For where two or three are gathered together in my name,...

For where two or three are gathered together in my name,     there am I in the midst of them.     -- Matthew 18:20 Last Friday's Bible study and social gathering was a memorable one. A new member came to visit, and this introduced an interesting new dynamic to the discussion. Praise be to God. The discussion about scripture was lively, and then later, we met at PJ's where "father" Skip, the new owner, warmly greeted us (as he always does). The discussion over dinner turned to very interesting philosophical/theological topics such as our relationship to God, and how we might use our intellect and will to follow God's will. It was also a discussion about how to know and to love God. Lest outsiders think this was purely an intellectual discussion, a large part of discussion centered about differences in spiritual approaches, which unfortunately are beyond this author's capability to summarize accurately. It went so well that a last minute part II was held for Saturday at the Abbey in Still River. We joined the Benedictines in watching a movie (a Miss Marple mystery) and we joined them for evening prayer. The abbey was gracious in allowing us to continue this discussion until the wee hours of the morning. I apologize if I left anyone out of the invite list who may have enjoyed or profited from the discussion on Saturday. As I pointed out earlier, it was last minute get together. I'm sure there will future discussions of this nature on future Fridays, and I'm sure we'll learn to pace ourselves, if only so we can get up at a reasonable hour the next morning. And thanks be to God for being present there for us.