Welcome to Highlands United Church!

“Summertime, and the living is easy. Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high.”

I don’t know about you, but that song finds its way onto the playlist of my mind as the days heat up and the air seems to thicken and get heavy. The hammock that is stretched between the fence post and the Magnolia tree in the back yard calls my name. Its voice is competing with the surface of the deck which is crying out for another coat of stain. Which voice will triumph? We shall see.

Yes, the livin’ is easy, and the opportunity to fill our days with all manner of productive work is also upon us. I used to think that in the ebb and flow of church life, summer was “down time.” In many churches that is true, but these days Highlands is abuzz with children and youth gathered to participate in and lead weeks of summer program. The energy is bubbly and fun. They are having a good time.

Summertime is kind of special. In this season people in my life are more ready to drop what they are doing and just spend time together. In Greek there are two words for time: chronos, which means the quantity of time, as in chronology. Chronos is the time on your phone, your stop watch, your calendar; time measured in hours and days and years. But there is another word, Kairos, which also means time, but in the qualitative sense. You can’t measure this kind of time, but you sense it by its quality and character. Kairos time is described with words like momentous or desperate. This is the depth dimension of time.

Summer months are always the same length, but they seem to offer the opportunity to spend them deeply, with people you love, in activities that enrich and restore. I hope that this summertime, your livin’ is easy, rich, wholesome, and deep. I hope you will spend some of it with us at Highlands on Sunday mornings at 10 am for worship.

Rev. Will Sparks
Lead Minister, Highlands United Church