August 1 begins our fourth year together in ministry. It's wild to think about all that has happened in these last three years, both within the congregation and in the wider world.

I will be returning to work after a month off. Although I had planned it as mostly vacation time, in truth it has been sick time. I have been recovering from a fairly bad case of gastritis. After months of symptoms, I'm grateful to finally be feeling better.

After General Assembly, I've spent lots of time resting and cross-stitching. I have also been reading. This was once a favorite hobby of mine, but with seminary, chaplaincy training, then chaplaincy work, most of my reading had become work-oriented. Once the pandemic started, I no longer had the capacity for reading much beyond a news article.

In the last couple of months I've read This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley, Punch Me Up to the G-ds by Brian Broome, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, Damned Nation: Hell in America by Kathryn Gin Lum, and have started American G-ds by Neil Gaiman. They are all beautiful works in their own ways, but the one that continues tugging at my mind is The Prophets.

I have been thinking about things I'm hoping we might try this year, about things I am looking forward to sharing with y'all from General Assembly, and more. Even though this has been a sick leave, I love this work and my mind has trouble letting it rest completely.

I'm looking forward to another year of building the road called hope with you.

In faith and service, Rev. Kristina Spaude (She/her)

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