Commune Snow Monkeys and Wine

About the Wine Fair I attended last night, I didn’t spit enough. ‘Nuff said!

Something interesting happened in our community this morning. One of our families is really struggling right now financially. So we collected a secret offering for them. We were able to hand them a sizable cheque. It happens when someone in our community is going through any kind of struggle. They are instantly inundated with food. A couple of families recently received so much food that they were giving it away because their freezers were full. Even beer or wine and cigarettes are being supplied if that’s what they want. Practical instances like these confirm the importance of community… not just for those who are in need but for those who are able to give. The reciprocity of love and friendship is practiced and I love it! It was Wendell Berry who said that marriage takes love out of the mind and plants it responsibly in the world. I hold the same true with church. It takes the idea of unity and love and community and plants it firmly and responsibly in a local gathering. It’s one thing to say you love your neighbor. It’s another thing to be forced to practice it in the mundance day in day out face to face of real life.

The fine art photograph is the creation of my friend, Mark Hemmings, and it is from his Japanese Snow Monkeys series. I thought the fellowship of flea-combing was a good picture of our community.

And, by the way, one of my favorite wines last night was Gabriel Liogier Cotes du Rhone Red, which can be purchased locally for $14.59 a bottle. Delish!