May 3, 2024
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: garage sale season! Signs have started popping up in my neighborhood, and I can't wait to start dropping in on them. I usually just do 5-10 minutes here and there on my way to somewhere or something else, but those are 5-10 minutes I look forward to. One never knows what one might encounter: the good, the bad, the funny, the wanted, needed, and the no thanks all turn an ordinary 5-10 minutes into an adventure.
My favorite part about garage sales is hearing stories from the sellers. When my kids were babies, I would often find clothing and books for them at garage sales and I would hear, “Oh, my daughter wore that the summer she turned two” or “My son loved this book!” The items were more than a pair or shorts or a book, they were pieces of a story, often little bits of joy, passed along. Knickknacks and old doilies and glassware usually come with special memories. Garage Sale Truth is that even when it's time to pass them on, our things are often more than things. They tell a piece of our story.
In a way, Garage Sale Truth is also God Truth: we are all connected to one another and to something bigger than ourselves. Every conversation we share with on another, every candle we light together or prayer we pray together, every shared experience, is way to join pieces of our stories with the stories of others, and with our bigger story. And it's all held together with love. Branches and vines. Kickknacks and doilies. What if all God dreams for us is to go through life sharing with one another in this way. Could it be that simple?
My prayer for you this week is that you find a sacred sense of shared story in the good, bad, funny, wanted, needed, and even in the no thanks that you encounter. May these encounters bring you little bits of joy and remind you that you are always held in love - always connected to the stories that came before you and will come after you. Always connected to God's Great Story. And may you, too, pass it along when the time is right.
April 27, 2024
Due to circumstances beyond my control (within my husband's control, but apparently beyond mine) we are currently a household with five cars (some of which belong to our children and a few of which actually run!) and a small vintage camper, all vying for space in our two car garage and narrow driveway. This means we play the Can You Please Move Your Car I Need To Leave game daily.
Last night after dinner we noted the cars were not in optimal Morning Routine positions and decided to move them right then. Our two dogs, Maude and Roger, saw me grab my car keys and got very excited. Because I'm a softy for their little puppy-dog eyes, I invited them to come with me - all the way down the driveway and into the street for about 30 seconds until I pulled back in after William moved his car.
You would have thought I invited them to Doggie Disneyland. After looking at me in disbelief and getting the go-ahead, they sprinted down the driveway, detoured into the lawn to run a few excited circles, and then hopped into the car. They found their usual places (Maude in the passenger seat, Roger on the console between the seats) and looked out the window expectantly, tongues out and tails wagging.
It always strikes me that when the dogs come into the car with me they have no idea where we're going or how long the journey might be. Sometimes it's to the trails by the river, sometimes it's to the vet. Sometimes it's a 30+ hour road trip to visit our California family, sometimes it's 30 seconds in and out of the driveway. They are just as eager every time. They are just as content after each trip - even one just down the driveway.
It strikes me that God invites to hop into the car every day. We have no idea where Spirit might lead, or how the Way of Love might guide us, we're just issued the invitation. We could choose to say no. No thank you, God, I choose not to ride today. I choose not to follow Spirit's lead or led Love be my guide. Not today. Or... we could hop in, find our place, and look out the window.
My prayer for you this week is to say yes, and see where the journey takes you. My prayer this week is that you find some joys, large or small, on your road trip with God.
April 19, 2024
There is a lot going on these days in Saint Anne's little corner of God's world. My weeks have been full to the brim with conversations and meetings and plans big and small, across all areas of ministry and community. It is such a joy! Each meeting and each conversation leaves me with even more energy for our future and all the ways we can love, care, worship, play, build, grow, celebrate, and serve the people of God together.
I hope you know how special this it. How special this community is. I hope you know that when people ask me about Saint Anne's, they tell me I light up before I begin going on and on about you. Yes, you.
My prayer for you this week is for you to know how amazing you are; for you to notice how the love of God grows in you, the light of Christ shines through you, and the song of Spirit dances with you. Yes, you!
April 12, 2024
My husband, William, road-tripped to Arkansas this week, to view the solar eclipse in totality. If you have spoken with him at all since then you already know this, because it is all he can talk about now. That, and making plans to see the next eclipse, no matter how far he needs to travel. He said the experience was much more powerful than he'd even imagined it would be: magical and sacred. Although he was traveling alone, William ended up watching the eclipse in an Arkansas state park with hundreds of other people nearby. The cheering and laughing around him, and sharing such a unique and intense moment in time with other seekers, was part of what made the whole experience.
