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By Christine Kumar
UMConnection Staff

Just imagine the aroma of fried codfish on hot cross buns in the air as the kites soar into the sky on Good Friday in Bermuda. It?s a scene unlike any other in the world and it captured the imagination of two area clergymen who created a book to share it with others.

'Just Out of Reach,' is the title of the new children?s book published by retired pastors the Revs. Ed DeLong and Galen Menne.

'We want to market it in the secular world to get people thinking about their faith journey,' said Delong.

The two pastors came up with the story when Menne went to Bermuda to visit Delong, who served as an interim pastor at Centenary UMC from September 2005 until June 2006.

The story unfolds on Good Friday at Horseshoe Bay Beach in Bermuda. The Bermudians traditionally make and fly special kites on this day. The beach is filled with people who gather to hear music and watch the colorful Gombey dancers moving to the beat of the drum.

The book brings this scene to life and teaches that kites, which are often handmade with the instructions being handed down in families, are a symbol of Christ?s death and resurrection.

The kite?s frame sticks are shaped as a cross, eleven patches of tissue paper are placed on the kite?s wooden frame to represent the 11 disciples and the design of the kite?s head represents the church steeple. Some kites have three colors representing the Holy Trinity.

Delong made a kite the year he pastored in Bermuda, but admits that his got stuck in a tree and almost torn to shreds. However, with the help of others and a cherry picker, the kite was freed without a tear and able to fly again.

With the book, Menne and Delong want to communicate the good news of the Easter story to their young readers.

The book made its debut last month, at Centenary?s afternoon tea, cakes and craft sale on Remembrance Day, which is like Veterans Day in the United States.

'Centenary was crowded on Remembrance Day,' said the Rev. Joseph Whalen, Jr., pastor of Marsden Memorial UMC, also in Bermuda. Whalen, one of the book?s first readers, is a big fan.

The Rev. Laurie Tingley, who now serves Centenary UMC, served tea for hundreds of people, 'It was a record-breaking day and it was great,' she said.

A few years ago, while sailing from Annapolis to Bermuda for a vacation, God called her in the middle of the night and she answered. 'It?s really amazing and now I am serving Centenary,' she said. 'Bermuda is a part of my heart.'

Although separated by the Atlantic Ocean, Centenary and Marsden Memorial share as members of the Baltimore-Washington Conference; the churches were made a part of the Baltimore-Washington Conference in 2003. Tingley and Whalen participate long-distance in Discipler Groups with their fellow members of the Baltimore North District and the churches send a delegation to the annual conference session in May.

Bermuda?s diverse population is approximately 66,000 people from African, Caribbean, European and Portuguese heritage. The culture thrives on hospitality; everyone greets one another.

The crystal clear water and pink sand beaches and the multicultural environment are inviting for many tourists. 'It is a beautiful island with natural beauty, said American born Whalen.

For more information about the book 'Just Out of Reach,' contact DeLong at