And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Eliot -- "Little Gidding" (the last of his Four Quartets)
This Eliot quote came to mind for me today in the bus on the way up from the lake. It’s an odd experience to return to this place where I first served as a young pastor and now do it as a not so young pastor! As with every community, nothing is the same from year to year, and I’ll be slowly learning the rhythms and patterns of these particular people in this particular time.
Last Friday Larry and I drove both our cars with our 29 boxes (944 lbs.!) of stuff so that Larry could accompany them up the Village when he came in for the Science and Technology Committee meeting. I drove back to Seattle, and he came home on Sunday, surviving a grueling six hour ride because of a fire on the east end of Snoqualmie Pass. Our original plan was to both come in to Holden today. But there’s just too much to do in Seattle before we can both get out of there. So I arrived today (with more boxes) and started my year’s ministry by blessing the Holden School at Vespers tonight. A nice way to start. Eight students this year - 5 in high school, 3 in elementary school. One of the high school students will be a distance learner from places like Nepal as she travels the world this year with her parents. Holden is an interesting and diverse place for somewhere so small and remote. Larry should come in on Thursday, and it will be nice to get organized for the year ahead.
And so we arrive where we’ve started, which is surrounded by God’s grace for all our endings and beginnings.
P.S.: These sheep welcomed us to our Holden home! The wool is spun and the sheep knit at St. Placid Priory in Olympia.
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