ADDING ON

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Last September, my son-in-law and daughter and their girls moved into The Vicarage to lay plans for their next steps into home ownership.

Now there is going to be a new baby! We are all so excited for Baby boy Franklin to arrive, but it does mean we have had to start solidifying plans for the future.

The Franklins are going to be staying here and helping with the Vicarage as Brenda and I age! So Brenda and I have begun looking at floor plans. It seems to make sense to let the Franklins occupy the original Vicarage and for Brenda and I to build a smaller addition or cottage to the property.

We really like the idea of a smaller cottage home on the adjoining piece of property. Here is one of floor plans we are looking at.

LATE WINTER PROJECTS AT THE VICARAGE 2026

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There is no doubt that the end of winter is near. The air has become increasingly unstable. Our temperatures are fluctuating between 3 degrees Fahrenheit and 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Our New England atmosphere is full of small snowstorms that finish as bothersome ice storms making the shoveling this time of year rather nasty.

We have had two days of shoveling this week and I am thinking that by tomorrow morning we will have another five to seven inches of snow to shovel from the drive.

This is the time of year when I am itching to get out into the garden and yet all I can manage is to stay somewhat even with the everyday chores: Walking the dogs, feeding the chickens, mucking the chicken runs and coops, feeding the wild birds and wild rabbits.

This is the time of year when winter stores are running out for the forest critters and so bird seed and scraps for the bunnies and squirrels become essential for life.

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Even our Cooper’s hawk is seeming a bit more desperate these days.

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Still we all know Spring is just around the corner and the outside jobs will soon want doing. I am looking forward to the earth thawing out and getting my hands into garden soil again.

WHAT ABOUT SPRING MAKES EXCITES YOU?

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS FEBRUARY 2026

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On Saturday February 28, the Beals Memorial Library, in Winchendon Massachusetts, began to host a series of conversations around community and what that looks like. We call it Bridging Ideas and Building Futures

From 10-12 last Saturday thirty eight people gathered around tables to share what community is to them. This was an intergenerational / cross community gathering. We had middle schoolers represented and senior citizens; people of faith and atheists; factory workers, truck drivers pastors, consultants and even a nuclear physicist.

Thirty eight people doing small group work at tables. Thirty eight people sharing thoughts and findings in a community circle.

We began by sharing what the word community means. We continued by asking what makes a community vibrant. Our third question was How do individuals thrive with a community.

Now those findings are being compiled into a report that will lead to our next conversation on March 28…What kind of a community do we want to be?

the executive committee met afterwards and based on the comments of attendees we are moving the next conversation to a larger venue. I am excited to see what comes of these conversations. In a world so filled with division it is so hope inducing to see diverse individuals coming together to converse in a healthy and cooperative way.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO BUILD COMMUNITY WHERE YOU LIVE?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS DAY 3

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In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John . Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete. 1 JOHN 1:1-4

MEDITATIONAL THOUGHT:

Sharing your personal encounter with Jesus brings complete joy to the community of faith.

MY THOUGHTS:

One of the things I am working on in the new year is in collaborating with people in my congregation to share stories about how God is showing up in their lives. I realize my role in the Sunday morning service is to bring the “rightly divided Word of truth” from the Scripture, but the part of sharing testimony can and even should come from the congregation. The body of Christ needs to see how the “rightly divided Word of truth” works out in personal circumstances. I need to see that in my own life and the lives of those around me so that I can be encouraged all the more as I see the day of Lord drawing near. That day is close now I think.

WHAT STORIES ARE YOU SHARING TO ENCOURAGE YOURSELF TOWARDS FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE LATELY?

A TUESDAY IN LATE WINTER 2026

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The snow still covers the ground in great heaps. It was 3 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke up. More snow is slated to fall this evening during the homeward commute, but by tomorrow it will be 50 degrees and raining. It’s definitely a New England Tuesday in late winter. You never know quite what your going to wake up to, and yet the day has to go on regardless of what’s going on in the atmosphere around you.

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Tuesdays is a long day. I generally start with wake up prayer around 2 A.M. This morning I was out the door by 4:30 A.M. so I could get the church set up for prayer and my first post written for the morning.

Now it is 7 A.M. I have finished my after report from prayer meeting and posted it to all concerned and now I am heading home to do the farm work.

At 10 we have church staff meeting and then at 1:30 P.M. I am supposed to meet some library personnel to look at alternative venues for our next Community Conversation at the end of March. We filled the room at our first conversation and people were so excited they promised to bring others to the next conversation. So today we are looking at two larger spaces in town.

If the snow doesn’t;t cancel us, tonight I have youth group and then closing off with family prayer at 8:30 P.M. There is lots to do is spite of New England’s weather.

WHAT DOES YOUR TUESDAY LOOK LIKE?

THOUGHTS FROM THE 21 DAYS PT. 1

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In January our church held its annual congregational fast. For 21 days we prayed together, fasted together and meditated on 1 John together. Here are my thoughts from those times of devotion in 1 John.

DAY 1 -That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 1 JOHN 1:1

Your faith is built on the historical, physical reality of Jesus, not an illusion.

Jesus is not my subjective reality. He is not someone I made up in my mind like some imaginary friend. He is a historical figure. History attests to his life. History attests to His expanding influence and history attests to the millions of miraculous life transformations in His name. He is reality. His promise is sure. We can be sure what He said will come to pass.

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