Family Business

To our Confirmation Candidates:

All of us are in the Family Business.
Your membership began at birth.
Your commitment to follow Jesus began with Baptism
With the promises of your parents and sponsors.

Your fundamental skill set contains the Gifts of the Holy Spirit:
- Courage: Strength to stand up for what you believe is right and true
- Wisdom: Discerning the difference between what is good and what is not
- Understanding: Listening to the words, sensing the feelings, recognizing the needs of another - with an open heart
- Right Judgement: Making better choices to become your better self
- Knowledge: Searching for truth so it becomes one in you
- Reverence: Hearing the inner call to enable Love to flow through you into the world
- Wonder and Awe: Tuning to the precious mystery of creation which surrounds all of us
and is us

These sacred tools will be essential to enable you to bring:
- Love
- Forgiveness
- Service
...especially for the vulnerable

The Family Business
Guarantees Lifetime Employment
Always something to do
Now is the time
Follow the leader
Role up your sleeves...

Tradition..

Every Fall - for over 35 years - our family has gone apple picking. It started with Peggy and I and two daughters. In a few years two more daughters joined with us. The picking tradition has continued - without a miss - and now includes three sons-in-laws and seven grandchildren.

Sometimes the geographic distance is too great and we can't all gather to pick in the same orchard - but we all still pick.

This Saturday our Northern contingent gathered for our Fall tradition. Grandson James made his first trip to Chudley's Apple Orchard. Sampled his first fresh apple. Loved it!!!

I took a few memory snaps. They basically look like the same photos I took last year - plus James. If you went back 20 years or more, all the photos look a bit similar - but different...

Curiously, our daughter in New York just called and told us our three grandchildren, her husband and she also picked apples - on Saturday. Go figure...

Our traditions enable us to

experience the Sacred...

In the lives of

Family and Community

Faith.

They give us opportunities to

gather and celebrate

and remember and share our stories

and be enveloped in love.

It seems to be how we are wired.

A mystery.

Traditions are a gift.

God is always there...

Oh - by the way:

Another favorite family tradition is making our own applesauce.

The family gathers tight around the table and the stove.

We all work together - peeling, slicing, dicing, cooking and caning - over 30 quarts -which are divvied-up.

Our Applesauce ROCKS!!!