Pastor's Column-  July & August 2008
                          

Summer is upon us once again and many of us are engaged in a common summer activity:  fixing up our homes and our yards.  You can see signs of home repair and yard work going on all around our neighborhoods.  In this land of harsh winters, we must take advantage of the good weather to "get our houses in order," so to speak.

I've recently begun to think of "home" in other terms.  Each one of us becomes a home for God to dwell within during this earthly journey of ours.  Think about that concept: you are a home for God.  That means that your life is indeed sacred for it is a place where God dwells.  Such a concept certainly impacts how we care for our bodies and our spirits in order to ensure that we have created a good home for God.  This concept of being a home for God is also reflected in our relationships with others, in our sense of service, in the choices we make in our lives.

Sometimes there are people we meet who clearly have made their lives a beautiful home for God.  We may not even know them well to be able to discern a well cared for home in which the spirit of God shines forth.

I recently received the sad news of the sudden death of a colleague of mine in South Africa, the Rev. James Buys, who was such a home for God.  I met him when I traveled to South Africa many years ago as part of a presbytery delegation.  I stayed with his family, played with his children, and preached in his church.  We renewed our connection when he came to visit the Presbytery of Western New York some 6 years ago and this time I was able to reciprocate his hospitality.  This gentle man served as moderator of his denomination, The United Reformed Church in Southern Africa, and was a significant force in the ecumenical movement in Africa and in leading his denomination in areas of justice.  I came to greatly respect and admire him.  News of his recent death has left me unable to shake a deep sense of loss and sorrow.  Sometimes in life there are people we know for only a short time who nevertheless have a significant impact on us.  James was such a person.

In these summer months of tending to home and yard, my we give thanks for those individuals in our lives who have shown us what it truly means to create a space for the Holy One to dwell.

Shalom,

Tracy