“My heart is full of love …”

Beloved Friends,

     My heart is full of love, joy, and gratitude for you! The party Saturday was absolutely a heavenly experience with a joyful and loving crowd. Thank you all for your presence. It was a gift to me. Thank you too, for the beautiful spread of food and the gorgeous flowers. I love the bouquet you sent with me. It makes me smile when I see the zinnias and beautiful grasses. Thank you for the fun and moving program; the video with the great music as background (Katie knows what memories from our ministry during the pandemic that video brought up for me good memories!). Cliff, Deborah, Nancy, Katie, Linda, Peter, Johanna, Estella, and Pat shared your voices in a most moving way. Thank you!

     And thank you for the overwhelming financial gifts that honor my deepest joys: cooking and travel. I’m so excited to plan for a new kitchen with your generous gift to boost me in my plans. I would love a kitchen that I can inhabit to make good food to share. Thank you for your generous financial gift for travel. Travel is a profound joy for me. Many of you know how eager I am to travel to Jerusalem in November.  I can’t wait to climb over ancient rubble and imagine our ancestors from Scripture and ancient Christian founders teaching, preaching, and baptizing folks into the Good News.

       I not only hold you in my heart. But I hold you in my prayers, giving thanks for our ten years together and asking God to delight you with love as you move forward as a strong, faithful, visionary, and generous body of Christ.

 With deepest thanks and love,

 Carolyn H. Eklund+