Hello all - it's been a while!  I've still been active in my church, albeit in a more limited way.  But I am still passionate about worship, and I was lucky to be asked to do a short reflection this Good Friday on one of the Lord's 'last words'.  I was assigned Luke 23:32-25.  Here's what I've come up with - I would love some feedback!

This past Monday, I had my first day at UCC Head Office.  I was offered a job in the JGER - Justice, Global and Ecumenical Relations - unit.  My head is still spinning, but I know I can say something I've never said before:  I love my job.

I was thrown into things straight off the starting block - conference calls, staff meetings, M&S awareness week, etc.  I don't think I've had much time to process everything yet!  But I have learned a handful of things.  Here they are:

In about 36 hours, I will be standing in a pretty antique dress, reciting my vows to the love of my life.

Wish me luck!

I don't know what to say, exactly here.  I feel like I should explain my prolongued absence from the WC, but I don't know where to begin.  It wasn't the cafe; it wasn't me.  It was a mix, I think, of reality bites and the circle of life.  By the circle of life, I mean to say that when people join online communities - or real-life ones for that matter - they naturally fade in and out of participation.  This dryspell of mine in the WC world was made worse by the fact that my job has sort of taken over my life.  Needless to say, I hate it, and I have no idea

Sometimes, you get to a point in your life when you look around, and you don't remember how you got there.

I'm in one of those points.  If people told me five years ago that I would have an identity crisis at 27... actually, I would have believed them.  But I would have been a bit disappointed (as I am now) that I hadn't figured out by now.  Instead, I'm stuck trying to describe what I feel like with analogies like being out to sea with only faith in the stars to guide me.

Last week's service was both inspiring and difficult.  Difficult, because I was watching my sister bear her soul in front of a group I was a part of.  At the end, I made the comment that it takes courage to stand up and bear your soul, but a totally different type of nerve to do it in front of family.  She was fantastic.

Last Wednesday was a great start to a new year.  We learned how people might see us when they can't see at all - by donning blindfolds and having a conversation with someone.  We talked about Jesus and the feast he held for tax collectors and sinners.  We heard our lovely Beth sing songs with her angel voice.  We shared bread and oil and vinegar, and then shared cake, and discussed how the simple act of eating with someone can be the most intimate thing you can do with strangers.

For those of you who recall, I went to the Worship Matters conference in May to present an alternative worship service that my church hosts weekly.  It's called immersⁿ (pronounced 'immersion') and is hard to explain, because it's really a mix of everything. The only things that stay constant are that it's Wednesday night at 7 o'clock, the themes/topics/activities are chosen by the people that attend, and we open and close in prayer. 

Another chapter of my life is just beginning, and I don't quite know what to think about it.  My fiancé and I have officially got ourselves an apartment, and we're moving in mid-August.  We haven't lived together since Scotland, where we met, so having our own place to share will be a new adventure, and hopefully a good one. 

So, I don't hang out on many other forums, but I do spend a lot of time at The Leaky Cauldron - 'the' Harry Potter news site.  They have a forum called The Leaky Lounge, and I've been going through series one book at a time with their Lily & Stag Inn reading groups.  Every month they hold a little contest.