Linda at the Bookstore sharing her ever-present smile!

I met Linda and her husband Jim through our congregation member Teresa, as she yelled out an invitation to them from the coffee cart on the church porch.  Linda and Jim live within sight of the church, which is lucky for us!  They are both so delightful at Jim has volunteered at the church before, and as both have become welcome visitors to the coffee cart, sometimes with dog in tow to visit Boo, but always bringing their friendly presence and warmth even on the coldest of spring days!!

Linda is a former school librarian who now lends her talents  to Mockingbird Books, reading stories, suggesting books, helping children and adults find the books their hearts desire.  If she doesn’t have something, she will find something that will suit your needs, Linda aims to please!

When I think of people who use their talents and gifts for the best of their community I can see Linda’s skill as storyteller shining through with so much joy.  As a pastor that is always the most exciting thing, to see how people utilize the gifts that they have been so wonderfully made with!   It is exciting to see someone at a work they love, not an action movie excitement, but a deep heartfelt excitement that inspires one to find their own gifts and talents to share.

Linda takes me back to the joy of my childhood in savoring the colorful books of the library that my mother would read to me in fullness of animation and intent.  Some of my greatest memories was listening to a really good story, it has inspired me to write, preach and teach, sharing the stories of meaning and imagination in God’s world.  When Linda even speaks of her life as a librarian, or of sharing stories in the big room at Mockingbird Books each morning, her eyes sparkle, and one is drawn in.  It is the sort of thing that makes one want to borrow a child from a neighbor so they can come be part of the group at 11 a.m.

When I think of my Sesame Street years and “who are the people in your neighborhood, the people that you meet when you’re walking down the street…”  I think of Linda and Jim, people who meet and greet – are the very best of neighbors sharing life and vitality!  Today I shall have to venture down for story time at 11 a.m……Gonna be a happy day!!

Linda with Sue, two amazing "Book Ladies!"

Linda with Jim - everyone lends a hand at Mockingbird - a Family Place.

Ed helping the children get to school.

I met Ed in a most embarrassing way, he was saving my beloved dog, Boo from oncoming traffic as he had escaped the church yard.  But then, that is what Ed does, he serves and protects all in our neighborhood as they cross the street near Green Lake Elementary.  Not just the kids mind you, but any neighbor can be comfortable in knowing that Ed is there in the mornings and afternoons looking out for us all.

We had Boo only a 2 days when he escaped the yard and in the following school year Ed would save him more than that once (we have now fixed the fence).  As I visited with him one day he mentioned that he had to “step up” the kids coming were dangerous, 3 children with one nanny, quite a handful and Ed was there to ensure they all made the busy street safely.  This was his gentle tease, kids not dangerous, but his dedication to them very serious.  As former police officer, Ed’s commanding presence is a gift with so much traffic abounding!

But Ed offers more than safety, he offers greetings, conversation and warm smiles to all who pass by.  Ed is so well beloved for being that kind and friendly presence first thing in the morning and as the kids go home!  Everyone in the neighborhood knows and loves Ed.  As the school breaks for summer tomorrow, Ed will be missed by many of us.  As I stand out here in the coffee cart I look forward already to the day when school returns with the kids and with Ed!!

Have a great Summer Ed!!

Ed Shares a Story.

Amy at Lulu's a neighbor and friend to all at Green Lake.

I discovered why Amy Duncan does what she does so well, she is by profession a librarian, she enjoys people, research and informing.  Amy is the heart and soul behind www.mygreenlake.com our neighborhood blog site.  Behind her efforts are those in the neighborhood with police scanners, the businesses, community councils and simply the word on the street she gleans from people or neighbor’s web sites.  She combs our community to share information with all so that we can all connect.  Amy sends out the invitation for all to participate in the activities of the neighborhood, she encourages us to get out of our homes and into the parks, businesses, churches and community centers around Green Lake.

Amy is a one person Welcome Wagon.  Amy lived on the edge of the Green Lake neighborhood for years and when she and her family moved here a year and a half ago she missed seeing local neighborhood listings on the Greenwood site.  So utilizing her gifts and talents for this very work set out to create what hadn’t yet happened in our techie part of the city, a neighborhood blog just for us at Green Lake.

Amy keeps us up to date on deaths in the area, crime, but much more importantly, the life and pulse of what is happening here.  You check the site and you know what businesses are opening and closing, who is offering what type of worship on Christmas and Easter, and when and where the next Contra Dance will take place at Green Lake!  We can find out about our local school changes with the financial cutbacks, and have an opportunity to express our opinions to King County regarding our bus service.  Amy plugs us in to the community.

The absolute coolest thing is that Amy does not live behind her computer, she lives in the neighborhood.  If there is a neighborhood meeting, she is there, she is a regular at Lulu’s and many other businesses here, and when we had the Open Castle Amy brought her daughter, Sloan, to come and do our green crafts and explore our dungeon.  Amy is a living breathing part of our community who breathes life into this service of inviting folks to live a life public with neighbors.

I have yet to see Amy without a smile on her face when she speaks of her work.  Did I mention this is an unpaid position?

When I think of Spirit of Place, and the concept that the sacred is everywhere and in everyone, I contemplate how this place, Green Lake is uniquely wonderful.  What makes it so, is what makes every place uniquely wonderful, the love that is shown for neighbor by neighbor.  Amy has truly found her calling here at Green Lake, and I wonder how we can all be so engaged with our neighbors, with our community in the celebration of the Spirit of Green Lake?!?!?

Amy you and your family are in our prayers as you welcome your second child into the world later this month.  You are truly a gift to our neighborhood!!

Amy sharing her warm smile on a rainy day.

