Winter Beauty
AT THE CHURCH O THE PINES someone left the basement freezer open and now we are Narnia. The congregation shivers in their fur coats and feather stoles, and the morning hymns have a bit of a wobble in the high notes. Blue jays holler and shout, nuthatches mutter, chickadees say their names, and pileated woodpeckers, somehow, still laugh uproariously. The church moat (Mississippi) is ice-locked and snow-covered and awaits the first intrepid skiers—perhaps the local parson—yours truly. The beams and rafters of our Church are frosted and iced and all the forest is bound in winter beauty. Many cold nights and icy blasts lie ahead, difficult times for our Church flock, but we help them along with good fare in Fellowship Hall, and of course the Holy Water in the bird bath. And they bless us with their company. Wherever you feel blessed with beauty, we wish you Good Sabbath!