Though road-trips are truly my favorite activity in the world, I did not go on this one, for a whole host of reasons. My eclipse experience was about a mile and a half from our house, on the bluff overlooking downtown Saint Paul. The layers of heavy clouds in Minnesota that day meant my eclipse was shared with not hundreds ooo-ing and ahhh-ing people, but about 30 others up on the bluff, all of us asking one another if we knew what direction the sun should be at that moment. It was uniting in its own way.
Honestly, I don't know if I've ever felt as tender toward humanity as I did that day. As I watched old and young, people of different races, people who seemed to be of different socio-economic circles, I'm sure people of different political persuasions, all walking toward the bluff with solar glasses in their hands, I felt a rush of love. Softness for everyone up there, everyone traveling near and far, everyone across the country who stopped what they were doing just to look up. Just to experience some wonder at something bigger than ourselves.
Later in the week, I read that internet usage in the United States during the the eclipse dropped by 40%. Whether under sunny skies in Arkansas or cloudy skies in Minnesota, or anywhere in between, we shared this moment. And for the sole purpose of allowing ourselves to pause in awe and wonder.
My prayer for you this week is opportunity to pause in awe and wonder at a holy moment in your life. Maybe your moment will be extraordinary, maybe your moment will be simple: a realization that your heart is beating and your eyes can see and that the breath of the Divine rises and falls with your own. My prayer for you this week is to find a pause in time to look up, or look around, and allow yourself to be in awe.
April 5, 2024
One of my favorite professors in seminary used to say, "It takes a village to raise Jesus". He was referring to the stories of Scripture and just how many people saw and shared the news about the risen Christ before the beginnings of Christianity became a movement. I, however, now think of this catch-phrase every Holy Week. It takes all of us, walking Holy Week together, to make it what it is.
Logistically, there is organizing, setting up and taking down various liturgy settings, readers, musicians, bulletin-creators, bread-bakers, fire-makers, skit-presenters, Altar Guild magic-workers, treat-bringers, hospitality-sharers, dish-washers, egg-hiders, flower-donators, acolytes, vergers, service-leaders, preachers, ushers, counters, and, of course, service-attenders...do not underestimate that role!
It also takes a village to enter Holy Week spiritually. Our faith is grounded in community, and we are richer when we are together. The journey is more fully appreciated when it is shared.
One of my colleagues refers to the week after Easter as "Clergy Recovery Week". That definitely fits: Holy Week is a marathon done at sprint pace. AND I loved sharing this year's Lenten and Holy Week journey with each of you; it was one of my favorite Holy Weeks ever. Thank you for participating so fully - with your time, your energy, your presence, and most of all your hearts - and for sharing the journey. If it takes a village to raise Jesus, then we need not have any doubts.
My prayer for all of us this week is to see the risen Christ in and among our village.
March 22, 2024
It's the time of year when I tell you how great church is. And how you should come!
It's not meant to be a guilt trip, it's just that I get really nerdy about Holy Week. One thing I love about it is that Holy Week is completely countercultural. l love that Holy Week invites us to immerse ourselves in our holy story, somewhat apart from the busy-ness of the rest of the world. It is a lot of church in one week, and believe me, I understand that it might not work for you, for whatever reason: time, interest, logistics. Yet, this is the opportunity we have each year to actually live our Great Story. To allow it to direct the rhythm of our days and the beat of our hearts, for the span of a week.
Over the course of this week, we’ll wave palms and shout Hosanna, take time for contemplative prayer, and wash one another’s feet if we're brave enough to be that vulnerable. (It's not required but it sure is powerful.) We'll break bread and drink wine. We'll wince at Peter, and know he is us. We'll gather at the foot of the cross and allow ourselves to feel pain and loss. And then we'll wait. Our culture is not good at waiting (and neither am I) but on Holy Saturday, we do it anyway, as we anticipate holy mystery. On Saturday night we'll gather in the darkness, echoing the darkness just before Creation. We'll light the first fire, and then we'll start to retell the story from the very beginning, just as people have for thousands of years.
When Sunday morning breaks we'll ring bells and sing with joy and we'll celebrate that empty tomb. I love that we'll be celebrating something we cannot explain!
