Dear Friends

It is a wonderful blessing to be on sabbatical. I have enjoyed my first month, although it began on a very sad note with Andree Hunter's death. I was glad to have no other work responsibilities during those last two days of her life. It was good to have time to be with her, and I was glad I was at home, and able to do her funeral. Our family is hoping to visit, for an evening, with her step-daughter, Melanie, and Greg and the boys when we go to Hamilton in July.

In my first full week of sabbatical, I attended a Military Chaplains' conference at NavCan. Like the 'Singing Faith Alive' worship series being held at the Williamstown Church, we had wonderful worship, lead by chaplains from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths. These are the three religions currently represented in the Chaplaincy Branch of the Canadian Forces.

Last week, having had time to shop around, I bought a replacement vehicle (a 2007 Honda CRV), so that we have a reliable means of transportation. My poor car spent most of May getting checked in and out of Roger Menard's garage. By the time Jean Butler, the boys and I got home from the M&O Conference weekend (a UCC AGM), my car was leaking oil, transmission fluid, and the brakes were grinding. We're having fun driving the new car, and it will be great for trips to Hamilton and New Brunswick. It can also fit 2 goalie bags in the trunk space, which is great timing, as the boys are commuting to Ottawa with Bill this week to go to goalie camp. I will go and watch them for a couple of days as well. I was delighted when I picked up my new plates - BLYS 516. Sam has been looking for a great Bible verse - 5:16. Any suggestions? As for me, I'm delighted with the BLYS. One of my sabbatical goals was to attain BLISS. So, I'm now claiming to have attained 'bliss' already, which will take the pressure off my meditation practice at Plum Village.

Last weekend, I went to a Reiki course in Barrie with Edwina Billyk. It was lead by Hyakuten Inamoto, a Sensei from Japan (http://www.a-w-etherapies.ca/barrie_komyo_reiki_kai_2011_work.htm). It was a super workshop, and it was great fun staying with Tina Cairncross' cousin in Barrie. We knew we were in the right driveway when we saw an 'L CAIRNX' licence plate. While we were there, we made a trip into Angus for a short visit with Francine, Pat, Nicole (now going by her second name - Danielle) and Hazel Ann Power. It was great to see them again. It has been 3 years since they moved to Base Borden from Williamstown. I also got to have dessert and coffee with a friend with whom I worked in Penetanguishene (1989-92). I hadn't seen her since I did training at Base Borden in 2007.

On July 10th, I will be with my parents to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The live in a beautiful little home in a retirement village. Their party with friends and family will be at the 'Clubhouse', which is walking distance from their home. They have family coming from as far as England and Texas, and many friends from Hamilton, including their new next-door neighbours.

From July 14 - Aug 4, I will be on a summer retreat at Plum Village, France (www.plumvillage.org). To see some info about the programme and schedule, go to http://www.plumvillage.org/images/stories/events/registration-form/summe.... It will be an interesting experience, I'm sure. I'm curious to see how I manage with the silent meditation, which is not one of my current spiritual practices - I usually can't stay awake! The focus of the teachings in Plum Village is compassion and understanding.

I will be home just in time for the Williamstown Fair, and so I'm sure I will bump into a lot of you then. We'll see how quickly I adjust from the Zen atmosphere of Plum Village to the excitement of the Fair! The remainder of August will be time to spend with family and friends.

On what is technically my last day of sabbatical - Sept 7 - I will be spending the day in Montreal at the 2nd Global Conference on World's Religions. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, will be joined by Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, world-famous author Deepak Chopra, Professor Tariq Ramadan, Professor Robert Thurman, Professor Gregory Baum recipient of the Order of Canada, and Swami Dayananda Saraswati to speak on the theme 'Peace Through Religion'. For more info, go to http://www.gcwr2011.org/index.htm. I think that's an awesome way to end my sabbatical.

Thanks again to the congregations for the gift of sabbatical - a wonderful time to be inspired, to catch my breath, and to have time with family and friends. I shall look forward to sharing stories, and bringing my renewed energy and learnings to my work with you in the fall.

Andrea