Last Thursday, July 25, my daughter Beni and I drove up to the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia to spend the day with the good people up there. I was invited to be one of the presenters in their Books and Borscht series. It was a wonderful day. It’s an easy trip up there, about 28 miles, and I don’t have to get on the freeway to get there. We had lunch with my friend Dora Dueck, who had agreed to give the opening Introduction. We talked and laughed surrounded by Abbotsford Mennonites enjoying the food and conversations with friends. It’s a wonderful museum, with beautiful building and grounds.

Beni and I love going up there. It’s become a semi-regular outing for us. And this time there was the added bonus of this opportunity to present my new book, A Sense of Presiding Goodness, to that audience. It was a good turnout, a responsive audience. They asked interesting questions. Many of them bought my book, which the Museum carries in its bookstore. Very nice, gratifying.

This book is the third one in the family heritage trilogy that I began to work on back in the 1990s. It’s been a long, long project, and this event at the museum felt like a celebration, the culmination of a long commitment. The books are now all out in the world. I can now let go of them. Relief. Satisfaction. I give thanks to the wonderful staff at the Mennonite Heritage Museum for making this culminating event in my life not only possible, but beautiful as well.