Greetings to you on this last day of July 2026!

Dear Congregation,

Dear Congregation,

Greetings to you on this last day of July 2026. I hope all is well with you and that you plan to be here Sunday for worship and to help pack the backpacks for children in need of school supplies. The backpacks will be taken to SOS and En Familia in Homestead for distribution. Thanks to Karen Kett for organizing and shopping for this project and to all of you who have contributed to it.

Time seems to be going by quickly as we prepare backpacks and so realize that school will be back in session in a few short weeks. I recently found this poem “Otherwise” which speaks of being thankful each day for the blessings we have that may seem small and ordinary but are anything but. I share it with you below and invite you to pay attention to the holy in your life.

In Christ’s love,

Pastor Candy

Otherwise

I got out of bed on two strong legs.

It might have been otherwise.

I ate cereal, sweet milk,

ripe, flawless peach.

It might have been otherwise.

I took the dog uphill to the birch wood.

All morning I did the work I love.

At noon I lay down with my mate.

It might have been otherwise.

We ate dinner together at a table

with silver candlesticks.

It might have been otherwise.

I slept in a bed in a room

with paintings on the walls,

and planned another day just like this day.

But one day, I know, it will be otherwise.

Jane Kenyon, “Otherwise,” from Collected Poems.