Fall Is Moving On...

The first weekend in November the people of St. Anne's head to the Virginia mountains. Some years I watch my fellow church friends go, sometimes I travel with them. For the past three years I've been lucky enough to spend a November weekend in the Blue Ridge.

Unlike the craggy mountains in the western U.S., mountains in the eastern U.S. have deceivingly gentle profiles. The long, smooth lines of their ridges flow along the skyline. This time of year the steep mountainsides display their autumn finery. The hardwood forests on the way to Shrine Mont are dressed in the deep oranges and russet reds of late fall. Gone are the bright orange, yellow and peachy colors of earlier fall. I was surprised at the glory of leaves turned almost brown. A heavy frost on Saturday morning warned of winter days to come. Fall is moving on.

The church is moving on, too. Saturday morning's frost gave way to the sights and sounds of a new season in the Episcopal church. Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori was installed to her new position in the National Cathedral. Miles from Washington, DC, the people of St. Anne's, linked to the celebration by the world wide web, marveled at the colors, gloried in the sounds, imagined the scents of the installation ceremony. During the eucharistic prayer I stood between our new presiding bishop's projected image and our St. Anne's associate rector Jackie. The two women spoke the same words, blessed wine and broke bread, prepared to share the same body and blood of our Christ. Jackie asked me to serve the chalice. The installation service continued with a Spanish language communion hymn. I was torn between singing the hymn and saying, "the blood of Christ, shed for you." We are so blessed. Our god is an awesome god.

May God keep us mindful of our family bond. May we, God's children, remember each other as the family God wants us to be. May we, God's family, gather often at the Table, respecting and loving our sisters and brothers.