Gillespie Days

Ben and Jessica go to the prom!

posted by Susan Gillespie @ 12:32 AM 0 comments

The Lord is near...

What stood out today from Psalm 145:
"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made... the Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does....The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him...The Lord watches over all who love him....
My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever."
I wondered why the psalmist wrote those words, that day. Surely days come when this is not the first thing we say about the Lord: my mind and heart are on two families this week who have lost loved ones. Yet I do know that the Lord is faithful, even in hard circumstances, and sometimes we just have to write that down as a note for ourselves when life is overwhelming. The Lord is faithful in all he promises...but he never promised that it would be easy -- but that he would never leave us alone.

posted by Susan Gillespie @ 10:26 AM 0 comments

Christmas Letter, 2005

Merry Christmas from the Gillespies!

2005 has been a year of great blessing for us – someone told us it was a year of “photo ops”….

In May, Tim graduated from Eastern University (outside Philadelphia) with a BA in Philosophy – it was a beautiful commencement on a proverbially picture-perfect day. Besides his parents and brothers (and Dan’s then-fiancee Ruth), we were joined by grandparents Jerry & Charlotte and John’s sister and her family – made for a great cheering section!

In the summer, Tim traveled to six European cities in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and Italy, doing travel photography for a youth hostel web site. His photos are among those shown at www.photohype.com.

Tim now lives in Wayne, PA (near Eastern U.). He works for the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and also participates whenever he can on filmmaking projects in Philadelphia’s growing independent film community.

In June, Sue, John, Chris, Ben, and John’s and Sue’s parents met up in Keystone, Colorado in order to celebrate with Sue her ordination to ministry in the Evangelical Covenant Church. The ordination service takes place at the annual meeting of the denomination, so she and some 60 other candidates took vows before delegates from around North America, along with family and friends. It was an awesome event! Sue continues to serve as associate pastor of Trinity Covenant Church in Livingston (along with her part-time job at Long Hill Music Center in Madison).

While we were in the Rocky Mountains, John, Ben and Chris took the opportunity
to ride ATVs and get real muddy! See the photo….

By July, we were gearing up for our first wedding in the next generation – the August nuptials of Dan and Ruth! Dan and Ruth met at Long Hill Chapel’s youth group and began dating seven years ago. We’ve been friends with Ruth’s parents for years, so the wedding was a particularly joy-filled, “everybody’s family” event for us. Getting ready meant getting our house and backyard up to speed for out-of-state visitors and for a post-wedding garden party. John built a brick patio and planted dozens of flowers, and persuaded grass to grow where shade has, for years, prevailed.

Finally, the time approached for the August 13 wedding: family gathered from around the country; friends from near and far came,. The ceremony, presided at by their former youth pastor (now the pastor of the church they attend in New York) was stirring, and the reception was so much fun, it seemed all too short. Having so many of the people who are special to us gathered together in one place, was an unforgettable and moving moment. Dan and Ruth were truly “celebrated” well; the party continued the next day in our yard for both families, which was great fun despite the fact that it was about 100 degrees! (We bought all the ice for sale in our town that day!) See the photos….

Dan and Ruth now live in Greenwich Village in NYC. Dan continues to work as a DSP engineer in NJ (yes, that’s a reverse commute!); Ruth is working as a nanny as she studies Arabic in anticipation of attending NYU for a master’s degree in Near Eastern studies. They are part of the core group helping to plant a church (“Forgiven at Union Square”) in the City.

In September, the whole clan gathered again, this time to celebrate with our nephew Rob Gillespie and Reba as they tied the knot in Hendersonville, NC. It was another terrific time as Rob and Reba took vows overlooking a beautiful lake at a gorgeous camp in the mountains where we stayed for the weekend.

As we all got back to regular life this fall, Chris returned to Cooper Union in NYC for his sophomore year studying mechanical engineering. This year he and five other friends have a “real” NYC apartment, so suddenly three of our four sons live in their own apartments. In between all-night study marathons, Chris often brings a couple of friends home for adventures, like driving to Pennsylvania to find a cliff they saw on “Google Earth.” Chris is part of the “Forgiven at Union Square” core group, too.

Ben is now a junior in high school. Last spring he got to perform at Disney World with his school choir; this fall, he played football and the team made it to the state finals, making them the home team for the final game played at Giants Stadium! After they had an opportunity to practice at Giants stadium, he said he’s now been someplace many NFL players had never been. Where’s that? The Giants end zone…. (ba-dum-dum!) The game was quite an experience! We got 50-yard-line seats and got to see replays of our team on the scoreboard. We didn’t win, but it was a memorable moment, nonetheless! Now that the season is over, it’s time for the school musical. Last winter, Ben was the engineer in “The Music Man” – this year, he’s waiting to hear about a part in “The Wizard of Oz.”

Ben and John went to Mexico this summer, building houses with a group from Long Hill Chapel. Amor Ministries, the organization with which they serve, brings groups who provide labor and raw materials together with families who are living in very substandard housing – when they’re done, the family has been provided a safe small house with a concrete floor, an improvement over a hut with dirt floor.

John continues to lawyer with Selective Insurance and to teach business law at Nyack College. After his stint as Chief Landscaper this summer, he took a few opportunities to do some fishing in late summer. John continues to work with jr. highers at Long Hill Chapel.

We hope this finds you well — may 2006 be a year of peace and joy for you and for all of us, indeed, for the world. Add us to your email address book: sgillesp@optonline.net.

Love,
Sue, John and
boys (plus girl!)

posted by Susan Gillespie @ 8:06 PM 0 comments