We're home

18th / 19th August 2013

Although we weren’t due to fly out of Charlotte until 5pm on Sunday, I was awake bright and early. So this meant I had time to go to the 9am service at Fairview. Rev Calhoun was there and was given a warm welcome back. But the service was led by Ed Kilburn.

I don’t know much about him – though he and David Calhoun clearly go back a long time. I liked the way he spoke to the young people and taught them (and us) to “sing” a song using sign language. His sermon was very thought provoking. He related how (as an ordained minister) he had hands laid on him at ordination. And emphasised how Jesus laid hands on children. He then said it was not hard to imagine that the children who Jesus blessed grew up and at age 50 blessed children themselves. And those children grew into adults who blessed children etc etc. On this basis each of us are only 40 people away from Jesus.

It was good to be there and see some of the people we’ve grown close to. But as I drove back to the parsonage I felt a real sense of loss.

So around midday we left the parsonage and started the process of returning home.

We had a bit of a panic as the flight from Charlotte to JFK New York was late leaving. Due to Delta changing flight times after we’d booked, the original 2 ½ hour layover had become a 1 hour change over. So we were panicking – especially as we had to change terminals. But we made it.

Needless to say an overnight flight is never good – especially as there were several screaming babies. But we survived and were back home by 11.00

A wonderful chapter closes.