I think we tend to consider this as a week of grief and heaviness. And it does involve those elements. But It's also about the mystery, and the grittiness, and the radical transformation that the teachings Jesus invites us to live. It's an embodied experience of the challenges and joys we encounter when we throw ourselves into the Way of Love.
March 15, 2024
Well, let's just get to it: Jackie and Shadow's eggs are now past the point of viability. I won't say they won't hatch, because I do believe in miracles, but I have come to accept that the likelihood of them hatching without a miracle is very small. Very, very small.
It is probably too extreme to say I'm heartbroken, but my heart is at least bruised. Watching Jackie and Shadow tend their nest felt almost sacred to me, and I had been deeply anticipating the joy of watching new little eaglets hatch and grow. In the middle of a world that sees our share of troubling news, these eggs represented hope. It's hard to watch this particular hope fade. I am finding beauty, though, in the way Jackie and Shadow's story has united so many diverse people. It's beautiful to recognize that no matter their backgrounds, beliefs, or life circumstances, so many people out there are longing for the same simple hope I am.
When it became clear that these eggs will not hatch, Friends of Big Bear Valley, the organization hosting Jackie and Shadow's livestream, put out this statement: “Whether you are a new or long time viewer of Jackie and Shadow, we can all clearly see the genuine love and care this pair has for one another. Perhaps we can all take a page out of their love story and use it to draw us all together.”
Perhaps we can. It isn't lost on me that we'll soon enter Holy Week. At the heart of our Great Story is the promise that "what the caterpillar calls the end, the Master calls a butterfly". It's the promise that life is deeply good, even when it doesn't feel that way. At the heart of our story is a Love that unites us all, one that not even death can destroy.
My prayer for you this week is for hope to live in your heart, whatever you may be going through. My prayer for you is for you to see Love, freely offered, all around you. Even among the broken parts of life it's there, drawing you into community with every bit of Creation.
March 8, 2024
I continue to peek in on Jackie and Shadow for a few minutes each day. I wouldn't say I'm obsessed, exactly. Let's call it engaged. Invested. Let's just say these two eagles are occupying some of my emotional energy and some space in my heart.
Here's the thing. We're nearing the window for Bald Eagle egg incubation and there is not, as of this writing, signs of hatching yet. The weather in Big Bear Valley has been harsh, and for the last few days when I peek in on these eagle parents in the morning they are covered in snow. These eggs may not hatch.
Scripture tells us that worrying will not add one day to our lives. I know that my worry for Jackie and Shadow's three eggs will not change one thing about whether these eggs are meant to hatch or not. I am also one who struggles with this beautiful advice from Scripture. I can't help but worry about those I love most dearly: my family and friends, Saint Annians, and now I've somehow added Jackie and Shadow to this list.
Leaving things in God's hands is especially difficult for me when hearts and potential heartbreak are on the line.
My prayer for you this week is to love with your whole heart, and to leave the rest to God. My prayer is for you to find that oasis of God's peace in the middle of any deserts of worry you might be wandering. My prayer for all of us this Lent is to sink more and more deeply into the peace that passes all understanding, no matter the circumstance.
March 1, 2024
Have you been following Jackie and Shadow, the two bald eagles who live in Big Bear Valley Wilderness area in southeastern California? Jackie and Shadow are a bald eagle pair who have been together for a number of years. About nine years ago, the Forest Service set up a live cam to watch their nest, and since that time the pair have hatched five eaglets. This year Jackie laid three eggs and the pair has gained quite a following as they incubate their eggs and wait to become parents.
We are so lucky in Minnesota to see eagles on a regular basis. Living about a mile or so from the Mississippi River, I see them flying around at least weekly and they never fail to inspire awe with their majesty and elegance as they soar and dive on the wind currents. In some traditions, a bald eagle sighting is a sign of protection from an ancestor who has gone on to greater glory, and it always warms my heart to take them as such.
Peaking in on Jackie and Shadow now and then on the live cam has given me a different perspective on bald eagles; a chance to see the sweet, softer side of them. Jackie and Shadow take turns sitting on the eggs and trade turns flying off for food and maybe just a break. Each time Shadow comes back, he brings another stick or twig to strengthen the nest. Each time Jackie comes back, she fusses over the eggs again, making sure Shadow has done his job well. The pair communicate with one another through sound and touch. They seem quite in tune with one another's needs and wants, and very willing to share the duties of becoming parents.
