Forgive me….. Rarely do I overtly speak about religion here nor do I often engage in direct promotion of my faith community.

But my blog is about to go into the “re-run” season – so I think it’s appropriate to take some time to reflect on the spiritual place from where it springs. (Besides re-runs, there is the chance we will have some guest bloggers this summer, which will be neat.)

So a great big THANK YOU to my home community of faith – Carleton Memorial United Church and to my work colleagues there – Kim McGill, Tessa Wlodarczyk, Agnes Malkinson and Lise Crete. Not to be forgotten are the staff at the Carleton Memorial Daycare – Susan McLean and the gang. It is great to share space with you folks.

And while I am not one to talk about my home life so much on social media, I cannot be truthful without also saying “thank you” to Trisha Elliott who, regardless of what life throws at us, finds a way for us to grow in love and make it fun.

I don’t know where you were at this time last year, but for me life was a flurry of activity.

I had just accepted a five month appointment to Carleton Memorial. This meant a pretty big culture shift for me. All, except one year, of my paid-accountable ministry had been in small charges serving the declining populations of the English communities of Quebec. Now I was going to a church in the city, in a neighborhood that would defy any demographic description except “very mixed”. Things here certainly move much faster than anything I have ever known before.

Speaking of moving, moving itself proved to be more work than I had anticipated. I moved my kids into a new place on the West Island of Montreal as well as transporting the belongings of their roommate. Then there were my belongings, and Trisha’s belongings and stuff that she and Mike needed to sort out. I moved all of it.

Then I commuted from Ottawa back to the Eastern Townships for a bit. In the midst of this Trisha was also wrapping up an interim ministry at City View United and getting ready to start a new transitional ministry at Southminster United. In the middle of that, we were coping with the uncertainty around her eye injury. Finally, I needed to restructure my business in order to be able to still legally own and operate it while living in Ontario (Thanks to a great business partner and friend – Aldo Antonioli – the other wife as Trisha likes to call him. Not to worry. Linda Brack, Aldo’s wife, says the same about me!)

There was lots on the go – literally everything was up in the air.

So when you hear me talk about “faith and the journey” on a Sunday and that we can trust that God walks with us so that we need not fear that we don’t have all the answers, much of that is born out of personal experience – experience of what we have shared this past year.

I am blessed to have a committed partner in Trisha and a vibrant community in Carleton Memorial – a community that is truly excited by the chance to try.

I am blessed also because you chose to take a chance on me. To those who read, comment on and share these Blogs – thank you for your encouragement.

I think that more than anything, this defines the faith that I have found, both in my new family – at home and at church:

So please accept my well wishes for a great, happy and safe summer. May God surprise you by showing you a great side of yourself that you didn’t know existed – even if that comes in the midst of change where all your balls are in the air.

Not-So-Idle-Thoughts will begin a new season in September. So watch for the reruns and the guests bloggers in the meantime.

And in August, if you are looking for something a little different, our faith gatherings move to Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm – very light and informal, this will be a great chance to rest spiritually in a way that meshes well with summer.

We are more than “just a church” at Carleton Memorial. We are a place where, even as you have too many balls in the air, things have a way of eventually falling into place – not just in church, but wherever life leads you.

Be blessed. Be a blessing.

Rev. Eric Lukacs

PS – Obviously, there is so much I could say about my children, my family and the previous places if have served. I’ll never get to it all. So for now, let me say this:

To my kids, Helen Lukacs and Alex Lukacs, you continue to show me every day that I am lucky to be a father. To my step-kids, Aidan Elliott Perreault and Isaac Elliot-Perreault, same goes for being a step-dad. And to the previous places I have served, the friends and colleagues and teachers that I have had the privilege of sharing faith with, thank you also. Your voices make their way into my life and work here in such a great way.