It’s a drop dead gorgeous day in Fairbanks, sunny, 50 degrees, light glancing wickedly off the white white snow of yesterday. Yesterday may have been the final day of a great month of spring skiing at Birch hill. Teo was very energetic on his shorty skis, but for me the snow was very slow. Marin decided to give the baby a front-pack walk back to our nearby home instead of skiing.
And our eight week old (today) daughter Annika, for the first time in her life, smiled at Marin this morning. Marin hauled her down to me in front of the keyboard, writing up a draft Volunteer brochure for the UU Fellowship, placed her in my arms, put her (Marin’s) face beside mine, and coo-cooed the little Pepita to flash me a sweet smile as well. A big wide grin.
So it’s time to try to reignite my passion for writing about life and loves and Fairbanks. And to drop in photos of our family, the land, and other beautiful, visionary things.
I had lunch with Kes Woodward, world-renowned local artist (look at his recent work here), and we talked about religion. He was a respected elder at Fairbanks Lutheran, my previous church (link), and has moved on to Christ Lutheran on the other side of town. Apparently, in the wake of my demise at FLC, many congregational progressives moved to Christ Lutheran, and many traditionalists moved to Zion Lutheran, of the fundamentalist Missouri Synod (though the pastor there started life, as did many MO Synod Intellectuals, as a progressive).
I praised the Episcopal Priest at St. Matthews, Scott Fisher, whose native-culture influenced narrative sermons (not to mention newsletters – here) are an art form in themselves. We shared insights on the web, and the cultural differences between internet-savvy folks and the others. Obama being the former and Clinton the latter.
I shared my hopes for the Unitarians as a version of progressive religious community, and Kes talked about years of commitment to the Arts-Support community.
And we wondered what will it all come to. Who has time for saving the whales, let alone saving the Lutherans or the Unitarians, not to mention saving funding for the Arts?
Stopping short of solving all the dilemmas, Kes and I headed off to our respective disciplines.
And so, Annika, on your two-month birthday, you give us a smile, and I dedicate myself to a return to the narrative, the interpretation, of the life we’re nurturing to pass off to you. In good time.
And our eight week old (today) daughter Annika, for the first time in her life, smiled at Marin this morning. Marin hauled her down to me in front of the keyboard, writing up a draft Volunteer brochure for the UU Fellowship, placed her in my arms, put her (Marin’s) face beside mine, and coo-cooed the little Pepita to flash me a sweet smile as well. A big wide grin.So it’s time to try to reignite my passion for writing about life and loves and Fairbanks. And to drop in photos of our family, the land, and other beautiful, visionary things.
I had lunch with Kes Woodward, world-renowned local artist (look at his recent work here), and we talked about religion. He was a respected elder at Fairbanks Lutheran, my previous church (link), and has moved on to Christ Lutheran on the other side of town. Apparently, in the wake of my demise at FLC, many congregational progressives moved to Christ Lutheran, and many traditionalists moved to Zion Lutheran, of the fundamentalist Missouri Synod (though the pastor there started life, as did many MO Synod Intellectuals, as a progressive).
I praised the Episcopal Priest at St. Matthews, Scott Fisher, whose native-culture influenced narrative sermons (not to mention newsletters – here) are an art form in themselves. We shared insights on the web, and the cultural differences between internet-savvy folks and the others. Obama being the former and Clinton the latter.I shared my hopes for the Unitarians as a version of progressive religious community, and Kes talked about years of commitment to the Arts-Support community.
And we wondered what will it all come to. Who has time for saving the whales, let alone saving the Lutherans or the Unitarians, not to mention saving funding for the Arts?
Stopping short of solving all the dilemmas, Kes and I headed off to our respective disciplines.
And so, Annika, on your two-month birthday, you give us a smile, and I dedicate myself to a return to the narrative, the interpretation, of the life we’re nurturing to pass off to you. In good time. 
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