. . . how your garden grows . . . .

 ana, ana, how does your garden grow . . . ana oversees the mesa verde gardens on the land currently known as the united methodist church of santa cruz without walls on the east side.  there, even in this drought, people are making their mark; planting and tending and weeding; they feed children and family members and neighbors.  and on sunday, we worshipped and blessed their efforts, giving thanks and praise; singing and praying and fellowshipping.
we have not been in community on this property on 17th avenue in a long time.  we were delighted to meeting the gardeners and the neighbors, and to celebrate the gifts of life -- to recognize the seeds that grow -- and they do grow, with loving care, diligent toil, and collaboration with others who share their wisdom, their insight, and their loving spirit.  this is truly a place to grow -- in grace, in understanding, and in love.

working with matthew 13 (the parables of the kin-dom) we explored with one another about what makes a weed -- often we judge plant life to be a weed or a flower based on perception.  we shared with one another our thoughts about what things we face that need to be planted, maintained, weeded, and harvested.
we explored with one another about what internal weed we'd like to get rid of in our own lives.  (sara lama das reminded us that "people who spend a great deal of time in their gardens attest to the natural mindfulness that gardening requires".  spiritual discernment takes time to cultivate and nurture and grow before either weeding or harvesting can occur.)
and we explored with one another the vision and the actual "doing" of how we would weed out an issue close to our heart in the world.  we're in a time in our lives when the world needs to come together to root out the weeds of destruction, war, hatred, dis-ease, abuse ... the list can seem endless; just pick one weed to work at terminating -- such action can mean the world might one day live in peace -- maybe not in our lifetime, but then again, the world isn't just about meeting our needs....

one of the challenges of being in ministry in two locations is that we get to created sacred space each time we plan an event ... so, many of us met early to gather items for transport; it is amazing what you can fit in a convertible -- especially when raindrops (so longed for!) were falling.  Ah, the harvest of grace!  how is your garden growing?
  

how one knows it is summer . . . in santa cruz....

traffic ... crowds ... more traffic ... santa cruz in the summer (and most nice week-ends throughout the year.

but, hey!  we are a 'destination city' ... fame, no fortune, but hey!  it's santa cruz!!  the sun is shining; a light breeze; just another day in paradise!

ok, i'll stop!

we have two properties at the united methodist church in santa cruz; our church building on california st., and our church without walls on 17th ave.  on july 27th, we will worship and picnic there ... and have a blessing for the the mesa verde community garden.  come join us!

so, really, how one knows it is summer in santa cruz ... roller derby, of course.  I went to see the santa cruz team play the sacramento team last Saturday night.  my problem, of course, is that i served in sacramento for 11 years, and have just begun serving my second year in santa cruz ... how does one decide which team to root for?!

my memories of roller derby go back to my grandma in bakersfield.  when i was a mere child visiting on those hot summers, grandma would turn on her swamp cooler, put away her deck of cards, and we'd watch the televised game -- which, as i remember, was a lot rougher! 

the santa cruz/sacramento game seemed much more tame -- perhaps it was the penny ice cream being served that kept everyone cool and 'sweet'.  all in all, an awesome experience, and my first time at a live game in the kaiser pavilion. 

last night i attended a community meeting in which the mayor pro-tem, don lane, is preparing for his leadership as mayor in december.  don has been exploring the possibility of what it might mean to santa cruz to be a 'compassionate city'.  don is soliciting ideas around this subject, and drawing feed-back from the community -- including the faith communities, with some very empowering results.

those who gathered last night shared what the word 'compassion' might actually mean, and how that meaning might be translated into the community/political realm.  definitions such as empathy, sharing and listening (really listening!) were bandied about; the thought of organizing a day of compassionate service, working with those who are homeless and recently released from incarceration; working toward a place of healing and forgiveness; overcoming fear!  incorporating the uc students who have already created a time of listening and sharing at their university café events; working with youth to further the exploration and understanding of diversity.  we began to think about ways to humanize the community, to set up opportunities for mentoring, and to expand the understanding of 'civinomics' to create transformational change. we shared thoughts about how to be a city that is more civil; to love and repair the city of its brokenness ....

yes, there is traffic ... crowds ... and more traffic.  but in times such as these, it seems like a perfect summertime activity to work at being more compassionate -- not just in santa cruz, but throughout the world .... your thoughts?

places . . . and . . . things . . . .

some of you have wondered and asked me, 'are you still walking'; the short answer is yes, daily!  i have my pedometer with virgin health, and in june, i completed their national employee wellness challenge in which nearly 75 companies participated with over 63,106 people participating.  i placed 6,436, with an average of just over 15,000 steps a day!  i get up on most days at 5:30 am to complete most of my daily walking ... my goal is to walk as many steps during the day as i do in the morning....

during my vacation, i stayed around town, spending the majority of time attending to a close friend whose brother died suddenly; i led the memorial service....

on my way home, i stopped at the sunol water temple ... it reminded me of the water temple in golden gate park in san francisco, that i remember visiting when i was younger.  this is the location where three bodies of water come together before heading off to the bay area's water supply.  when you are on highway 84 outside of fremont/hayward, stop and have a look-see!

after attending to my 98 cabrio, i decided to completely paint the extra bedroom at the parsonage -- and this is how it turned out!  i am not a painter, and would never claim to know what i was doing, but, i felt accomplished.  so, there you have it.

i can now walk down my hallway and glance through that room into the backyard ... and it gives me a feeling of calm and renewal.  there is something empowering when one can walk into their home and have a sense of welcome; a room that can say, in a sense, come in; relax; be renewed.  now the parsonage really feels like home!

there is this wonderful restaurant called silver spur not too far from the parsonage that has wonderful food; one never feels rushed there; folks are friendly -- in fact, it is so popular that linda, the owner, created a community table that is round; when you feel like eating alone, or want to be in conversation with people you do not know, this is the table for you!

on this particular day, i was waiting for a seat -- in summer, it is popular and crowded, but no one seems to mind -- i was reading outside on this beautiful morning (the second in a series of mysteries by nicci french entitled 'tuesday's gone' -- do start with 'blue monday'; you'll be ever-so-glad you did!) when one of the servers came walking out with this bird and a carrot!  so, silver spur also provides entertainment!  this particular day, the food was well worth the wait!

if you haven't had an opportunity to see 'begin again', take the chance!  there are some great movies out there at the moment; a group of us from the congregation are going to see 'third person' on sunday ... we'd be glad to have you come along!  ah summer!  the places you go and the things you see!  come to santa cruz; catch a wave!