he 1970 song Big Yellow Taxi by Canadian singer songwriter Joni Mitchell is mostly identified by the iconic refrain “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”. The story goes that the songwriter woke up in a Hawaii hotel having arrived for a performance the evening before. When she drew back the curtains the following morning she saw beautiful green mountains off in the distance. Then she looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see. She stated that she was broken hearted by what she described as a blight on paradise. I don’t think anyone could argue that there is anything aesthetically pleasing about a parking lot. A Washington Post essay from 2009 describes it as a “soul killing type of architecture that would blight whole neighborhoods”. Unfortunately in today’s society where the idea of sustainable walkable communities has all but evaporated, parking lots of all shapes and sizes are part of the landscape.

What a blessing it has been therefore these last several weeks to reimagine our own patch of concrete into something entirely different. No longer a drab interruption between the garden of God’s bounty on one side and an expanse of His beauty on the other. The space is suddenly teeming with life. It has been transformed into a place where we can both share our sorrow over the recent losses to our church community and offer each other hope and encouragement that there are indeed better days ahead. Where members of our congregation can stay connected while at the same time welcoming new friends from our local community of both the two and four legged variety.

If you haven’t had the opportunity yet we are meeting on Sunday mornings at 10am for the foreseeable future. When the time comes to safely return to the sanctuary you are of course welcome to continue to join us.

Elder Ray Reuter