From The Desk Of Deacon Judy

Reconnections

One of my Lenten Disciplines this year is to reconnect with friends, many with whom I’ve lost touch.

So imagine my surprise when one of those old friends reconnected with me! Cuthbert was her inspiration to write. On March 20, the Church remembers this 7th Century Bishop of Lindisfarne. Well, decades ago Betty and I were leaders of a youth Celtic pilgrimage. When the tide was out, we pilgrims walked the marshy land to the island of Lindisfarne, as did pilgrims of yore. We spent the night there as the tide enveloped the island’s shores. It was a holy and sacred time….and also a lot of fun.

I love that Cuthbert was known as the “healer of the breach”. Even though he was steeped in Celtic Christianity, he accepted the decision of the Synod of Whitby to align with the Roman Christian practices. Cuthbert chose to reconnect, to reconcile, to bridge differences so that all would be one around God’s table.

When I visited Emmanuel Opelika last Sunday, I reconnected with parishioners there whom I hadn’t seen in over five years. That reconnection led to another friend, a recently retired Auburn professor, with whom I was in graduate school at Georgia State University. Even though we knew we were both in Auburn all these years I’ve been here, we never found the time to visit. Now is the time for us to reconnect and reignite our friendship from decades ago.

In May, I look forward to many reconnections:

• On Amelia Island with my “tea sisters” (former work buddies who enjoyed Tea at the Ritz in Atlanta for over 30 years)

• With colleagues from my International Business days at Georgia State who now live in my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida

• At the beaches in Jacksonville with long-time family friends who continue to warm my heart and inspire me on my life’s journey

The mission of the Church is to restore unity with God and with each other. These and so many other restorations of friendships are for me delightful glimpses of God.

In the spirit of reconnecting with friends, I offer this collect:

For the Blessing of One’s Friends O Lord, you who have blessed us with the gift of friendship, we pray today for our friends, that they would experience your grace in specific and special ways, so that they might tangibly know that you are with them and for them in all that they do. We pray this in the name of Jesus, the One who calls us friends. Amen. Prayers for the Pilgrimage (p. 151)

Lenten Blessings, Judy Q+