By Rev. AbbyLynn Haskell,
I remember hearing a story told by Ruth Graham that she was asked to judge an art show with the award going to the one successful in conveying the concept of peace. There were entries that had beautiful scenic fields, pastures and flowing rivers but none of these entries were declared the winner. The “peace” winner was a painting of a violent storm. The storm was depicted with heavy rains threatening to erode a barn’s foundation, stormy clouds pierced by mean streaks of lightening and trees severely bent by the force of the wind.
In the branches of one of these trees was a small nest and in the nest was a mother bird sheltering her babies peeking out from under her wing.
In the stormy chaos of these days I’ve found peace in the sunrise on Sunday mornings on the ocean. I was invited last fall by a Captain of a local fishing charter to lead a Sunday “boat church.” I didn’t think he was serious but he kept bringing it up and reminding me of his invitation. He remembered going to boat church as a boy with his grandmother. The Friday before Memorial Sunday he called and invited me again. Something felt right and I agreed. We’ve had two boat church Sundays so far and they have become a treasured part of my week. I invite you sometime this summer to go find a bit of horizon and watch the sun come up. May you be blessed to encounter a bit of that sacred peace that only a sunrise wonder can offer.
AbbyLynn currently serves as part-time co-pastor at the Acton Congregational Church UCC in Maine. AbbyLynn also loves sailing, is a USCG Captain, and runs a coastal sailing retreat business with her husband that operates out of Saco Bay. If you’d like to attend a Sunrise Boat Church this summer you can sign up to hop aboard here: broadreachministries.com/sunday-sunrise-service
