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Dear People of Ascension!

For those who may have missed the news, I am back from my sabbatical!  And let me start by saying I am very happy to be back with you and back at work.  My sabbatical was great and I look forward to sharing some of that with you, but it is always nice to come back.  Especially when I return to a community that has (from reports so far) had a great time in my absence!  I'm very please to hear that things went well, that you enjoyed both the Lay Readers and Rev. Don's leadership.  That you enjoyed some special worship with the bell ringers and a fun and entertaining night of music with Michelle and her husband.  That you got together and got planning - the Bazaar, Mapping the Ground, Truth and Reconcilation events.  What a delight as your priest to hear all about this.  

That said, I also know life continued to happen in all its various colours and emotions.  I'm hearing about some of the celebrations in your life, but also some of the sorrows and losses.   In the next month I hope to visit with some of you - so please be in touch with me directly (call the church 905-985-7278 or email me at: ruthanne@ascensionportperry.com) if you'd like to book a visit.  

There are many gifts in a time of sabbatical, but one that I have come to deeply value is perspective.  Time away from the day to day demands of ministry allowed me to take an extended silent retreat (8 days at Loyola House in Guelph), to attend a Leadership Conference (hosted by the Vancouver School of Theology) and time to write and read about what it means to be the gathered community in this particular time in history.  Such time is a rich and valuable gift to our clergy and so when I say THANK YOU to you as my parish I really mean it!  And I hope some of that richness will show up in my preaching, leading and being with you as we continue to navigate a really new and different landscape of being the people of Christ here and now.

For now I am getting caught up on what has happened and what is in the works for the coming months.  Feel free to be in touch with any updates you'd like to share with me.

I will share here, and you'll see a seperate newsletter item about this, that I will be hosting on Wednesday mornings for a few weeks some Theological Conversations about some of the very real and hard topics that many of us are wrestling with these days.  Topics I have in mind include: MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying), Sexuality, Aging Well, Faith and Politics.  There are other topics and I will share those suggestions with you and ask for you to let me know what is top of mind that you would like to explore in conversation with others and with some biblical reflection. 

These conversations will not be DEBATES - this is not about coming to a conclusion on what is right and what is wrong.  These are topics with a lot of grey area, but also with some meaningful biblical teachings that can help all of us sort out our own thoughts and feelings.  And despite the seriousness of these topics, I suspect there will also be moments of humour to help us hold what isn't always that easy to hold as we seek God's wisdom together.  I hope you will feel welcome to pop into these gatherings as you feel led to do so.

I look forward to seeing many of you at church on Sunday and for others - please be in touch and let me know how life has been treating you of late!  

With peace, Ruthanne