Hello All,

Two things have been coming back to me again and again as I have prayed and lived these last few weeks: the importance of anticipation and celebration. I have been thinking a lot about our close connection to the Jewish faith and about how the simple church is moving in a direction that reminds me of our Jewish ancestors.

Ponder this excerpt from David Toole’s amazing book Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo: “For 2000 years now, on the eve of our greatest holiday, my [Jewish] ancestors have repeated this sentence: ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ That sentence preserved them; that sentence is the vertical axis of their experience of the world and their place in it; that sentence is an unavoidable part of our identity.” I love the sense of anticipation I am feeling in the simple church family. I am feeling/praying: "Next year in Vancouver."

Second: I love the way people of the Jewish faith celebrate. Friday nights, as they ready themselves for the sabbath, they have a big feast/party. When I think of Jews gathering I think of food, drink, dancing and laughter. I love that we are moving in that direction with our new understanding of what church is. There is nothing more contagious than a spirit of celebration.

Anyways, this rambling has to be brought to a close. I hope you are all feeling what I'm feeling: anticipation and celebration. Next year in Vancouver!