The Blue Cathedral

For the first time in three years, our household returned to Rundle's Mission at Pigeon Lake, along with several others from St. Albert United Church.

I was reluctant to go, despite having attended almost every year since 2005 - the post-Covid fatigue (please don't let it be long Covid!) still has me fading out every afternoon without fail, which is also why I am only returning to work for half-days next week. But Audrey suggested that I could nap out there just as easily as I can at home, and I really wanted to see people from my church face-to-face again, so I went.

I am exhausted but glad I went. The weekend was low-key, and no one minded when I would disappear for 2+ hours in the afternoon to pass out. But we caught up while chatting on the balcony overlooking the lake, and enjoyed warm sunshine together for the first time in what feels like a very long time.

I brought along my phone's projector and a screen we hung with Command hooks so we were able to watch the Oilers win two playoff games on Friday and Sunday night, and played some boardgames together on Saturday evening, bringing Tsuro and Timeline to some people who hadn't played it before.

My niece and her fiancé came out for parts of the weekend, which was a delightful surprise, and we cooked smokies on an open fire with our extended families.

But Sunday morning may have been the highlight in many ways - meeting for worship outdoors at the foot of the Rundle's monument. Listening to birdsong and lapping waves before lifting our own voices in song, unmasked for the first time in two years. Rev. Mervin said there was no better place to experience God than out in the world They made, and I had to agree.

Our community of faith has been coming to this place on the Victoria Day long weekend for four decades now. The children who played on the lawn and jumped in the lake now watch their own offspring tear around, often under the smiling gaze of the grandparents who started the tradition.

Returning here felt good, and I hope we can continue to do it.