“Where do you want to go to church on Sunday?” It is a question that has rarely been asked around our house, but it was the question that started a plan for us this week. In the United Church of Christ, ministers are held to carefully-designed ethical standards when leaving a call to ministry. Although we have negotiated a plan that will result in us continuing to be members of First Congregational Church of Bellingham, we are taking a brief break from worship. This will allow the children who worship in person and online to adjust to the changes in leadership. It will also remind children and adults that we are no longer members of the church staff. the arrangement has been carefully arranged with the on-going church staff and we are comfortable with the plans.

It does, however, mean that we, who have been pastors and who have been firmly attached to a single worshipping community for our professional careers, will be visiting a series of different congregations over the next few weeks. The idea is not completely foreign to us. In fact, we have visited some of the same congregations previously. During the last sabbatical of our active ministry in Rapid City, we focused on some end-of-career planning. We interviewed retired pastors, held discussions about congregational transitions with denominational leaders, and wrote about the major transitions of pastoral careers. During that sabbatical we were based in Mount Vernon, a short drive from our present home. We worshiped with a number of congregations during that time, including First Congregational Church of Bellingham. We have some familiarity with the congregations of this region.

The choice of where to worship today was an easy one for us. First of all, there are two United Church of Christ congregations that are closer to our home than First Congregational Church of Bellingham. We chose our home congregation before we knew where our home would be. We live just under 20 miles from the church. While it is likely we will worship with congregations of other denominations in the next few weeks, starting with UCC congregations makes sense. The closest UCC congregation to our home is just 7 miles away in the town of Blaine.

There is a big attraction for me in Blaine this weekend. Although we frequently go to Blaine, we might have a tendency to stay away this weekend because there is a festival in town and events designed to attract tourists sometimes are occasions for us to stay away from places where we are used to finding easy parking and know our way around. We aren’t the biggest fans of crowds. However, I would likely make an exception for the Drayton Harbor Maritime Festival. While I can get by without the games, crafts, scavenger hunt, the pirate costume cossets, arts, crafts and food vendors, I admit that I would love to see the Lady Washington tall ship. The historical sailing ship is a replica of the original Lady Washington that plied the waters of the Pacific northwest in the 1700’s. It is in Drayton Harbor this weekend and there on-board tours are available. I’m a big fan of sailing ships and love opportunities to go aboard. We have tickets for a three-day, two-night cruise on another tall ship in September, the Schooner Zodiac.

So today’s plan is to worship with Blaine United Church of Christ this morning and take a tour of Lady Washington before heading home. We may even purchase lunch from one of the food vendors, or from a favorite fish and chips place at the harbor. It isn’t exactly a date, but it feels like a but of luxury. We are so used to having responsibilities on Sunday Mornings, that our routine is to set our alarm clocks, rise early, get to church early so that we can make last minute preparations for Sunday Morning activities. We don’t have any of those responsibilities today. No alarm clocks needed. We have time for a leisurely breakfast and only have to show up at the church a few minutes before worship begins. When we arrive there won’t be church members with questions and concerns, just the greeters of the congregation. And, as a bonus, we will be able to park our car at the church and walk down to the harbor if the town is crowded with tourists and parking is scarce.

And next week, the question of where to worship will be in front of us once again. One of the treats of this time will be visits to a couple of island congregations, which will involve short ferry rides.

Keeping with the nautical theme of this new phase of our lives, I spent some time in the boat shop yesterday. A kayak project, started in South Dakota that has been on hold for three years while we moved and got settled, came out of storage and I had time to cut some new pieces of wood and begin the process of mating the deck to the hull. I’m a bit out of practice with my woodworking tools so I’m working slowly, but it felt good to make a bit of sawdust and to recapture the vision of the sleek expedition kayak that has been out of the focus of my attention for too long.

Another goal of retirement that I’ll begin this week is a return to the water. I haven’t been paddling very much at all lately. Part of was the busy activities of starting a new job, moving our household and the like. Part of it was learning about new waters. I’ve lived my life far away from the sea, but now the most convenient place to paddle, much closer than the lake when we lived in South Dakota, is Birch Bay, part of the Sailish Sea, which is connected to the Pacific Ocean. Learning about tides and ocean currents will be a small challenge for me, and I’m grateful that I’ve had this time to observe the water and learn its rhythms. I’ll definitely be getting a boat wet this week.

Off to new adventures!