Thinking about God while keeping my feet (& wheels) on the ground!
Georgia Bound!
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Got up this morning and walked around down by the marsh. Needless to say it was beautiful. After I broke camp, I loaded up. Not liking the look of the hazy sky, I put the rain covers on the bags. Wet luggage is something that I learned how to deal with the hard way in 2017. I took off for Georgia headed to Kingsland which is south of Savannah.
I road to Mt. Pleasant and decided to have breakfast. I met up with Jim Brown who recently moved to Mt. Pleasant from Greeneville, TN and was a member of St. James. We chatted over breakfast and enjoyed some coffee. It was great to see him again.
When I got to West Ashley, I stopped for gas and it started to spit rain. (Glad I covered the luggage!) I donned my rain suit and off I went. The whole ride was periods of wet, dry, rain, wet, rain, dry, rain (you get the picture).
I was able to connect with another friend from my past, Amy Cadawader and her family. Amy and I have known each other for at least 53 years. From elementary school on. We’ve kept up over the years. The last time I saw Amy and her family was 2015 on a vacation to Florida when I came through Kingsland. They picked me up for dinner after I had a chance to dry off, have a much needed shower, and change. Seafood! Yummy, coastal, Georgia, seafood!
I’ve said before that this sabbatical is about re-connections and relationships. It’s not just about reminiscing about the past. I am intentionally connecting with folks, who through the years have supported me, prayed for me, cried with me, laughed with me, helped me, as well as people who I’ve influenced, prayed with, cried with, laughed with, etc.
As followers of Jesus, we are “communal,” which means our relationships with one another matter to the point that our faith depends on it. I’ve heard it said that people are in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Many start out as reasons for a season, but often end up lifetime connections. I cherish these connections in my life. They give me great joy.
This past few Sundays, we’ve heard the bulk of the farewell discourse in the Gospel according to John. (Chapters 14-17) Jesus prays… “As you Father, are in me and I am in you, may they (speaking about his disciples / followers) also be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.” As believers, we are part of one another in Christ, part of the movement or faith community we call the church. We are part that is left in the world to prepare the world for reconciliation, when all creation will be made anew.
Challenge to St. James: Think about creative ways to build long lasting relationships. If we are truly part of one another in Christ, it should be pretty easy to find a starting point. I’ve seen several new faces on Sunday morning. Please make sure that we take the time to get to know them and they get to know us.
Challenge to Self: Continue to reconnect throughout the sabbatical and throughout your life. The people you are connecting with are made in the image of God and you are part of them and they are part of you and you both are part of God in Christ.
It has been an incredible (and an incredibly HOT 🔥) weekend! Kingman, AZ, with temps at 112 degrees and Las Vegas, NV with 122 degrees!! I have never ridden in such heat! I described it on Facebook... Riding a motorcycle in this heat is like riding a lava flow in a convection oven through the armpit of hell. Keep in mind that my bike is "air cooled" which means, hot air don't help too much! Glad the Harleys are tough!! The bike performed very well... only praises for the Road King! However, I did stop in Henderson at the Harley dealership and bought a cooling vest. It works wonders... You wet it down and wear it under a mesh riding jacket and it acts as a "swamp cooler." The heat was beat! The first stop on the way to Boulder City and Vegas yesterday 7/15 was of course, Hoover Dam (aka Boulder Dam), put up in 1933 in the Black Canyon of the Colorado river on the boarder of Arizona and Nevada. It was a magnificent site. It took 6 years to build it (1931-193...
On 7/22, I completed Route 66 and road to Mequon, WI to stay with Kenny & Tania Miller, my friends since NC (almost 20 years). I love the Millers. They are great friends. Kenny and I are priest colleagues, even though he is running a recycling business now and not active in parish ministry. It is wonderful to spend a few days with them and think and decompress. I decided over the last couple of days in Mequon, that this is the end of my journey. I will call this the 4th corner, even though it isn’t Maine. From here I will set my sights on home and reunite with Kelly to spend some quality time with her. She and I will attend my 40th High School reunion on August 1st, and Jace’s birthday party at the end of August. I will spend September in a state of rest and small home projects. Some would say that I haven’t rested the past 2 months in my travels, but I have. Everyone rests differently. We may do some simple family stuff here and there on the few days I have left on my sabbatical, ...
