November 4 SeaPres Update from Scott Lumsden

Hello Seattle Presbytery, it's me Scott.

I know it's been a while, but as you probably know by now, I've been on sabbatical for the past three months. What did I do?

Well, for the first three weeks, I hiked the Oregon PCT with my son, Corin -- that is until the fires caught up with us and forced us to call it quits halfway through. I've hiked different northwest sections of the Pacific Crest Trail for about the last 5 years now, and we were hoping to get all of the Oregon PCT done this summer, but fire season caught up with us at Shelter Cove (Odell Lake, OR). So we decided to catch a ride into Bend, OR and then hop a shuttle to Timberline Lodge and hike to the Bridge of the Gods (Columbia River). Our hope is that we'll return next summer to finish the Oregon PCT sections we missed. There is something about the beauty and challenge of being out in remote parts of nature that is deeply renewing to me. I was truly blessed to hike even half this remarkable trail in Oregon.

After the hike, I relaxed a bit around Shoreline, reading and reflecting and doing a few house projects, but then toward the end of the sabbatical, I headed out with some friends for a 3-week road trip. We journeyed through eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho, skirted the Tetons to the south (Jackson), dipped through Utah, and Wyoming, and settled in Montrose, Colorado for about a week, and then headed back. Our compass was naturally tuned to the beautiful rivers of those areas so that we could cast some flies, but we also let our gaze just marvel at God's magnificent creation.

I am grateful to serve in a presbytery that supports the practice of taking a sabbatical. And I am extremely grateful to have such incredible staff and colleagues to work with now that I'm back. I know you join me in extending a huge thank you to Eliana, EJ and the whole staff for the wonderful job they did in keeping the presbytery moving forward while I was gone. And I look forward to catching up with many of you over the course of the next few months.

Peace,

Rev. Scott Lumsden
Co-Executive Presbyter