We have a beautiful Tulip tree outside of our kitchen window. Earlier this summer, many tulips blossomed and fell to the ground. With the tulips in the branches came many bumblebees carrying out their pollinating business. I do love metaphors, and I think of all of us as pollinators. We fertilize a community or the people in our life with the pollen of God’s love. Some fun facts: Pollinators are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. Pollinating animals travel from plant to plant carrying pollen on their bodies in a vital interaction that allows the transfer of genetic material vital to most flowering plants so they can reproduce. As you witness the next bumblebee buzzing around, perhaps think of yourself as a pollinator touching one person with God’s affirming and edifying love and then doing the same to the next person you meet.

How will we pollinate one another as our needs change? How do we go about doing this inside of our church family and outside in the community? We, as a Church Council are exploring where can we effectively pollinate as a congregation. Over the next few weeks, we will be having meetings to explore with you how we will direct our pollination efforts to best use the gifts God has given to us. Meetings include discussing our Tanzania ministry and our Music/Choir ministry. We are also in the process of developing an Advisory Team to evaluate and make recommendations for the next steps in caring for our property. Pollinating may be done one bee at a time but the fruits become more visible if they work from their hive as a team. So it is with our community.

Erlinde Beliveau