Havre de Grace

It’s a little known fact, and I had no idea until someone there told me, but Havre de Grace almost became the capital of the whole USA. So Kris and I had the rare opportunity of ministry in the almost-capital. I’m sure glad it didn’t become the capital because Havre de Grace sits quietly on the mouth of the Susequehanna River in Maryland. We were at Grace Reformed Episcopal Church for a Jesus Creed weekend. We participated in God’s grace in the “harbor of grace.”

A few of the good folks at Grace REC read The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others,  then more of them began reading 40 Days Living the Jesus Creed, and then invited us for a weekend on the Jesus Creed. It was wonderful…. Saturday morning from 9 until 3pm or so in the afternoon we discussed implications of the Jesus Creed for a local church like Grace REC. I was more than a little happy that a goodly number of parishioners at Grace REC had read and asked questions about Praying with the Church: Following Jesus Daily, Hourly, Today.

We have to give our thanks for Mark and Christine Specht; Mark is the pastor — ahem, Rector — at Grace and Christine was part of all we did. George and Paula Lutz were instrumental in creating interest in the Jesus Creed, and then I’d have to name too many … so I’ll stop here.

Some highlights: the Sunday morning service was according to the older Book of Common Prayer (REC) so we got the full order; I got to participate in the preaching and service; the communion order is always very special to us (who don’t often get to hear an Anglican BCP communion order). I was asked to preach, and for the first time I did a sermon on “What is love?” It extends my Jesus Creed books into a fuller definition of love in biblical theology.

The people were wonderful, and we had two evening events: Friday night we ate at Mike and Sue’s home in North East — on the water (I think the Chesapeake Bay but maybe North East river — not sure). The weather was perfect for an evening on the water, but the food was electric: George Lutz made Rock Fish for us, and it was exceptional. (With ribs, too.) Saturday evening meant eating at Woody’s in North East with a bundle of folks from Grace REC, and it was delightful — we had crabs (but I won’t say whether we got the kind already cracked or that we cracked them ourselves).

One of the families at Grace REC is Bob and Pam Appleton, and they run a wonderful B&B on the water at North East … and yes we got to stay there, and Pam’s breakfasts are to-die-for (ever had Eggs in a Cloud?) and we had a long walk near the water Saturday afternoon and then just sat with Bob and Pam near the water and absorbed the sights and sounds of the Chesapeake Bay waters and backwaters.

We simply clicked with these good folks.