Getting to know Jackie and Shadow just a bit in this way has made me marvel at their simple beauty. Jackie and Shadow aren't doing anything special to gain a following or to make people like them; they just exist. And existing is enough; people see their majesty, their strength, their love and commitment, and it feels holy. It feels sacred.
If you want to peak in on Jackie and Shadow you can click here, and this is just the right time: the hatching should be soon. My prayers for you this week are to find holiness in simple beauty, to remember that there is almost always a softer side to most people and most situations, and for you to know that you do not need to be anything other than who you are to be loved. You are loved because you are.
February 23, 2024
I have been immersed in all things Taylor Swift for the past few weeks, doing my best to live up to my promise to the kids of Saint Anne's regarding a Taylor Swift breakout session during Lenten Wednesdays. Oh, the deep dives I've done and rabbit holes I've chased! The best part has been learning from the kids. They've pointed me toward certain songs - and advised me on which ones to avoid, due to inappropriate lyrics! - and let me know which songs are meaningful to them. How does it all tie into Lent and Easter? Well, just listen to the lyrics of the song Marjorie, one that Noah shared as a favorite:
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were talking to me now
If I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead...
Resurrection tones?! And that is just the tip of the Taylor Swift and Lent iceberg.
The truth is, of course, that Taylor Swift did not write lyrics specifically to align with Lent, or Easter, or even Christianity in general. But the deeper truth is that the story we enter during Lent and through Easter, the entire story of Christianity, is not contained by the church. Our Great Story of love, sacrifice, pain, sharing, loss, grief, mystery, holiness, and yes, new life, is universal. It is the blood that runs through our veins and the beating of our hearts. It's community and connection and all the ways we matter to one another. It's the truth we all live, day in and out.
My prayer for you this week is to find our Great Story out in the wider world. To see the creative force of God at work in something new, to feel the presence of the living Christ in unexpected places, and to hear Spirit singing truths about love, connection, loss, grief, growth, mystery, holiness, and transformation wherever you seek it.
February 16, 2024
On Ash Wednesday this week, we marked our foreheads with ash in the shape of a cross, reminiscent of the crosses of oil that are marked on our foreheads at our baptism. The crosses of ash remind us that in and through and despite all the grittiness of life, we remain wrapped in the love poured on us in baptism. We remember that this is not only true in our lives, but in our deaths. Ash Wednesday is not meant to make us feel bad about ourselves, it is meant to set us free. We are beloved! We get to let the rest go.
I once heard Lent referred to as "Spring Cleaning for the soul" and the image of shaking the cobwebs and clearing some built up clutter has stuck with me. Maybe for you a Spring Cleaning of the Soul means letting go of a habit that currently keeps you from being your fullest self, the person God is calling you to be. Maybe for you a Lenten Spring Cleaning means taking on a new spiritual practice or another form of self care. Maybe it means taking on new acts of kindness toward others.
Here is some fun Saint Anne's news: this Lent you'll be receiving a weekly email from Saint Anne's Adult Ed crew, with a reflection to ponder. Nothing you need to do - just watch your email for the next five Mondays. The Adult Ed team hopes this ads to your Lenten practices this year.
I hope you will also consider attending Lenten Wednesdays at Saint Anne's during Lent this year. Our five Wednesdays together are a time of casual conversation over dinner, and beautifully intentional conversations during our break out sessions. All followed by the lovely Holden Evening Prayer. It all begins at 5:45 PM this Wednesday, and YOU are warmly welcome. Details are below.
My prayer for you this week is that however you choose to enter this intentional and reflective season, it feels life-giving. Spring Cleaning is dusty, sometimes messy, sometimes daunting work, but oh, the way the light shines through the windows when it's done with care!
February 9, 2024
Greetings from Brainerd, where I am attending the annual ECMN Clergy Conference until Saturday afternoon. The theme of the conference this year is Questions of Jesus. Right at the outset, I learned a new Bible Fun Fact that I share in case you ever come across this in trivia, or you want to dazzle dinner guests one night:
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus asks 307 questions.
He himself is asked 183 questions, of which he answers only 3.
Who knew?! It's almost as if the questions matter more than the answers. Could it be? A few questions Jesus asks over the course of the four Gospels include:
Who do you say that I am?
