By Beki Greenwood
As usual, I’m finding it hard to believe that it is October already. Enjoying the erratic New England weather where you need to be prepared for three seasons in one day—could be forty-nine degrees, or eighty; blazing sun then pouring rain. You just never know. I personally like it. Today is rainy, gloomy, with some thunder which means my house stays dim with some cozy cats. A favorite kind of day.
So I’m snuggling with one of my cats, enjoying my morning coffee with a nice rumbly rain outside, fall YouTube fireplace on my TV, scrolling through the Facebook memories… and a picture from six years ago comes up. My daughter, Serena, was in second grade and I brought her over to the Duxbury SCYL retreat to see the teens who she had made friends with and looked up to at Fryeburg New Church Assembly (FNCA). It was such a happy image to see come through since she right now is counting down the minutes until the upcoming Duxbury retreat, which will be her first fall retreat now that she is thirteen. As you will read in this issue of the Messenger, she has become very active in the SCYL since turning thirteen in February. This group of kids is so connected and they communicate all the time. And it’s so cool to see.
I sound like that old mom when I talk to her and tell her how lucky she is because “back in my day” we had to write letters and pay for long distance phone calls to communicate with each other. We (my younger brother and I) lived for attending the retreats with our church friends, most who we only saw at camps (FNCA and Blairhaven). Now, not a day goes by where she isn’t texting with one of them, video call (none of the kids just use “the phone”), or group Snapchat. It’s awesome. What an amazing support system they are all growing up with. Next year, my son will turn thirteen the first night of the fall retreat, and it’s already a big topic of conversation in our house.
It’s so special that in our small denomination we can continue to get far flung teens together every season. Hopefully, I don’t have to pack the bags for three New England seasons in one weekend this time!
—Beki Greenwood
Read the full issue of the September/October 2024 Messenger
Meet Beki Greenwood
Beki Greenwood is the editor of the Messenger. She is a board member of the Fryeburg New Church Assembly in Fryeburg, Maine, and a long-time member of the Bridgewater Church in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
