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Dear Friends in Christ,
Do you have a happy place, some place in your home or elsewhere that immediately gives you joy? Or is there an activity that brings you joy whenever you are able to do it? You may combine these; the happy place is intrinsically connected to the activity you do there. For the past three months, I found this joy in my kitchen.
One of the great gifts of my sabbatical was the freedom to bake with few external limits on my time. I baked bread, pastries, cakes, pies, crackers, cookies and fruit crumbles. I made chocolate mousse and a pastry crust for chicken pot pie. Babka, focaccia, roulade, hearth bread, croissants, pain au chocolat, snickerdoodles, and Milk Bar Pie are a few items which emerged from the oven. I also created my first ever sourdough culture.
From the beginning of my sabbatical, I adopted the attitude of a student. I tried new recipes and learned new techniques. I participated in classes in Paris and Norwich, Vermont. I read books written by bakers. One of those baker/authors provided a liturgy that invited me to frame my baking with prayer.
The most important lesson I learned was not written in a recipe but in a book by Kendall Vanderslice, By Bread Alone: A Baker’s Reflections on Hunger, Longing, and the Goodness of God. “The goal [of baking] should not be mastery in and of itself, but curiosity and joy. Breadmaking, like faith, is a craft to hone over the course of a lifetime, a truth that is at once exciting and liberating.”
Baking was not my only activity over three months. Stephanie and I enjoyed traveling in Europe. I visited family and friends, read on our porch, relaxed for a few days in the Hudson Valley, and took lots of walks with — and without — our dogs.
I return to St. Paul’s filled with gratitude. Thank you to the members of the vestry, especially our wardens, Jeff Kelsey and Shane Hatchett, for your leadership. Thank you, most especially, to the members of the clergy and staff who did so much more than keep everything going in my absence. And thanks to the each of you who did your part to ensure St. Paul’s continues to be the vibrant, faithful, mission-focused parish we are.
It’s good to be home.
Your Friend in Christ,
The Rev. John Denson, D.Min.
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