been much media coverage both positive and negative. As I type a helicopter is flying overhead with its echoing noise pummeling the air. I can’t remember when I felt so observed!

I mentioned in a blog a few entries ago that I attended the Freshwater Summit held at the Rene Caisse theatre. The result of that gathering was to prepare a communiqué to the G8. (The radio coverage of that conference will be broadcast on CBC radio tonight …tune in to Ideas at 9:00 and hear some of the discussion from the Freshwater Summit.)

Trinity United Church in Huntsville is hosting a Prayer vigil throughout the Summit to pray for the G8 leaders that they may together share inspired leadership and courageous action in the fulfillment of the set out goals.

I must admit I am skeptical about the value of such a meeting. I am sure there is something to be gained by the coming together of word leaders but I really have to question if the expense equals the gain. There has been lots of talk about the billions of dollars spent on security alone for the two summits not to mention the incredible inconvenience to those who work in the area of each summit. Will the world be changed because of the conversations that happen in Huntsville and then in Toronto over the next few days? I will celebrate if that is the case but I am afraid my cynicism makes me dubious.

How about you? Do you think the G8 Summit and the G20 Summit are worth the cost and inconvenience?

Hello bloggers! I am not sure how this week got away from me and no entry on the blogosphere. Here it is Saturday afternoon and I am trying to put into words something that I have reflected on often over the past few years and that has arisen for me yet again. The catalyst this time was a sad day. 

Last Sunday I was not at worship at BUC. That morning I was, instead, on route to Burlington for a family gathering. It was not a fun, summer family picnic or reunion. My aunts and uncles and cousins were gathering to say farewell to my cousin who had died in March. Brenda was just six months older than me. It’s true; when we are young we think of ourselves as invincible but when people our age die the preciousness of life is brought home to us.

At first the family wasn’t sure they wanted anything formal.  For the most part they are not religious people and funerals seem so …religious. I understand their feelings. I hear it often at the poignant and painful moment of life when a loved one has died. Traditionally a funeral has been a religious ceremony. Scripture is read, prayers are prayed, and sometimes even hymns are sung. As our culture becomes less and less comfortable with the religious service people are often at a loss as to what to do. They don’t want to be hypocritical and frankly, if you are not accustomed to church services, scripture readings and prayers can seem like a foreign language.

So, too often people opt for nothing. My cousins were thinking this might be the way to go. Not only the discomfort with something too religious but also because the anticipation of a service was just too painful, the formal saying good-bye just too hard. Thankfully, at least in my opinion, this is not what happened.

At first we were just going to get together and visit but not have anything formal. This works for some people; stories are told, tears flow -interspersed with laughter.  But, with my offer to speak (after all, that is what I do!) the plan for a ritual started to form. In the end several friends spoke, we sang a couple of hymns, one cousin sang a solo, another cousin offered a prayer and yes, it roused out grief, but it was also healing.

At the time of a death that is the main reason we engage in ritual. It is healing. We put into action and word emotions that are hard to express but need to be acknowledged in some way. I am often with families as they walk that holy walk of saying good-bye.  And I have been through several funerals for loved ones when I was a mourner. The age-old ritual at the time of a death comes to us for a reason. It is healing. The being together, the expression of grief, the stories told, the moments remembered, the love cherished, these all bring healing to those of us who are mourning. As a Christian, putting my grief into the context of faith helps me move from a place of pain and loss to a place of hope and comfort. 

I will always miss my cousin. The ritual does not take away the loss. But it does honour her. Her family and friends gathered and it was a public declaration that her life made a difference.  And when it was over, as painful as it was, I felt better.