Two local ministers and I meet for lunch and every now and again. We've been meeting like this for a few years, and I always feel a little lighter after we've been together. Sometimes we talk about church stuff. Sometimes we talk about personal stuff. Sometimes we talk about upcoming services, or decisions we have to make, or difficult situations that we are trying to faithfully navigate. And, sometimes, we just talk about Downton Abbey and cats! Our little fellowship has been very important to me as a source of support and friendship.
When we got together prior to Christmas, one minister gave us a beautiful commentary called "Dwelling with Philippians: A Conversation with Scripture through Image and Word." You can see that my cat is enjoying the book, too. When I say that it is "beautiful," I mean that it is full of art, poetry, prayers, reflection, and the obligatory good scholarship. I love it. We made plans to meet as a threesome to study it together.
Our first meeting was yesterday, and wow, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed engaging the scripture as a participant and not as a leader. I think we were all hungry for that because we talked non-stop! But, it was helpful to hear how they read scripture as it applies to specific work things and things that we've learned along the way. I was so relieved when we scheduled our next meeting for next week instead of next month.
It helped today as I began to prepare for Sunday's sermon. It helped me as I interacted with various people. It helped me to know that I've got good peers even rural JC!
I start 2014 very grateful for that.
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