Sunday Salon, October 1st

"Let my deeds outrun my words. Let my life outweigh my songs. Unbroken praise be Yours, God, forever."

-Jonas Myrin and Matt Redman, Unbroken Praise

Weather: Overcast, with intermittent sprinkles of rain. Cool.

Gary baptizing Daniel

Ian is baptized, with his Grandparents Adams looking on

Gary praying for Ian.

Baptisms: Today our grandson and his father Daniel, were baptized during our morning worship service. Our pastor is retiring and our daughter wanted the pastor who married them, to baptize her son. Today was the last chance. In a neat set of coincidences, Daniel was also baptized and joined the church at the same time, making the day double special.

Goodbye!: The rest of the service was one long goodbye to our pastor who is moving into retirement tomorrow. Gary's last sermon to us was from 2 Timothy 4 which the last letter written by the Apostle Paul. In it Paul is giving Timothy his final instructions, which includes asking him to come and to bring his scrolls and his cloak, to give greetings to many people which he named. Gary said he was done. He had equipped us as best as he could and so today was simply a chance to wrap things up. It was a very poignant message to us as we prepare ourselves for a church life without Gary and his family.

Denouement: In the program section after the worship service several people got up and spoke to Gary about what he means to us and what to expect in the future as he moves into retirement. One of his friends, a retired pastor, told Gary to think of retirement as a denouement. He explained what he meant by first defining the word: "Denouement is derived from a French word called “denoue” that means “to untie”. The denouement is a literary device which can be defined as the resolution of the issue of a complicated plot in fiction." He explained that in retirement one gets to untie the knots which have been parts of the our stories allowing us to find resolution. I realized as he was speaking that that is what I've been doing this past month. As the reality of retirement has sunk in, I am taking some time right now to untie those knots that bound me to the working world. In a funny irony, I just mistyped the word "untie" as "unite" and I decided it was a symbolic message. Denouement is a chance for me to unite the pieces of my life also, so that everything reaches a satisfactory resolution.

"May your life-song sing of God's amazing grace. May your feet be firm and steady in this race...This I pray, this I pray, that you'd have God's best. Be strong and blessed."- Heather Sorenson, This I Pray

"Well done, good and faithful servant": Friday Don and I attended a memorial service for Retired General Tim Lowenberg, who died suddenly in August of a heart attack. Don's comment, as we entered the service, was it would likely be what he called a "political service" because so many important people would be speaking and in attendance. But even though two past Governors, two current US Congressmen, and several other retired generals spoke it was really obvious that this was not just a political event. The people who spoke all clearly really liked and admired Tim Lowenberg and were deeply saddened by his death. Though I only met him a few times, I was always struck by how kind and thoughtful he was. I cried big, wet tears throughout the whole service and the military ceremony which followed. MG Tim Lowenberg truly had a life well lived.

Kathy and Ian

Great Aunt visits Ian: My sister Kathy drove up from Oregon to meet her grand-nephew Ian this week. She got some really good cuddle time with the little guy.

Books read this week:

• Lennon Remembers by Jann Wenner---a Rolling Stone magazine interview with the famous musician just a few months after The Beatles broke up. Egad. This guy was a sensitive soul.
• Spinning by Tillie Walden---a graphic memoir of a girl who always felt like a misfit. She was an ice skater but always felt like no one understood her. She eventually comes out as a lesbian and decides to abandon skating for art.

Banned/Challenged books read this week:

• And Tango Makes Three by Richardson and Parnell---a children's book about two male penguins who hatch an egg at a zoo and parent a baby penguin, Tango. Based on a true event from the Central Park Zoo. It has been a highly challenged book because of the homosexuality of the penguins. (Eye roll done on my part.)
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut---I am the last adult to read this classic. Vonnegut is quite vulgar, so I am sure that is why the book is often challenged/banned. Read my review here.

Currently reading:

• The Sword in the Stone by TH White---I know, I know. I have never read it before. 50%, print.
• Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee---a vlog goes viral and its creators don't know how to react. 10%, print.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams---a reread. What a joy. This book is so funny. 80%, audio.

Bookclub record: My 2nd book club met this past week and we discussed a book, The One-In-a-Million Boy. Everyone ended up liking the book and almost everyone liked the book A LOT. That is a record. We usually disagree or have varying degrees of LIKE assigned to the books. If you haven't read this book ALL of us would recommend it.

The Cybils Award Judge, Round 1: I have been selected as a judge for Round 1 for the Cybils JH/SH Nonfiction Award. The Cybils are the book awards given by book bloggers like me! Round 1 judges read all the nominated books for their category and select 10 or so books as finalists which will be judged by a different set of readers. My November and December will be dominated by nonfiction books written for teens. Here I go! (The Cybils website)

"This song has to end, just like your presence here./ We send you off today with many a tear./ But rest assured, we will continue what you started. / Christ lives in us even when you have departed. / It's something unpredictable but now the time in right. /We hope you had the time of your life." - Craig Snider, rewording song for Gary's retirement: Time of Your Life by Green Day