What do you want me to do for you?
Do you believe that I am able to do this?
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
At our conference, we've been asked to ponder the questions Jesus asks in John 1:38, of two disciples who are following him just after he is baptized by John: “What are you looking for?”
What are you looking for? In this particular story, the two disciples answer Jesus with, "Where are you staying?" Which of course, isn't an answer, but it does reveal the hope they have: to remain near Jesus, wherever he goes.
What are you looking for? Somehow I think Jesus wasn't as much looking for an answer as he was asking those disciples what matters to them. Of course whenever Jesus talks to the disciples, he's talking to us, too. Which means he's asking us the same question - to consider what we're trying to remain near in our lives; consider what matters most to us.
My prayer for you this week is to have some time and space to ponder. What are you looking for? Whatever is -- Comfort? Love? Security? New energy? Peace? Connection? Joy? -- my prayer is for it to show up for you in any form, large or small. A gift from Spirit, who dances with delight at the mere idea of presenting to you just what you seek.
February 2, 2024
Happy Vernal Equinox! (the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox)
Happy St. Brigid’s Day! (Originally known as a Celtic fire goddess, Brigid also was embraced by the early church and canonized as a saint)
Happy Groundhog Day! (a decidedly American holiday)
Those are just a few of the global celebrations and feasts on this date. For us in the Episcopal Church, today we can also say Blessed Candlemas! and whatever the appropriate greeting is for the The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. "Hey, it's Presentation Day!"?
What is Candlemas? In the early Christian tradition, Feb. 2 was the date that all of the candles that would be used in churches during the coming year were blessed. During the Middle Ages, this observance grew in popularity even outside the walls of the church and Candlemas became a secular festival of lights. One source writes:
During the dark and gloomy February, the shadowy recesses of medieval churches twinkled brightly as a procession of the congregation carried lit candles around the church and the candles were blessed by the priest. The parishioners took these candles home, where they were thought to be talismans to ward off storms, demons and other evils. The custom lasted in England until the Reformation when it was banned as promoting veneration of magical objects. Even so, the symbol of lighted candles was too ingrained in popular culture to be entirely cast aside. In many areas of Great Britain, traces of the festival lingered until recently.
And The Presentation of Jesus? The Presentation is the day Mary and Joseph brought 40 day old Jesus to the Temple to be presented to God. The story in the Gospel of Luke contains one of, in my opinion, the most beautiful and most haunting passages in all of Scripture, spoken by Simeon as he saw and recognized Jesus as Messiah (ahh, there's our Epiphany theme again!):
And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed-- and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
Feb. 2 is a sacred day in many traditions, for many reasons. My prayer for you is to find something sacred about this time as well. My prayer for you for this week is for light to shine upon you, for Jesus to present himself to you, in whatever form that takes. And we might as well throw in blessings from St. Brigid, and a continued easy winter blessing from that groundhog, as well!
January 26, 2024
The last few weeks have been a trip down memory lane, albeit one that didn't require too much memory power: I've been looking back at the last year at Saint Anne's, as I've been preparing for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 28th, at 9:30.
Some of the preparation for this meeting consists of gathering data about what our life together as Saint Annians looked like in 2023. Both the national church and the ECMN (Episcopal Church in Minnesota), require all churches to keep track of things like how may services we held over the year (107), what the average attendance was per Sunday (80), and how many baptisms, burials, and receptions into the Episcopal church we had. Our Treasurer Jeff Holland has been gathering data to be able to present to you the financial numbers, and our amazing staff, Wardens, Vestry, and other ministry chairs have generously offered their overview of what our various ministries have done this year.
On the technical side, these numbers directly correlate to things like the number of delegates Saint Anne's is able to send to the ECMN Convention, and offers both the ECMN and the national church a snapshot of what an average Episcopal church looks like right now.
On the spiritual side, these numbers represent so much more. They are our laughter and our tears. Our worries and our joys. Our efforts, our ideas, our dreams and visions. The prayers we've said, the candles we've lit, the songs we've sung. The babies we've welcomed and dear memories of those who have gone on to greater glory. Our life together. What an honor and a gift.
My prayer for you this week is to know how deeply I appreciate you in this community. Yes, you. Each one of you shines with the light of Christ, and oh my, do you shine brightly. Saint Anne's is very blessed, and so am I. My prayer is that you feel blessed in this community, too.
