I can't quite believe that I have reached my last day in Canada - tomorrow I will be leaving on a jet plane, as the song goes. I am so glad that I have had a couple of weeks to prepare my heart and soul to simply be on sabbatical. It is not an easy thing to let go of the working world - and it has taken me this long to get into the rhythm of a sabbatical life. I woke up after 9 this morning - that is most definitely a new experience for me! Yesterday I had the grand privilege of leading in worship with my friend Deborah Vitt at Selkirk United Church. Deb and I were classmates at the Centre of Christian Studies and it is rare we get to actually worship together anymore. We speak on the phone quite a bit, to put it mildly, so we both know a fair bit about each other's communities - it was great to actually be immersed in her world for a morning.
The United Church of Canada is actually a very small world - there are all kinds of ways that we are connected to one another. At Selkirk, one of the young women stood to speak about the Manitoba Youth Retreats that she is on the leadership teams for - the two retreats are called Alf, and Zeebu. My oldest son, Brian, was on the leadership for those very same two retreats - but about 10 years ago! It is wonderful to think of a new generation of youth who continue to carry on those traditions. The anthem which the choir sang at Selkirk yesterday was "River of Judea", which is clearly one of the favorites of our congregation back in Regina - it was lovely to feel the connection to our Sunset choir as this choir sang their hearts out in Selkirk. This past summer I was able to lead in worship at Minnedosa United Church, which is one of the congregations where I worked in Manitoba ten years ago. I spoke about Sauti Moja in Minnedosa, and in Selkirk, and in Regina - it is quite lovely to think of all 3 of those congregations following me along on this journey. And I am ever so grateful to each of the three congregations who have graciously let me share the story of this sojourn to Kenya and Tanzania that I am about to set out on. The more that I can articulate it out loud with others, the more clear it becomes in my heart and soul that this is the path I want and need to embark upon at this stage of my faith journey. I know that there is concern out there about the current situation of unrest in Kenya and Somalia. No matter where we are in this world, there are great risks involved. Tim Wright has assured me that we will not travel to areas of high risk, and that there are many police checks in place. I will do my best to be safe, and I know that I am held in prayer by many, many people. Remember that song from Iona? "Don't be afraid - my love is stronger - and I have promised to be always near." That is the song that I will carry with me. I have a rock from Scott, a toonie from Jeremy, a prayer bracelet from Karen, a necklace from Sunset, a prayer shawl from Selkirk - all will be well!!
This afternoon Deb, our friend Donna, and I went to Gimli just for a relaxing outing. It was freezing cold - helpful way to get me ready to actually get on that plane and head for warmer weather!
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