Mark Scannell, Karin Grosscup, Rachael Kroog, and Mary Eve Thomas are the Prayer Partners who planned this service. The musicians included Anna and Fred Vagle, Rachael Kroog, Lee Vague, Scott Malchow, and Shannon Place. The songs they sang were “Come And Journey With Me”, “Come And Be Light For Our Eyes”, “Swimming To The Other Side”, “Open The Eyes Of My Heart”, “What A Wonderful World”, and closing with “We Are Called”. The music floated through out the bandshell area like the sounds from a giant wind chime.

Mark gave a reflection and then Rachael called up the children and gave her reflection, kid style, demonstrating with boxes that fit inside one another with the last small box having a heart in it.

Free will offerings designated for SJA or any church go to that church, with the rest going to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. Sadly, due to budget cuts the nursery site by SJA is closing.

My children, who love airplanes are thrilled to see Northwest constantly flying above us. To others it may be a distraction, but you know SJA can sing and talk above any noise. Pauses occur while the lower planes move over us. Even this seems beautiful. Too soon, it is over and we have the entire day before us to enjoy the beauty of the world.

For our family this weekend is all about enjoying life as a family. We are a total family, which means our dog is included. We use our sense of sight to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, our sense of hearing for the gorgeous music, our sense of smell for the water, trees and flowers, our sense of taste for fun foods, and our sense of feel to join and touch our spiritual community. We love this weekend.

Saturday, a picnic at Lake Harriet, and later attending the Neal and Leandra concert in the bandshell under the stars. This is always an awesome experience. Arriving home late, this year later than ever due to the Metro Mobility bus arriving ninety minutes late, we get up early and return to Lake Harriet for a breakfast picnic. Attending the SJA service follows our eating. After the service and visiting with everyone around, we travel over to Lake Calhoun, have lunch at the Tin Fish, and go out sailing. Ending up at home late, we gobble up snacks and dessert and fall into bed truly exhausted in the beauty of the world. Our senses exploding in joy. Sleep is sound.

and

Nancy Lynch says, "Joy is being a wife, Mom of fourteen, eight with varying disabilities and living at home, Grandma of thirteen, and Great Grandma of three. Serenity is listening and watching the ocean, alone, at our home on Maui. Passion is friends, photography, reading, swimming and children." Nancy can be reached at nalynch@aol.com.

My children, all adults’ with multiple handicaps, keep journals of one type of other. My one son who is blind and mentally challenged brailled this statement in his journal, “today at chrch (sic) Mark and Rachael told us that no mater (sic) who we are we all have the same heart and we are all wellcome (sic) here and with God”.