(Icon written by Eduardo Santana of Bolondrón, Cuba, and generously gifted to me on my last Sunday at St. Francis In-the-Field.)

Today has felt for me like one of those “thin places,” where heaven and earth come together.

Close moments came as I visited friends, who showed up at our Church Without Walls to worship and give thanks just two days after having their camp dismantled, without notice, and all their worldly possessions confiscated and destroyed.

I felt the closeness of the Creator when a sweet pup allowed me to rub her belly as she lay in the grass exhausted from all the disruption and upheaval.

Another close moment came when a friend reached out to me, as he struggles to have integrity with his word but worries about giving offense to those who may not agree with him.

I witnessed the love of Christ as a friend wept with relief upon hearing word of another who had been missing for several days.

During worship, Jesus made himself known when friends from the L’Arche community exuberantly joined us in singing Amazing Grace. “I learned how to sing today,” one of our regulars commented. The freedom to be ourselves and to love in the moment is clearly a gift from heaven above.

May we recognize those “close moments” in our midst and trust that the One who created everything that is means it when he calls us friend.

My apologies to those who follow this blog fairly consistently for being silent this past month. It has been a busy and demanding time for me — a time in which I sense the Spirit working in me. I am hoping to write more regularly. But, in the meantime, I share these gifts of encounter and experience with you. Peace be with you.