Mid-Week Message - August 5

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be always with you!

This summer, I didn't plant a full garden, but I've been growing a container garden on my deck that is doing better than my container garden usually does.  This is probably a combination of the warm sunny weather we've been enjoying, the manure I added to the potting soil back in the spring when I was planting things, and the fact that I am actually remembering to water them this year.

My parsley and basil are growing so well that, even though I am harvesting both on a regular basis, both look as though i haven't touched them! (I foresee both pesto and tabbouleh in my future so as not to waste them.)

And I am also growing tomatoes for the first time in my life - thank you to the Harvest Garden who were giving away seedlings this spring, and I grabbed two plants. When I was young, my father had a big garden (he was a teacher so had July and August free to tend his garden), and he always grew lots of tomatoes. My mother would can them whole, make tomato juice and can that, and we would eat freshly picked tomatoes with every meal when they were in season. Some years, the harvest was so abundant that Dad would put baskets of tomatoes in the back of the station wagon and drive down the road trying to give them away to neighbours.

And this year, I am growing my own tomatoes. I don't know if I will have enough of a harvest from my two plants to can, but I am looking forward to my first bite of a homegrown tomato. I have been doing my research, from what type of compost they like (well-ripened sheep manure!) to watering schedules to pruning. And I am doing my part!

But when I think about it, even when I do everything right, I may not get a harvest when I plant a seed.  I am watering my plants with a hose, but if my water was cut off, there is nothing that I could do that would make water fall from the sky.  Even a seed is a miracle - the fact that that tiny brown dot contains life, and under the right circumstances it will burst open and unfurl into roots and a stem.  Even the best scientist in the world can't create a tomato seed in the lab.

I am gardening on such a minuscule scale, but I think of people with large gardens, and I think of farmers, and I think of the overwhelming abundance of the harvest that is starting to appear on the tables at the market on Saturday, and I am in awe of all of the unfurling seeds, and all of the water from the sky and from the ground that makes all of this possible. And I give thanks that God created a world that is filled with ordinary miracles, if only we can keep our senses open to notice the everyday miraculous things that surround us.

Anyways, moving from tomatoes and the miracle of seeds on to announcements for this week!

• Worship on Sunday will be at 9:15 at Summerville and 11:15 at Westfield and Facebook Live. We are continuing our Seussian Summer, and this week's Dr. Seuss book is one of his less-well-known ones:  The Butter Battle Book.  (My sister who is a primary school teacher recommended this one to me when I asked her for suggestions last spring.) This is a book that asks questions about war and about what peace requires, and it has a very unexpected ending. I've paired this book with Mark 8:34-38 and Micah 6:6-8.

• Summer Movie Nights - we are continuing our summer movies next Tuesday, August 11, and we will be watching The Testament of Ann Lee - a movie about the life of one of the founders of the Shakers. You can read more and watch the trailer by clicking here. As always, we will start at 7pm and the popcorn will be popped!

• Vacation Bible School - a reminder that our annual VBS is happening next Wednesday, August 12, from 8:30-3:30 at Long Reach United Church. This is always a fun day, so get word out to your children/grandchildren/great-grands! There is no cost to attend, and snacks and lunch will be provided. We also have a lifeguard for a couple of hours in the afternoon, so be sure to send a swimsuit, towel, and floaties (if needed).

• Memorial Hymn Sing - Summerville United Church is having a Memorial Hymn Sing on Sunday August 23 at 7pm in the church. Everyone is invited to attend; and if you would like to have a hymn dedicated to the memory of one of your loved ones, you can download the letter and dedication form by clicking here.

• Cinnamon Roll Social - also happening on Sunday August 23, but at Westfield, you are invited to a cinnamon roll social following worship. Delicious homemade cinnamon rolls, tea, and coffee will all be served!

• Wildfire Emergency Preparedness Information Session - Susan and Hope Hunter, along with EMO Coordinator Kevin Comeau, are organizing an evening session on wildfire preparedness (something that has likely been closer to the forefront of our minds in the past couple of summers). It will be held on Monday August 10 at 7pm at the Moss Glen Legion (Branch 62; 1356 Rte. 845). Information covered will include how to prepare your home and property; emergency alerts; how local emergency services will respond; and how to protect your animals. There will also be time to answer questions from participants. While the focus is going to be on the Kingston Peninsula, this event will likely cover important information even for those of us who don't live on the Peninsula. You can see the event poster by clicking here.

• Moderator's Visit - this is still in the "save the date" phase of event planning, but the Moderator of the United Church of Canada, the Right Rev. Dr. Kimberly Heath, is going to be in Saint John on Thursday September 10, and there is going to be a gathering from 3:30-5:30 to meet her (location to be announced). This will be an exciting opportunity to meet the spiritual leader of our denomination!

• Yoga on the Wharf - Ruthie Fullerton has (officially now) opened a yoga studio and is going to be offering yoga classes at White's Bluff Wharf on Thursday evenings through the month of August, with all proceeds going to the wharf. 7pm, beginning tomorrow, August 6; $15 per class, or $50 for the series of 4. You can see the poster by clicking here; and you can find her on Facebook at River Flow Yoga.

Thank You Corner - this week's "thank you" goes out to Roxanne Tarjan and Bette Ashley, both of whom took time last week to meet with T.J. (the student who was shadowing me) to talk about church governance and visioning (Roxanne) and outreach (Bette), two topics that T.J. was interested in learning more about. And thank you to T.J. for bringing your curiosity and energy to your experience with Two Rivers!

For my closing thought, usually I will share a link here to something that I've been reading or watching or listening to, but I want to share some book titles with you this week! Many of you know that I'm a bookworm, and in my world, summers are for reading mystery novels. There are three series that I've been working my way through over the past couple of summers and quite enjoying:  The Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny (the first one in the series is Still Life); the Rev. Clare Fergusson / Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming (the first one in the series is In the Bleak Midwinter - I'm currently reading the newest one, published last year); and the Dr. Ruth Galloway Mysteries by Elly Griffiths (the first one in the series is The Crossing Places). All three of these series have well-written characters who grow and change over the course of the series, along with intriguing mysteries to solve. A fourth series that I've been listening to as audiobooks is the A Rip Through Time  series by Kelley Armstrong - I'm hoping that my library hold on the latest book in this series will come available before my Ontario road trip later this month!

What about you? Does your reading (or watching) follow seasons? Do you have any novels (mystery or otherwise) that you would recommend to me? I love to receive reading suggestions as well as give them!

Blessings to you and yours, today and always, Kate.

Rev. Kate Jones Two Rivers Pastoral Charge (506) 757-2201 (office) (506) 343-1307 (mobile) www.tworiverspastoralcharge.com Pronouns:  she/her/hers

"Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: "You must love your neighbour as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:36-39)