NOV EM B ER 2025
With Christ at the Center
VO LU M E R R N O. 11
CONNECTIONS
From the Senior Pastor Last month, five Providence people and I walked St. Cuthbert’s Way along the border between Scotland and England. The 100 kilometer walk—which ended up being more like 112 kilometers because I got us lost twice—was both beautiful and strenuous, taking us over mountains, through forests, and across fields under often-blue skies. Our watchword for the week was Psalm 119:105, which tells us that God’s “word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.” This verse reminded us of the Celtic Christian tradition’s emphasis on how the wonders of creation reveal God’s majesty and power to us every day. It seemed an appropriate verse, given St. Cuthbert’s central role in establishing the Christian faith in the British Isles.
Cuthbert from Melrose Abbey to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. A lot of people worked together to plan and mark the route. All along the way, people continue to maintain it: clearing fallen trees, cutting back brush, repainting signposts, and repairing bridges.
and beyond. But, the reality is that practicing gratitude—not just in November, but throughout the year—begins with acknowledging that everything we are, and have, and do, has, at some level, been made possible by someone else’s labor, generosity, vision, or love.
Some of this work is done by the park service of the Scottish Borders Council, which would be the equivalent here of a county government. Some of the work is done by private landowners, who allow the path to cross their property. Some of the work is done by volunteers who love longdistance walking and want to make it possible for all to enjoy as well.
We don’t like to admit this because it undermines the cherished American ideal of the “self-made man”—but it’s true. We walk on paths that others cleared and maintained for us, and, if we’re fortunate, then we get to do the same for those who will come after us, paying it back by paying it forward. The best givers tend to be those who are well aware of all that they’ve been given.
You know who didn't do any of this work? Me.
I could go on about this experience, and will be happy to do so with anyone interested in listening to me, but in this month when we stop to give thanks together, I want to share one recurring thought from this journey: We had a way to walk because the vision, resources, and labor of people who we don’t know—and will never meet—made that way for us.
I did nothing but walk on a path that all these people prepared for me over the course of thirty years through their gifts of inspiration, perspiration, dedication, and love of recreation. These strangers (to me) did—and still are doing—a lot of work so that people like me (who are strangers to them) can experience the pleasure of a long walk through beautiful country. That’s humbling.
This path didn’t just happen. In 1996, somebody came up with the idea of creating a long-distance trail to trace the 7th-century journey of
Now, you may say that I’m overthinking this, and maybe I am. I don’t know why this thought stuck with me for 112 kilometers
And so, with that said, let’s have a blessed Thanksgiving season. May the peace of Christ be with you!
Lee Canipe Senior Pastor SERMON TEXTS THIS MONTH November 2 November 9 November 16 November 23 November 30
Blake preaching Haggai 1:15b-2:9 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Jeremiah 23:1-6 Romans 13:11-14