It crosses my mind every almost every Holy Trinity Sunday: The Associated Church Press convention at Kanuga Retreat Center in Hendersonville, NC. Held in 1990-something, this small gathering was a mountaintop experience in many ways.
I remember being one of the “Foxy Ladies”—the women who stayed in Fox Cottage. I remember Madeleine L’Engle, who served as conference chaplain. I remember getting up early and trekking to the little outdoor chapel in the woods for L’Engle’s morning devotions. Most of all, I remember her profound sermon for the convention’s closing worship. It was Holy Trinity Sunday.
Today I realized that while I remember the feeling, the impact, of L’Engle’s sermon, I have forgotten the specifics. So, I asked the Foxy Ladies and Friends. Sonia Solomonson and Nancy Stelling were the first to respond. Nancy wrote,
“Madeleine L’Engle was such a joy that week as chaplain and I learned so much from her. I remember her wonderful words when she said, ‘God the Son did not come into this world to save us from God the Father.’
“I also remember her words from her sermon when she talked of the Athanasian Creed. Quoting, and talking about the mystery of the Trinity, she said; ‘God the Father incomprehensible; God the Son incomprehensible: God the Spirit incomprehensible,’ which caused humorist Dorothy Parker to say, ‘The whole goddam thing incomprehensible!’ Truer words were never spoken.”
Holy. Holy. Holy. Thanks be to the Triune God.
P.S. One last trinitarian thought to ponder from Sr. Joan Chittister: “God is more than two men and a bird.”
Sue Edison-Swift
Holy Trinity Sunday
7 June 2020, Updated 5/30/2021
