The Sauntering Pilgrim

Notes, Ruminations, and Seeds of Contemplation

Robert Putnam

June 14, 2026

The harvest is plentiful

“[Jesus] said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matt. 9:37-38). It sounds like he might be asking his disciples to pray that someone else be sent to labor in the harvest, that someone else be… Continue reading

Ruminations

abundant life, authentic community, Bowling Alone, harvest, homeless, hungry, living abundantly, loving neighbors, Martin Luther, neighbors, priesthood of all baptized Christians, rebuilding America, reign of God, Robert Putnam
September 4, 2022

The blessing of true community

The best blackberry cobbler I ever ate was served in the mid 1960s during a family reunion. Four generations of the Neal clan harvested pail after pail of the big, juicy fruit from the hillside behind the house in the Oriole Valley where my grandfather was born and raised. The next day some of those… Continue reading

Ruminations

authentic community, banquet of heaven, Bowling Alone, common life, community, family reunion, God's vision of community, Hbakkuk's vision, laboratory of faith, loss of community, Robert Putnam, spiritual laboratory, true community

About Me

Rich Neal is, in no particular order, a wordsmith and graphic designer; lover of typography, books, and publishing; photographer; contemplative; saunterer; and a retired and still-active pastor. He claims neither special wisdom nor particularly deep insight into life, only occasional glimpses of what lies behind the veil along the way. He shares them here in the hope of connecting the pieces of life’s puzzle that come to him in the journey and would consider it a gift if sharing them also connected him with others who travel an unmarked path toward the same unknown end.

Robert Putnam

The harvest is plentiful

The blessing of true community