We finished at 4 pm and then the tables and chairs all had to be pulled down and rearranged. The church where we have been meeting, Immanuel Church, hosts services for about 4 different congregations during a weekend, so it was important to return it all to normal.
By the afternoon, I was feeling a bit weary from too much input, too much interaction and too much food. I decided to disappear before there were any restaurant invitations to decline. Eating out seems to be a big part of North American culture. The restaurants in Calgary seem busy on any evening.
I went for a walk along the river and headed off to Starbucks to get a light me and coffee.
This afternoon Hazel Alley spoke for a few minutes.
This bird is called a magpie by the locals, but apart from the black and white markings, has no relationship to the Australian bird called by the same name. These magpies are actually royal blue across their backs. they are very pretty birds and quite tame, like their Australian namesakes. They are officially called Black-billed Magpie or Pica hudsonia
Sue commented that she was pleased that I got to see squirrels. They are everywhere around the city and quite used to people. I saw one today that had pulled a chip (or French fry to the locals) out of a garbage bin and was holding it with both front paws to gnaw on it.
Tomorrow we change gears into a conference mode. We also change location. The retreat Centre is booked out so we have to move out, and the conference is in a different location in Calgary.
What an awesome experience. "Christianity is meant to be lived in the context of relationships". But that's so often the hard part.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard, but it's also the place where we most experience God. That is exactly why God came into the world as a human being. Our culture wants to tie everything down to individualism- but we are created for relationship. as we overcome our sin together in community, then the relationship part becomes easier to manage.
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