Harvest Time in Our Valley

Weekly Readings...............................Daily Reading

As Leavenworth celebrated autumn leaves and the changing of the seasons, we Christians did that too, only so much more!

The occasion for our church celebration was the harvest. One of our members, Lori Boscow, was particularly spectacular in hers, harvesting not only vegetables and fruit and eggs, but vibrant color, daily encounters with feathered partners in food production, and, perhaps, regular moments of awe at the miracle of life unfolding at her fingertips ...behind which moves a Creator, manifest in human history as Savior, who is rooting for each one of us.

The large photo of her salad greens is amazing. She could single-handedly have fed the town, never mind every member of the church. Click on the thumbnail photos for the rest of the picture - a real celebration of the abundance of creation that can exist right in our own backyards.

As Leavenworth celebrated autumn leaves and the changing of the seasons, we Christians did that too, only so much more! At church on Sunday we gathered for the "more!" Not only did we celebrate the harvest and the good creation providing it. We sang how "all good things around us are sent from heaven above, so thank the Lord, O thank the Lord, for all is love." And somehow as we see the harvest of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control" emerging in peoples lives because of the joy of Christian discipline, the hymn articulates so much more than just the wonderful harvest we get from our gardens and the orchards of our valley.

The "more" of God truly is something to celebrate. And celebrate we did with a meal, jumping castle, apple pressing and plenty of thanksgiving.
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Community United Methodist Sacred Space (prayers and journal entries can be offered here)

Learn more about the Way of Christ (methods of prayer and take a spiritual types test)

Radiance of Son and Sunflower

Weekly Readings.............................................Daily Reading

Autumn Leaf Festival comes to our town (Leavenworth, WA) the weekend of September 26. Plenty of visitors will attend the annual parade on Saturday and enjoy the fall colors of our beautiful valley. A buzz of visiting bands, parade floats and animals will fill the streets of our town. It is always a joyous occasion for the town and an opportunity for the people of God to give thanks for another harvest year.

Which is what we do! We will gather on the Sunday for our annual Autumn Leaf Harvest Sunday. Thanks will be given to God the Creator for the gift of a good earth which gives us all we need to live healthy lives.

In preparation I have been on a "pilgrimage" to members' gardens this year. And I have witnessed how many green thumbs there are amongst us. Dawn Darling's garden featured some of the tallest and largest sunflowers I have ever seen. There is nothing quite so celebratory and bright as the radiance of a sunflower on a sunny day. Which reminds me of the transformation worked in us by Christ Jesus as we grow in Him, something Jerusalem Cross Gardening of soul is all about. Through a disciplined turning to grace, we can become that "light on a hill," no longer "hidden under a bushel," that points to a festival and purposeful life because it is grounded and rooted in Him who is the Light of the world.

Come join us this year at the sixth annual Autumn Leaf Harvest Sunday. Bring produce from your garden as your own thanksgiving offering to decorate the church.
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Community United Methodist Sacred Space (prayers and journal entries can be offered here)
Learn more about the Way of Christ (methods of prayer and take a spiritual types test)