Monthly Archives: July 2026

Jul25

Church Shopping

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Church Shopping

One of my closest friends is Catholic and refers to all non-Catholic churches as Protestant. She is also amused by all the Protestants who go church shopping. Apparently Catholics don’t tend to do this.

The other day we were talking and I was telling her about my quest for a new church this summer. When I’m in Mexico, it’s strictly online church for me, although I occasionally attend a mass at one of the Catholic churches nearby. But I admit that online I do frequent different churches.

This past winter, I tuned in to Church of the Rock in Winnipeg for Christmas and Easter services. This is where I was baptized in December of 2009. But my regular Sunday church was North Coast, which a friend from California had recommended.

But back to church shopping in Washington.

I first arrived in Leavenworth in the summer of 2016. Steve attended the Leavenworth Church of the Nazarene so it was only logical that this become my church too. And it was indeed my church until 2019. I volunteered at Light The Night, VBS and did children’s ministry.

When Covid reared it’s ugly head in 2020, I was finally able to return to Leavenworth from Mexico in September that year, rather than the usual April. I then moved to Dryden where one of my housemates attended Sage Hills Church in Wenatchee. I switched churches as I was disillusioned by the politics at the church in Leavenworth.

While I enjoyed the preaching, Sage Hills was a huge church with little opportunity for me to meet people and get involved. Everything was winding down when I returned in the spring and it was just starting up again when I left for Mexico in the fall. I next tried out three churches in the Cashmere and Dryden areas. As I was living in East Wenatchee, I wanted a church closer to home.

In the fall of 2024, I discovered Breath of Life Church in East Wenatchee. It fit the bill. When I returned in the spring of 2025, I had the opportunity to meet people and then volunteer at VBS in the summer.

But when I returned to East Wenatchee this year, Breath of Life Church had politics going on. But mostly the preaching had lost its verve after the amazing sermons I’d watched from North Coast. Also, Breath of Life didn’t stream in Mexico although every other church in Washington State did.

Growing increasingly frustrated, I finally made the move. I now attend Columbia Grove Covenant Church in East Wenatchee. I am most impressed with the sermons I’ve heard, and the people are very welcoming.

I’m done shopping.

Jul10

Never A Dull Moment Around Here

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Never A Dull Moment Around Here

Last night I did something I hadn’t done in over 20 years. I played board games with kids in my Bible Study group. I say “kids” because they’re all in their 20s except for one other and myself. The one other is my friend Clairesse who is 31. We first met a few years ago when we were renting rooms in a house in Dryden. We went to church together, went out to eat together and sought out garage sales and estate sales. Clairesse attended a youth group at a local church and then a few of them broke off to start a smaller Bible Study group. When I was here last summer, she told the others about her friend Karen. They encouraged her to bring me to group. So I came. They welcomed me warmly and I was hooked. It’s exciting to see kids that age in a Bible Study……and also very accepting of a woman in her 70s. Some of us even kept in touch while I was away in Mexico over the winter.

Now back to the board games. Last night the group met at Treasure Trove. This is a store with hundreds of different board games. You can buy them, or you can come and play them. And play them we did. We played King of Tokyo and Escalating Quickly and more than 2 hours flew by and the store was closing. I have to tell you, this group keeps me young. I can’t wait to see what we will do the next time we get together. However I did draw the line when we met at Walla Walla Point Park. While they chased around a frisbee, I was quite content to take videos of them.

Wednesday was a Cashmere day. I volunteered at a church, toured the new library and then took in the music and food trucks at the farmers market. And yes, I visited my tree.

I was out for coffee this morning at Pybus in Wenatchee. My friend had an interesting story to tell. She was in a research group years ago for GLP-1 injections. At the time she was thrilled with her weight loss. But now she regrets ever doing it. In order to maintain that weight loss, you can’t discontinue using the drug. The weight just comes right back and then some. And then there are all the side effects and the potential damage to every vital organ in your body. Despite all the warnings, people are only too eager to lose weight this way. The drug companies and the medical system are the real winners here, not the patients.

On a happier note, I went to my book club meeting yesterday. We meet at a bookstore in Wenatchee which has a meeting space for us where we can enjoy our pot luck lunch as well as discuss books. The last book we read was a rather dry historical fiction, but the next book appears to be more interesting.

Sunday night is another Gladsong concert. I can’t believe a month has gone by since the last one.

July is off to a good start. Hope yours is too.