Retreat weekend

The weekend started with a round of golf that served as prelude to the men's retreat I was fortunate enough to participate in with a bunch of hooligans from Rincon UCC in Tucson. Dave, Dave, and Larry all met me at a Tucson area golf course, and three of us watched the fourth one outplay us all like the bunch of rank amateurs we truly are. But gosh, was it fun.

From there we went to Oracle and met the rest of the guys. We fashioned crosses out of nails, ate spaghetti, built a camp fire, told stories, and sang till the stars shone brightly over our heads. A good time was had by all. I listened to them rehearse the song they were going to sing in worship at Rincon UCC on Sunday - and spent the entire drive home praying that they change their mind.

From there I would spend Saturday in retreat with almost 60 leaders from Church of the Red Rocks in Sedona. We shared a whole day together talking about new beginnings - and speaking of that, look at this picture of their pastor George Ault. Don't you think his new beginning should include rooting for a different team than the Penn State Nittany Lions? He would be brimming with pride on joy come Sunday as his team would end up ranked 3rd overall in the new BCS rankings.

After two spirit-filled worship services on Sunday, a relaxing lunch with George and his wife Claudia, my son Adam and I hit the mountain trails in and around Sedona before heading south to Phoenix as the sun set on a glorious weekend.