More than three decades have passed since my trip to North Antrim — a rugged coastline battered by the sea on the far edge of Northern Ireland. While I still remember the beautiful views from the grassy hilltop above a sheer rock cliff, as well as the bone-chilling wind blowing in from the Atlantic, what remains with me is how intentionally coming together in community is a valued spiritual practice that can foster peace in this world.
The past is often something people like to forget, preferring to focus their energy on what the future holds. For the Indigenous living in Peru’s Andean Highlands, though, the past and future are viewed differently. It’s there that old shamans, speaking the language of the Aymara tribe, remind future-forward thinkers that “the past is in front of us, and the future is behind us.” The Aymara word for “past” is “nayra,” which also means eye, sight or front. The word for “future” is “q’ipa,” which translates as behind or the back.
This isn’t the editorial I had planned for you. As I was about to email what I had written to my copy editor, the ding of the computer alerted me to a new message. It was from a friend whom I have been trying to go on a hike with for what has seemed forever — thanks, Covid — so I quickly opened it. I read the first line with confusion and trepidation.
In his book “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,” Richard Rohr acknowledges that “many, if not most, people and institutions remain stymied in the preoccupations of the first half of life.” Given that the 2022 PC(USA) membership statistics show that a majority of those sitting in pews are 56 and older, churches have both the obligation — and opportunity — to address the needs of those in the second half of life.
When Expedia, an online travel site, released its 2022 travel trends report earlier this year, it discovered that not only was there a pent-up demand to pack one’s bags and take off on adventures unknown, but also the trips being planned were “GOATS” — “the greatest of all trips.”
World Food Day — celebrated on Oct. 16 every year — commemorates the founding in 1945 of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO was created to respond to famines and the tragedy of hunger in a world of God’s abundance. Despite the abundance of land, water, nutrients and sunlight on this precious planet, even in the 21st century, hundreds of millions of people go hungry on Oct. 16 and every day of the year.
The International Day of Rural Women is observed on Oct. 15, the day before World Food Day, to bring attention to the “significant contributions [of women] to agricultural production, food security and nutrition, land and natural resource management, and building climate resilience.” This year’s theme is ” Rural women cultivating good food for all.”
The Rev. Dr. James Foster Reese, a respected and beloved pastor and pioneer in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died June 17 after a long illness. He was 98.
After leading the congregation in prayer, the Rev. Dr. Greg Bolt knelt next to the golden retriever in her blue and white service dog jacket.
“Brinley, God has given you a calling to help a person in need with tasks of daily living, companionship and love. We give thanks for you and your willingness to serve, and to help. May your example inspire us to help and to love more in our daily lives. Brinley —” The dog placed her paw over Bolt’s arm and gave him a kiss. “You are commissioned to service.”
When Covid struck in spring 2020 in the Czech Republic, it meant, above all, a radical reduction in contacts. This reduction was a reasonable response from the authorities to the pandemic, which was spreading through physical encounters between people. The schooling of children and young people as well as the work of many adults have moved to their households. When people outside the home had to meet others, such as on public transport or in shops, the obligation to wear a mask began to apply.
