A Few Short Examples of Hospitality

When two or three are gathered together ... we have opportunities of experiencing the Divine.
Opportunities to experience hospitality abound while cruising. Here are a few examples from the past week.
Hospitality can be as simple as meeting new people and inviting them aboard or sharing books and information.
Hospitality can also be directed from one group of people to another. As we were anchored in Fisherman Bay, Lopez, here are a few experiences from there:
   - Lopez Village not only has public restrooms available, they also have a public shower (suggested donation $2), what a great gift for travelers/voyagers/pilgrims!
   - The Lopez Library provides visitor passes to be able to check out books while visiting on the island.
   - And lastly a church experience: while wandering around the Village we noticed two churches in the village: the Community Church and the Episcopal church. While inland, Christ the King meets at the Lopez School, and the Catholic and Lutheran (ELCA) congregations share the Center Church (Catholic services are Saturday evenings, while ELCA services are Sunday mornings).
   Since we had experienced the Village, we decided to see another part of the island and attended the ELCA service on Sunday morning. The walk was about an hour from the Galley restaurant dock (approximately 3 miles?). The walk was beautiful through farm/ranch country that reminded us of Eastern Washington/Northern Idaho. We were well-received, enjoyed worshiping with this congregation, and after the service we were offered a ride back to the Galley dock. While ready and prepared to walk, we graciously received the ride!
Whereever you are this week, I hope you find opportunities to experience hospitality: both in the giving and in the receiving, and in the process glimpse the Divine.
Blessed Be,
Joel

Watching for God's Light in All Things

As I write, those of us anchored near by can hear the seals talking/singing away. "Ungh ungh" "Oohnngh" "Wrraahngh"
"The fish are great!" "I'm tired of eating them!" "It's a joy to be alive!" What do they sing about?
Last night a seal found a cave near our anchorage and sung away listening to the echos. It reminded me of a child discovering the same thing. Or, again, when they seem to flip and splash for no other reason than the sheer joy if it, it reminds me of various things we humans so for the pure joy of it, like perhaps staying up late to watch a meteor shower.
For us, cruising is a way to reconnect with nature: our own, the natural world, and God's.
I'm reminded of this prayer by J. Philip Newell:

I watch this morning
for the light that the darkness has not overcome.
I watch for the fire that was in the beginning
and that burns still in the brilliance of the rising sun.
I watch for the glow of life that gleams in the growing earth
and glistens in the sea and sky.
I watch for your light, O God,
in the eyes of every living creature
and in the ever-living flame of my own soul.
If the grace of seeing were mine this day
I would glimpse you in all that lives.
Grant me the grace of seeing this day.
Grant me the grace of seeing.
     ("Sunday Morning, Opening Prayer". Celtic Benediction. 2000.)

May you have eyes to see and experience this day.
Blessed Be,
Joel

Getting Ready for a Summer Cruise Means Choices

Getting ready for a cruise means re-organizing, at least for us. We find we have to move out of "condo" mode and into "cruise" mode. Usually this involves sorting all sorts of things from tools to old school projects. Which things go to a car for our return? If this outfit no longer fits, whom do we want to pass it on to? Then there is the matter of books. Which to take as a reference? Which are we likely to read? Which are comforting to have a around? Will the ones we checked out from the library be due before we return? We find that while cruising we love the slower pace that allows for more time spent reading. And which books help to change the cruise into a pilgrimage by adding that little something extra, that little reminder of the Spirit's presence?
Blessings on your cruises!
Joel