Karen at her post, Greeting folks to Cafe Lulu

More than clergy I think Barristas have hearts of gold.  They listen, care and serve up warmth in many ways.  In our neighborhood we are truly blessed to have Karen at Cafe Lulu who greets customers with some of the best coffee in the city.  A longstanding lover of mint lattes, Karen introduced me to the best I’ve had in Seattle – the secret is no sweet syrup, just mint that pops with freshness in the coffee.  But more than Karen’s coffee mastery is her amazing way of welcoming all into the community of her coffee shop, she was the first neighbor outside of the church who knew my name, and I appreciated that so much.

Last year I ran a blog with a story of Karen I would like to share again.  At the church here we have an opportunity to share some limited resources with those in financial need and one day we had a call from a woman in our neighborhood who was in need of utilities assistance.  She would be coming by that afternoon around 3.  At around 3:15 I began to wonder if she was going to make it, then I thought it was time to look about and see if she needed help getting in, I knew she would be utilizing the wheelchair accessible entrance.

That is when I found my gal in the company of Karen.  Karen had helped her cross the street 2 blocks down by Lulu’s then accompanied her all the way up the hill to the church.  Our lady had not only a walker, but many bags hanging from her walker, quite a load.  Karen had not only helped her up here, but when they passed Karen’s home between Lulu’s and the Church, she brought down a chair for our guest to rest before making it up the rest of the hill.  It was a profound depth of compassion that truly touched my heart!

What is so great about being pastor here, while living next to the church is that I have an awesome commute.  It is cool to know someone else who appreciates the great opportunity of living and working in the same neighborhood, which Karen does.  This way we know not only Karen, but her dog Canyon, a beautiful Great Dane as big as a horse who doesn’t quite greet us as we pass by, but lets the dogs and I know whose neighborhood this REALLY is (as far as dogs go).  Whether dogs or humans there is a sense of belonging that Karen exemplifies in how she treats all as neighbor in this special place she calls home.

As we spoke of the pieces I had written on Piegaro and Caffe Via Roma she mentioned she finds the same type of culture at Lulu’s – where people come and speak their hearts, as she says, “Staying for 3 minutes or 3 hours,  depending on what they need to share, and some people have told it all.”  So many neighbors meet here, and when I met another neighbor at Lulu’s that day, Amy was surprised I hadn’t ran into her at the shop before, it is a real home away from home, a community living room for many in the morning and early afternoon.

Like many neighbors I look forward to Lulu’s expanding their hours to 5 p.m. this month – and adding sandwiches for lunch.  A place of warmth and welcome to come into on a rainy day like today – or any day one needs a place of grace and amazing coffee!

Colleen and Lisa First Day of Exploration in Cortona, the start of the Adventures!

I met Collen months after I started serving Green Lake United Methodist Church, I heard amazing stories of her leadership, passion and flare for ministry, but she wasn’t here, she was in Piegaro.  It was Colleen’s first season as “Patrona de L’ Antica Vetreria” – Tom and her vision of retirement work at its finest, running an Inn in a hilltop village in Umbria, Italy.  Their vision became a reality that year so it wasn’t until winter that I got to meet this dynamic woman I had heard so much about.

Here at Green Lake UMC Colleen had made a home with her parents worshiping and working in mission as diverse as Rosalee’s Quilters (named for her mom), outreach with Operation Nightwatch for Homeless, and with Energizers creating new ways of being church family through fellowship.  Colleen gave so much life over the years to our congregation at the Castle.

When I did finally meet Colleen it was with an instant invitation to come visit Piegaro, it took a year an a half, and a lot hemming and hawing on my part.  What tipped the scale of my decision making was proposing a retreat on St. Francis and actually thinking she would say NO WAY, instead it was “how soon?”  So we planned, plotted and schemed, hoping we could pull it off by May, then reality set in and we realized we needed to do some ground work first, and Colleen graciously accepted me as her guest as we went in search of the Sacred in Umbria.

There were days when we would be gone for 10 or more hours exploring the places Francis went, or that were meaningful places to others who blossomed in their faith lives in the region… they were LONG days.  And Colleen as driver was amazing, she would often pull over rather abruptly as we found a “photo op” or stop to look at a map, “we know that abbey is around here somewhere,”…..hmmm.  We traveled through mud, rain, wrong way turns checking out so many places and having an amazing time. We even explored a castle where there were a LOT of antenna coming out of the windows and roof of the chapel and high voltage electric boxes on the grounds…tapping into the spiritual energy?!?!?  Ah the joys of exploration.

What was really fun was when we realized how well I was communicating with the locals and laughing at all my weirdo mistakes in the communication, I called it knuckle dragging Italiano – my cave-speak that had remarkably few verbs and lots and lots of hand motions, movie quotes and laughter.  Collen was there to introduce and be companion to me in this wonderful new place.  Colleen ended up being a perfect partner on this journey that made all the work and effort fun.  To me this is the essence of bridging the places of Green Lake and Piegaro – they are both places where work, relationship, worship and spiritual seeking feed my soul.  Places where I see God in the people, in their struggles and in their joy, there is an abundance of life which Colleen exemplifies.  It was great teamwork after much discernment that our retreat would be two weeks to capture the true spirit of Umbria, which lies in its people, just as the spirit lies in God’s people and creation everywhere, which called for new travel itineraries and explorations.

I look forward to our retreats in the future with Colleen as a partner and friend, someone to laugh, pray and cry with.  I pray and ask of my dear friend who is working so hard to make her Inn flourish in a troubled world;  How is it with your Soul friend, today, tomorrow, in Piegaro and when you return to Seattle.  I am blessed with le bella amica, Colleen.

Collen at the Castle, reading the graffitti words of Bob Marley... somehow so appropriate there.

Colleen and Karen, a new friend we met on our adventures looking around Perugia.