St John's is branching out

A few weeks ago, after coffee at the new and expanded MoKaBe's with my brilliant and energetic colleague and friend Teresa, I stopped in at St. John's Church, of which she is the rector, to see their Living Tree Mural. In the almost two years Teresa has been there as rector, Saint John's has experienced a lot of life and growth and a new sense of its mission to its neighborhood. A symbol of this is its partnership with South City Open Studio and Gallery (SCOSAG) to make a wonderful mural in the entryway to the parish hall. Everyone in the congregation as well as people from the larger community had an opportunity to make leaves for the tree, the tree incorporates a bench for sitting, it is a really spectacular and inviting piece of work. You can read more about the project and its process here.

More Harbingers of Spring

We had some snow earlier this week but it was not a great deal and had no seriously discouraging effect on the daffodils and forsythia brightening up my yard. Meanwhile, at the supermarket, there is a large display of citronella candles right next to the display of firelogs, as you walk in and over near the pharmacy there is a huge display of sunscreen and other sun related products. And we are past the half-way point in Lent and this Sunday is Refreshment Sunday or, in England, Mothering Sunday.

Harbingers of Spring

There are some annual signs that Spring is on the way at St Mark's Church every year. One is that Steve, who does our wonderful altar flowers, usually forces some forsythia in the church furnace room. He hoped it would be ready for the Last Sunday after Epiphany but it wasn't. But it was just perfect for our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper. The other sign is that he brings several pots of amaryllis bulbs out of hibernation and puts them on the table in the parish hall. The idea is to have them for Easter. They are going great guns so they may be a little early. We'll see. But togethe with the warm days we've been having this week, these are signs that winter is coming to an end. Of course, we could have a blizzard in March...