One of the first lessons the desert teaches newcomers is that life here moves to a different rhythm. While much of the world plants in spring, grows through summer, harvests in fall, and rests in winter, Arizona gently turns that cycle on its head. Here, we plant in the fall, nurture through winter, harvest in spring — and when summer arrives, we rest.
And so, it is with the life of Encanto.
We have entered our season of rest and recovery. The faithful rhythms of September through May have carried us far, and now the heat invites us to set down our calendars, loosen our grip on the clock, and simply be together. No agenda. No rush from one meeting to the next. Just the unhurried gift of one another’s company — as friends, as family, as fellow travelers on this journey of faith.
The summer heat, for all its intensity, is a kind of grace. It slows us in ways we rarely allow ourselves to be slowed. I hope you will receive that gift willingly this year.
These quieter months are also when I find myself drawn more deeply into a single book of Scripture — sitting with it, listening to it, letting its textures and turning points speak to our shared life. This summer, that book is Isaiah — one of the longest, richest, and most theologically significant books in all of the Bible, cherished deeply by both our Jewish ancestors and the Christian tradition we have inherited.
We will not journey through every chapter, but we will linger at the pivotal moments — the places where Isaiah’s world and our own seem to reach across the centuries and recognize each other. The circumstances may differ, but the root struggles, the longings, the failures, and the faithfulness? Those, I suspect, will feel remarkably
familiar.
I look forward to exploring Isaiah alongside you this summer. May these months bring you true rest, genuine connection, and perhaps a few holy surprises along the way.
Grace and peace,
Rev. Gloria
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