Sunday Morning in Brocket and Cardston

The view of the Rockies from St. Cyprian's, Brocket, the Piikani nation. (with a funny filter on).
St. Cyprian's...this building was moved onto the reserve about ten years ago to replace the old, historic, freezing cold in the winter church that is still on the highway. The priest of this parish, Sidney Black, is also the Archdeacon for aboriginal ministry in our diocese and a wonderful man. I bring my youth out here and they love it. The Sunday in the year when we make the road trip out (a little over an hour from Coaldale - 50 mins from Lethbridge) is one of their favourite. The people are very friendly and my kids love the music that they do - mostly older praise songs. I never lack for adults willing to drive either. My little parish really feels connected to this little parish. I'm looking forward to returning later this summer.



This was my first time in St. Paul's, Cardston. One of the men told me that the church used to be at the residential school on the reserve (the Kainai nation is right next to Cardston). In the '70s he said it got moved to Cardston where it is just a few blocks from the very imposing LDS Temple. I loved their altar but the nave is very long and when people sit in the back pews they are reeeaaaallly far away. I love Anglicans! We had to race from St. Cyprian's so they put food plates together for us and then there was a delicious potluck at St. Paul's so we enjoyed wonderful hospitality.The view of the Canola fields driving back to Lethbridge was gorgeous. I didn't stop again to take pictures of the windmills but they are pretty spectacular along this highway.

Saying goodbye to Robbie

Today most of my Lethbridge family gathered with me to scatter Robbie's ashes at the home of two of the people he really loved. They own beautiful property with a view of the coullees and the mountains. We prayed and read scripture and scattered the ashes while standing downwind (it was a typical windy Lethbridge day). It was lovely and sad and then we ate a lot and talked a lot. What a wonderful day. I am very blessed.

The view from where we scattered him - the second is later in the day with a fancy setting on my camera. That is Chief Mountain.

A reading from Romans 8

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Another of God's creatures enjoying the beauty of the day.

Learning more things on the camera

Iron and Wine

I fell in love with Iron and Wine after hearing the soundtrack from Garden State and have eagerly listened to all Sam Beam's music. So I found this blog entry about evangelical interpretation of Iron and Wine fascinating.

Not all evangelicals would appreciate this blogger's views but I think that there is enough truth in it to consider seriously:

The world for many evangelicals is basically black and white. But art is all about the gray, and herein lies the source of the difficulty: how can an evangelical really appreciate art when the evangelical posture toward the world is one that is anti-aesthetic? Evangelicals see things in terms of propositional and moral truth; but art is not primarily concerned with the propositional and/or the moral. Art is not teaching by a different means. If we think of the classic transcendentals, evangelicals are perfectly at home with Truth and the Good—with logic and action—but not with Beauty.

And still more

More pics

Garden

Since Robbie died I've been pouring energy into nurturing things, growing living things, feeding the birds, feeding friends, basically nesting. I took some pictures tonight with the help of a friend who is showing me all the cool things I can do with my camera. What fun.