Love That Begins Small and Sees Us Through

Dearest Holy Comforter Family,

A few days ago, I came across a picture I took in 2022, when a hard frost rolled in

just as our peach trees reached peak bloom. Sherod had sprinklers running all night in our small peach tree grove. As the sun rose the morning after, we saw that those exquisite blooms were both trapped and kept whole by the ice. Looking at that picture made me think of The Chronicles of Narnia. 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first book of the series, begins while Narnia is under the spell of the wicked White Witch, caught in an endless harsh, bitterly cold “winter with no Christmas.” In the first pages of the book, we meet Mr. Tummus, who has given himself over to the will of the witch who has Narnia under this winter spell and he has kidnapped Lucy for her. We also meet Lucy, a kind and gentle person who calls out the best of a sinful, broken creature like Mr. Tummus. Along with admitting how he has allowed himself to be used by the death-dealing power of the White Witch, he finds the strength to show Lucy how she can escape and in making that one small decision by a “two bit player,” Mr. Tummus opens the way for light, for redemption. The Chronicles of Narnia will be filled with tragedy, death, awful setbacks, but the deathly cold winter will not mark the end of time. Rather, all of the large and small decisions of the story make time holy, overflowing with life and love.

In a season when it’s easy to feel very helpless at a lot of different layers of life, frozen by fear, we have the opportunity to look for the people and moments who call out the very best in us. Those people and moments give us the strength to do the next right and good thing. In turn, our actions and decisions that may ripple in ways we can’t even begin to comprehend but open space for grace to do the rest. The ECW luncheon was lovely on Wednesday of last week. Aware of how many members of our parish are facing significant health issues, and the struggles in our country, we began the luncheon by saying the “Litany for Healing” which is found in the Episcopal Church Book of Occasional Services. Saying that prayer and then enjoying warm fellowship with each other made me realize how important those kinds of gatherings can be. Mary Lois, Terri, and I started a conversation about having a couple more midweek lunches that combine time for prayer and for fellowship, for the women of the church before the end of the year.

On the day this newsletter is published, there is a gathering of the guys in our church at a restaurant. I’m sure there will be some guffawing and guy talk. The tone will be very different, and yet remarkably the same: there will be bonds of affection, of shared history, of genuine and deep faith that abides. A small moments, for sure, but these are a real way of keeping the fabric of life at Holy Comforter woven through with laughter and joy. That will keep us strong for the days ahead. To God be the glory!

With prayers and thanksgiving for the ties that bind us to each other and God’s love, 

Rosa+ 

Manny Roberto: The Next Installment

For the first 10 days after Manny Roberto came to live at our little farm, I kept him well 

isolated from the rest of the flock for all kinds of health and safety reasons. Then, it was time to begin the active process of integrating him in the flock. He is so small and the girls are so big that I thought introducing him to Snowball, my smallest girl,  might be a good place to start so I brought her over to his ‘apartment.’

While she clucked and looked around, Manny’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and next thing I know, he is giving a whole new meaning to happy feet. That boy began dancing around her, dragging his wing and making all kinds of ‘come hither my dear’ little noises. Snowball’s response was utter and complete indifference. If a chicken girl could talk, she’d have said, “Are. You. Kidding. Me???” 

Each day, I left her in with Manny for a little longer. They got to the point that they ate 

side-by-side at his feeder. Finally, on Friday, I decided she’d be in for a longer time, and I’d actually go back to the house to do some other stuff. An hour later when I returned, I was more than a little upset to see several of Manny’s iridescent feathers on the ground. He must have gotten fresh and Snowball just let him have it. Since then, I’ve made one more change—he is now in a safe space inside the actual chicken yard.

Nonetheless, I have some concern. Manny has never shown any aggressive behavior and 

in fact, tends to run in the opposite direction when things heat up. Some of the older hens are the opposite and the last thing Manny needs is to be injured by the Mean Girls. That means I have to go slow and careful, and I may need to put a Plan B in place instead of turning him loose to live with the larger flock. My first inclination is to look for a couple of little Bantam hens to keep him company. I suspect my spouse would not appreciate yet another layer of complication to this business of me keeping chickens. I have some more reading and consulting to do before I take any more steps since he is basically in the best space I can provide for him at this time. I'm sure there will be other installments but today I keep thinking, “Bless Manny’s little heart…”

also streamed live on our Facebook page

  Michael Paul • Randy Woodland

Weekday Worship 

MONDAY

Compline | 7:00 PM facebook 

WEEEKDAYS

Morning Prayer | 8 AM

National Cathedral 

 Please pray for

Parishioners — Joe Albree, Walter Alvarenga, Ann Carlton, Barbara Dailey,

Rob Dailey, Fred Earle, Sidney Hennessey, Scott Lollar, Eddie Norred, John Parker,

Lea Russell, Judith Granger Ward, Randy Woodland, Evie Yonker, Barbara Zdanis

Friends — Gay Curlin, Kathryn Dorlon, T.J. Esco, Wayne Goble,

Jon Kusa, Laura, Mike Lloyd

Students — Davis Dickert, Grayson Dickert, Matthew Franklin, Will Franklin,

Anna Hoffman, Addie Hoffman, Sam Lee, Michael Moore, Aiken Via