January 19, 2024
You'll see below a new section of the Announcer this week, called Saint Annians in the Wild. It may be a section that comes and goes: to every thing there is a season. But for this week, it is here, and it is a celebration of us and all of the things Saint Annians do outside of church. It is also an invitation to get to know ourselves a little better. Many of us only see one another for a short time on Sunday mornings, and some weeks that might consist of a greeting, a passing of the peace, and a genuine but too brief, "How are you?" and "Stay warm!" as we head back out into the world.
Look below. Read up on what some of your fellow Saint Annians are up to. Marvel at the amazing people with whom we keep company. Ask them a few questions the next time you see them. Show up and cheer them on if you're able. And if you have something of your own to share, please tell me too, so I can put it in a future Saint Annians in the Wild.
My prayer for us this third week of Epiphany, the season of stars and journeys and new understandings, is the opportunity to learn something new and maybe surprising about one another. You are all pretty amazing people, made in the image of God and brimming with the light of Christ in all kind of spectacular ways. My prayer is for you is to let your light shine in every way, and in every place, you can.
January 5, 2024
Merry Christmas! It's the last time I can say that to you for approximately 354 days - this Saturday the church calendar marks the Feast of the Epiphany , or Three Kings Day, as it is known in many places, and the official end of the Christmas season.
When I was a little girl growing up in Puerto Rico, Three Kings Day was at least as big a celebration as Christmas. Christmas Eve was candlelight and hymns, Christmas Day itself was church, and the ringing of bells, and yes, some presents, but honoring the 12 Days of Christmas was tradition, so Christmas Day was when the real celebration began and it only grew from there.
Through the 12 Days there were groups of revelers in the neighborhoods who would go from door-to-door, singing and merry-making, and if they knocked, you had to invite everyone in for food and drink - and then head out with them to the next house. Through my little girl lens, this all happened "in the middle of the night". Truthfully, it was probably more like 8 PM, but I was often already in my pajamas, and it all felt exciting and magical and daring to me, to go out singing into the dark night. Then, on the eve of Epiphany, the night before Three Kings Day, kids would pick grass from the lawn - for the camels - and put it in a box under the Christmas tree next to the creche.The next morning, the grass would be gone and there would be presents in its place. There would be a parade that day too, through the streets of the city; a final celebration of the arrival of the Christ.
Honestly, as an adult, I don't know how parents, or anyone for that matter, did it. I can't imagine having food and drink ready for neighbors to possibly drop by for 12 nights. Let alone grabbing my pajama-clad kids and joining them! But it was, as my kids say now, "back in the 1900s". A different time. One I might remember with the slightly skewed eyes of child (surely we went out one night - but it could not have been all 12?!, I'll need to ask my mom), but, nonetheless, it was a time I hold close in my memories as one of wonder and true joy in welcoming the Christ.
However you celebrate it, Happy Nearly-Epiphany. My prayer for you is for eyes to see the stars as the magi did, for hearts brave enough to step out and follow as they did, and for encounters with Christ that fill you with wonder, wherever you go.
December 29, 2023
Merry Christmas! We are right in the middle of our 12 Days now and I hope you have seen the light of Christ shine in some way. Our own Joan Stovall wrote a reflection after she saw the light of Christ this season and it is too beautiful not to share (with Joan's permission). Joan writes:
Christmas happened yesterday. Christ’s Light, right in the middle of Apple Valley. Bindi, our dog, was very ill and we searched frantically for an emergency animal hospital taking patients this Sunday. With many hospitals already at capacity, a vet at the emergency animal hospital in Apple Valley agreed to squeeze Bindi into their already packed schedule. The receptionist explained apologetically that it would likely be a six hour wait at the site. As Bindi and I sat waiting in the crowded room with the other animals and owners, staff greeted each incoming pet with compassion and concern. With exam rooms full, the vets quietly examined pets in the waiting room, helping the animals and calming anxious owners. At one point, the staff rushed out to help transport a very sick animal onto a gurney and in through another door. The waiting room became still, but the Light shined. Two separate people arrived quietly weeping, bearing their already deceased pets. Others came in to be with their pets as they went over the Rainbow Bridge. The staff offered quiet words and gently guided them to a back room. The professionals worked tirelessly through a continuous stream of desperate new patients and nonstop phone calls from frantic pet owners. They helped those they could and tried to find other resources for others when there was no more space. Christmas was happening. The animals looked on and the Light of Christ shined brighter and brighter.
