Just Married

The cake.

The punch.

The bench.

The gift.

The poster.

The happy couple, back from their wedding trip, and continuing the celebration with a reception at church.

That's our pastor, Jimmy, and his wife, Mary Beth, receiving a love gift from our congregation.

Jim did the presentation, since he's currently our Lay Leader.

We were blessed to have Mary Beth's participation in our worship service that morning.

That won't happen often, since she's a pastor in Bloomington.

In addition to a monetary gift, they were given a framed print.

It is a picture of the cathedral in Jackson Square, down in the French Quarter in New Orleans. 

It was the site of their engagement on New Year's Eve.

And then, because they're pastors, they took the opportunity to say a few words. :)

First Jimmy...

and then Mary Beth.

Of course, we can't celebrate a marriage without cake!

They even had a little help with the cutting.

And they sweetly shared cake...

and a kiss.

It was great to celebrate with our church family, enjoying the connection of community.

We are so blessed to have Jimmy and Mary Beth as part of our church family.

May we continue to grow together in community, learning from one another, 

and reaching out to bless others as we have been blessed.

In Pastor Jimmy's Wednesday Welcome this week, he said,

"I hope we will remember what a grace God has placed within our hands and hearts

in giving us the power of extending blessing."

And as he often does, he shared a bit of poetry. 

This is from a poem by Marge Piercy entitled, "The Art of Blessing  the Day."

But the discipline of blessings is to taste

each moment, the bitter, the sour, the sweet

and the salty, and be glad for what does not hurt.

Attention is love, what we must give

children, mothers, fathers, pets,

our friends, the news, the woes of others.

What we want to change we curse and then

pick up a tool. Bless whatever you can

with eyes and hands and tongue. If you

can't bless it, get ready to make it new.