at the beach , but from the hills..life's " tapestry"

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." ~ From the television show The Wonder Years

"The past is not a package that one can just lay away." Emily Dickinson.

I'm planning to try my hardest to get back up North for Gram Cable's funeral.  The date hasn't been set yet, but I looked up her obituary online & it said that the service will be at the Presbyterian church where she was a member.{ and the very congregation that baptized me}

I'm a proud Anglo-Catholic Episcopalian & know for certain that this is where & how I am supposed to worship for the rest of my life on Earth.  Since I'd received most of my formal Christian education from the Presbyterians when growing up in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, I still hold much affection for the congregation who accepted me as a child of God years before I asked for baptism. They are a part of me & I a part of them.

There were many reasons why I felt called to leave the Presbyterian Church{USA} at the time I did--but NONE of those reasons  had to do with any of the fine people in Ohio who helped me grow in my "Walk with God". They are part of the " fabric" that is the "tapestry" of my life's story. 

It is not fair to hold grudges ...and although I acknowledge that I left the coastal Presbyterian church under less-than-ideal circumstances , I am grateful for the Presbyterian Church atop the hill that was vital to my development as a Christian.  My parents were & are unchurched , so the adults at Hill Top took time to make sure that I knew I belonged there.  Sunday School to Vacation Bible School to choir---I was there. Most of the families who went to this church wit me knew of my parents & some of my Dad's best friends in Ohio were guys with whom he'd played basketball three evenings per week. As a teen { and a very shy, awkward teen} I developed my first crush on a classmate who I thought was the cutest, funniest, most adorable boy ever! { of course I never told said boy of my crush---as I totally lacked confidence}

I'm blessed to be a part of the Episcopal Church, but at the same time I know I must honor my Presbyterian sisters & brothers-in Christ who still care enough about me to send me a newsletter via snail mail every month. My issues that led me away from that denomination  do not apply when I think about the good people at the small church atop a hill in rural Ohio.

Amen.