My prayer for you, this Christmas week and always, is for you to see, with your eyes or with your heart, the light of Christ shine through and in unexpected places.
December 22, 2023
O Holy Night is easily my favorite Christmas carol. Well, technically, it isn't known as a carol. And it's not officially a hymn; it doesn't appear in many hymnals. “Sacred song” is maybe the best term I've heard. But whatever label anyone wants to give it, O Holy Night has an interesting history. Like many intriguing pieces of history, and like lots of good theology - like Mary’s The Magificat, which we heard last Sunday and will hear again this Sunday morning - the story of O Holy Night involves twists and turns and political challenges by a world that sometimes misses the countercultural message of Jesus. Like the message of Jesus often is, O Holy Night was tangled for a time with human power struggles. It even survived a ban by the church.
Aside from the exquisite melody and the chills I get when I hear this song sung well, the lyrics themselves are a balm and a comfort to my heart, which indeed can feel weary at times, heavy with the struggles of the world. The lyrics invoke a theology that speaks of love and liberation flowing from something beyond ourselves. Our human struggles - the conflict, division, inequity, bitterness, resentment, even hatred that humanity wrestles with far too often – are real. Also real is the presence of something bigger than we are; an energy flow of love and light and yes, a thrill of hope.
My prayer for you this week is for hope to show up for you as tangible and real. My prayer is that whatever makes you most weary, whatever it is you struggle with most deeply, can be soothed, even just slightly, with our Holy Night. My prayer is for you to feel some piece, however large or small, of the thrill that comes with knowing that For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…
December 15, 2023
Angels and shepherds and soldiers, oh my!
That's right, this Sunday is Saint Anne's annual Christmas pageant and I can't wait. After an hour+ of rehearsal last Saturday morning, one of the pageanteers approached RaeKell with concern and said, "I think we're going to need more practice." Though RaeKell and I both noticed the... spirited!.... atmosphere at the rehearsal, we assured our participant that the pageant will be amazing. It always is, and those little quirks that pop up only make it better.
I did value the concern, though. This pageant performer understands the importance of story and good story-telling. Just like the Gospel writers. And just like you. What, you say you don't fit that category? Well, quick, think of a favorite Christmas decoration in your home and why is it a favorite. Chances are it's not the object itself, but the story that goes with it. Maybe it was made by your grandmother, or your child(ren)? I have both of those as favorites at my house. Maybe your favorite is a gift from someone you love, and it makes you think of them. Maybe it holds a treasured memory from a vacation or from a Christmas gone by.
Shared stories are at the heart of any culture or community. Storytelling is how cultural and religious knowledge and traditions are passed down. Stories create a community out of a group of people. And the amazing thing about the really good stories is that there is always something new to discover about them. The Christmas story is one of those. Just wait until Pageant Sunday, you'll see!
My prayer for you this week is the chance to immerse yourself in our shared stories of Advent and (almost) Christmas. My prayer is time to read, or listen or watch something that draws you more deeply into the impossible, messy, mystical story of Emmanuel: God with us. My prayer for you this week is that the familiar story feels like a warm blanket around your shoulders - but that it also has you looking up at the stars with new thoughts in your head and new dreams in your heart.
December 8, 2023
How is the waiting going? Have you been able to sink yourself deep into the Advent message getting quiet and allowing yourself to be nurtured in the darkness, like a seed waiting underground? Have you been lighting your candles, settling in, and taking time to just BE?
I have been a pretty serious failure at that this week. Well, I'm good at the lighting candles part - I practice hygge and make sure to light candles at sunset every evening during the dark winter months - but other than that, I'm doing a poor job of just letting the flurry of life go around me for these few precious weeks. I am longing for the quiet Advent hush, though, and I know the plea Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence includes me too. I also know making time for our souls to take rest is holy.
Prepare the way! John the Baptist will remind us this Sunday. I vow to do better in the weeks to come. May it be so.
My prayer for you this week is to be better at Advent than me! And my prayer for you this week is to know that whether you are feeling the peace of this season or not, whether you are lighting candles or not, whether you are ok right now or not ok right now, you are loved beyond measure and new light will come.