Yesterday (7/5) I rode from Santa Rosa to Monterey, CA. I decided to spend the weekend in Monterey and prepare for the trek up Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago, IL. It was a beautiful ride to Monterey with plenty of California beach scapes and the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory and ominous cloud cover. It’s a bit chilly here in Monterey, with the high of just 62° and the low of 53°. Today I worshipped at St. Mary’s by the Sea in Pacific Grove. What a delightful place with a beautiful worship space. I was greeted warmly by members and made to feel at home. They extended true hospitality and invited me to participate in the ground breaking for the new labyrinth garden and cookout afterward. The service was a Rite III (Enriching Our Worship), but was very well done. The sermon was excellent. The Rev. Kristine Johnson is a fine preacher and it was great to hear a sermon that dealt with current events in the Gospel light. The location of the church is literally “by the sea.” ...
I have experienced a great weekend! I rode to Port Angeles from Seattle on Friday (7/28) because I was invited to stay with Doug and Gail Wheatley. The ride was beautiful across the Puget Sound on the ferry over to Bainbridge Island, up 305 and then 3 to 101. I can't get over the wonderful scenery along the way... The mountains, the water, ahhh... Gail was my neighbor in seminary my Junior year (we shared a wall!). She graduated in 2005, so it was wonderful to catch up with Gail after 12 years. Like other schools I have attended, the filial relationships that form in the setting at Sewanee, it was like picking up a familiar conversation. Doug and I went on an excursion on Saturday (7/29) up to Blue Mountain and to the Elwah River. He scared me to death on the road up to Blue Mountain - definitely pushed my boundary for "fear of the edge" - pay attention to that portion of the video. We had Dungeness crab and steak dinner and an awesome Sunset on Saturday eve...
Not really. But, wouldn’t that be pretty cool? I rode yesterday (6/21) (through the horrible cross-wind! 🌬️) to Dodge City, Kansas. Dodge City has a pretty interesting and somewhat sordid past. Most folks know Dodge City by the famous TV western “Gunsmoke” which aired from 1955 to 1975. That’s a long time for Martial Dillon, Ms. Kitty, and Cletus making sure things around these parts were kept respectable. As I said, the ride to Dodge was 85% fighting the 25-30 mph crosswind gusts that wanted me to change lanes! A bit scary at times, but manageable. It was warm toward the afternoon 95° and a bit dusty, but hey, I’m deep in the west now and expect things like that. This morning I attended worship services at St. Cornelius Episcopal Church (ca. 1898). I walked in expecting Holy Eucharist, but experienced a Rite II Morning Prayer. Supply priests in this part of the country are as rare as they are in East Tennessee. The Morning Prayer service was led by a lay person who just happens ...
When considering my next destination on Monday, yesterday 8/8 I decided to ride to Dodge City, Kansas. Yes, that Dodge City. No, I didn't see Marshal Dillon, Ms. Kitty, or Festus, but I did learn some great history of the old west and how Ft. Dodge became Dodge City and why they called the burial mound "Boot Hill." Dodge City was once home to the great lawmen of the west, such as Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. The way I understand it, in the times of the conflicts between the US and Native Americans, the government wanted to deplete the buffalo herds so they invited a hunting "free for all." They thought this would cause the This caused every ragtag hunter within hundreds of miles to decend upon Ft. Dodge. Most of them took a liking to the many saloons. Fights would break out and then be taken to the streets. Someone would end up killed. If they were an unknown or of little means, then they would end up in a mass grave that was called Boot Hill. This was becaus...
Today I road from Monterey to Bakersfield, CA to the home of Jerry and Ruth Greer. Jerry and I worked together at NPTU Charleston. He was actually my supervisor in Radiological Controls Operations. The Greers and I have stayed in touch over the years, and they offered me a place to stay. I had to ride inland from Monterey because of the fires and slides. The PCH was closed at Big Sur. It was great to be with Jerry & Ruth and catch up with them. Jerry retired from NPTU in 2007 and moved to Utah then to Bakersfield. He and Ruth grew up in Bakersfield. The Ride today went from 52° and hazy/overcast on the coast to 98° inland. Started off in my leather jacket, ended up in my riding shirt. Today I was thinking about the past and how our experiences shape who we are. Jerry & Ruth knew me in my 20s, at a very different time in my life. They attended our wedding (Kelly & I). Jerry and I had our troubles and differences of opinion, but he always encouraged me to be the be...
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