Hi Church! 

It was great to worship with COTC this past week! I love our community. Our two services were wonderful (the weather helped!) and our family was so glad to worship together with our church family, in person and online. 

As I said on Sunday, our family was so deeply blessed in our time away. We’re grateful to the Parish Council and church staff who supported and made this break possible. Above all we are grateful to God for the ways he provided for us and met us these past six weeks. 

Through some Christian friends we were able to spend the whole of our time at a home just outside Rockland in mid-coast Maine. We had never been to Maine before, but as Canadians the cold, the snow, the ocean and forests were all a blessing (the winter weather was more fun there than here!). A couple of highlights from our time that particularly stick out are: 

• Exploring the sea and coast in and around the towns of Rockland, Rockport, Camden and Lincolnville. Throwing rocks, collecting shells, and just watching the sea (Penobscot Bay) were a balm to our souls. 

• Reading aloud as a family, specifically finishing Andrew Peterson’s The Wingfeather Saga (there is a lot of the Gospel in these stories!) and some books in the Awesomely Austen series updating Jane Austin’s classics for kids. Both of our kids loved these fun and accessible re-tellings of Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, and Emma.

• Shannon took a two night retreat to Transfiguration Hermitage, a Catholic community, near Augusta, the state’s capital, for praying, writing, and being still. 

• Getting our fill of winter sports, including sledding, and skating outdoors on some frozen ponds and lakes. The weather felt like a real gift from God as our kids enjoyed the snowy outdoors. 

• I (Peter) went on short “walkabouts” on two separate days, to be in prayer and alone. There was a lot of beauty as I explored Pettengill Farm and Wolf’s Neck State Park. 

• Reading a lot, doing some puzzles, and playing games (including Catan and Scrabble). I read a few novels (The Book of Strange New Things, Alexandria, and The Secret History among them) and some theological and spiritual formation books (Christian Proficiency, Soul Friend, Jesus and the Disinherited, and The Holy Spirit and Christian Experience). I began M’Cheyne’s Bible Reading Plan in the New Year. I commend it to you as a way to engage God in Scripture. You can start anytime! 

• We spent two joyful days exploring Acadia National Park. Sand Beach, tidal pools on Great Head, the crashing waves at Thunder Hole, and the views from Otter Cliffs all delighted us. 

The weeks were good and restorative. God was gracious to us during this generous gift of this time. The main takeaway from our time for me was a profound sense of God's unmerited kindness. I was reminded of how His goodness and grace precede and sustain us. That is the case all the time, but during these weeks I felt like I had a particular grace to see and experience that reality. 

Returning to the regular responsibilities and rhythms of life, and to the good work of being rector at COTC, I’m eager to preserve and grow in this conviction. I long to have the truth of God’s generosity and power to saturate my being, my actions, my days. I sense God’s invitation for us as a community to fix our eyes anew on Jesus, who is gracious and good. That His unmerited kindness for us all might be made known among us and through our community to others. 

It’s good to be back and I look forward to worshipping alongside you in the weeks ahead. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect! 

Grace and peace,

Peter+

Ps. Lent begins next week. Be sure to sign up for a Lent group and participate in the other offerings we have for this season. As we continue to make our way through this extraordinary time, the need to press into life together is acute. Take advantage of this season! As you might be thinking of individual ways you are planning to engage, this reflection may be helpful as a reminder of the love that is at the center of the season.