After the conference, we were ready to begin a week of vacation, exploring the very different-from-Goshen terrain. We spent the weekend in a lovely casita in Placitas, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, in the foothills of the Sandia mountains. The first day we rested, read on the porch, savored the views, and enjoyed glimpses of unfamiliar fauna -- lizards, quail, new varieties of hummingbirds and mourning doves. (Most of them too speedy for my camera).
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The week after Dad's 90th birthday celebration, John and I headed off to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the national Mennonite Spiritual Directors Network retreat. From our location at the Madonna Retreat Center, we had a wonderful view of dry scrub-land, the Rio Grande with green bosque on either side, sunrises over the Sandia mountains to the east, and the hot air balloons that took off at 7:00 most mornings. Seventy-five Mennonite spiritual directors (practicing, in training, or exploring the possibility) gathered to hear presentations by Fr Richard Rohr and Dr Angela Reed on the overall theme of Attending to Love: Within and Without. We also worshiped, shared around tables, learned from one another, rested, feasted on New Mexican menus, considered proposals for the development and direction of the network, and sang our prayer together. Early in May we celebrated Dad's 90th birthday with an afternoon gathering of family, friends from across the decades, and fellow Juniper residents. While happy to party, Dad points out that he regularly eats lunch surrounded by his elders and that 90 doesn't seem quite the landmark it used to. |
My approach to contemplative photography --
"Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." Mary Oliver in "Sometimes" Archives
August 2020
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