When I was first ordained I worked in a boatyard full-time while also serving as priest-in-charge of a small country parish.  The splicing together those two strands of my life – the sea and the church - was symbiotic, if a little exhausting at times. I found that working at the boatyard during the week helped inform and fill my sermons for Sunday morning, and the real-life pastoral issues that come to every community. Useful metaphors were all around. My friends in the the carpentry and mechanic shops reminded of why Jesus pulled his disciples from fishermen and craftsmen. There wasn’t much nonsense at the boatyard, just a constant list of real work and broken stuff that that needed to be worked on and cared for. Coming to Union Church has been a blessing - like coming home to my roots.