Capital District Friends, the time has come for me to step aside into retirement -again. I have been truly blessed by my short time as your Interim DS. I said in my initial newsletter Word from the DS that, “Jumping back into work, and onto the Rio Texas cabinet, was unexpected but not unwelcomed.” It…Read More »
Grief, Joy, Hope and all the Feels
Like many of you, I have just returned from the Annual Conference session of the Rio Texas Conference. It was great to see lots of old friends, and to meet some new ones. This annual conference felt like a homecoming, as we returned to Corpus Christi for the first time since 2019. Corpus Christi was…Read More »
A Guest in My Own Backyard – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
This is a photo of our backyard. When we bought this house a year ago, the backyard was one of the main reasons we fell in love with it. Robyn and I didn’t do all of the improvements, but we have worked very hard over the past twelve months getting the yard and garden into…Read More »
God Save the King – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
For the first time in my lifetime (and I’m getting kinda old) there is a different monarch on the throne of Great Britain than Queen Elizabeth II. I watched with fascination all of the events and pageantry surrounding the Queen’s death and burial last September. And I will watch as much of the Coronation of…Read More »
Meet Mabel – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
Meet Mabel, our cat, who is just about a year old. She came to live with us exactly six months ago. We named her Mabel after Selena Gomez’s character in “Only Murders in the Building,” because she is smart, beautiful and just a little bit damaged. Our good friends who are veterinarians found Mabel for…Read More »
Jesus Wept – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
As Holy Week dawns, and Easter is fast approaching, the Common Lectionary has us looking at a couple of gospel stories in which Jesus wept. The first is in John 11 for Lent 5. As Jesus approached the tomb of his friend Lazarus in Bethany, Mary, one of Lazarus’ sisters was weeping, and the Jews…Read More »
Mindfulness – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
This year, as my spiritual discipline for Lent, I will engage, through prayer and reflection, the practice of mindfulness. In their book, “Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems,” Phyllis Cole-Dai and Ruby R. Wilson define mindfulness this way: “Mindfulness is keeping our heads and hearts where our bodies are. Moment by moment, we…Read More »
I’m Not Crying, You’re Crying – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
The other night I was watching the Grammys, but I went to bed before the show was over. I was surprised the next morning to read that Bonnie Raitt won Song of the Year, one of the biggest awards of the night, honoring the songwriter (as opposed to the producer or performer). The Song of…Read More »
I Wanna See You Be Brave – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
Few things inspire me like music does. Lately I’ve been watching the official music video for the song “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. In the video, several people dance, each one by themselves in a public place like a shopping mall, gym, bus stop or sidewalk. Most of the dancers appear to be ordinary folks, not…Read More »
Arise – A Word from DS Rev. Andy Smith
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.”—Isaiah 60:1 One of the first things I do each day after I wake up is reach for my phone and play the daily Wordle. My starting word, almost every time, is ARISE. I’ve thought about using a different word…Read More »