It warms the heart

This weekend, my husband and I traveled down to NJ where we helped our child move. As we were packing things up, we came by this:

I made this pillow when our child was very young. My husband traveled a lot for work and the kids would miss him dearly so I created from an old pair of his jeans this pillow as a way to keep Daddy close.

I can’t tell you what it means as a parent to see that your grown children still hold onto such mementos.

What is something that brings you comfort?

Or what have you given in hopes that someone else would find comfort?

Prayer of Illumination

Yesterday, we spoke literally about Illuminating the Word. Today, we are talking about illuminating the word in a more figurative sense; that is, making the reading of the Biblical text more clear and understandable.

I don’t remember growing up with a Prayer of Illumination as part of our liturgy; instead, I was introduced to this prayer when I was working in partnership with two other pastors as part of our joint planning. It was a prayer that Pastor Kathy used regularly in her liturgy and so we all agreed to use it in our planning.

Since then, I have found that this Prayer of Illumination is much like the ancient practice of Illuminating the Word through drawing. It focuses us in and gives proper attention to the importance of text. The Feasting on the Word Worship Companions include such a prayer in their liturgies and you can find them elsewhere as well. I have even used music to invite the congregation into focus before the text is read.

Today, as I continue to write my Lenten / Eastertide liturgies, I was inspired to focus on the Prayers of Illumination because I came by this quote in the book Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom by Ariel Burger.

I came to learn that my questions about the disconnect between learning and living had a parallel in Wiesel’s critique of normative education. . . The gap between humanity’s supposed wisdom and the world he lived in troubled him . . . He had many painful questions to ask, but perhaps the one that drove him to become a teacher was this: Why didn’t learning and knowledge inoculate the German people against hatred?

Ariel Burger, Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom

This made me reflect on the disconnect that is often witnessed in Christians. What we say and proclaim our belief in often varies from our actions. And so I tried to carry this marrying of concept to action as I wrote my Prayers of Illumination today.

Here are several which you are welcome to use with citation:

God, Open our ears. Open our hearts. As your inspired word is spoken, let understanding unfold within us.  AMEN

God, Sometimes we trust our eyes and our mind too much. Sometimes we let what we believe we know override what you know to be true. Help us to set down our preconceived perceptions and release our understanding of the world so that your truth may be revealed. Let us release our expectations so that you can show us your way. Let us open our heart and hear today’s sacred text. AMEN

Holy One, as we hear your word read, speak into our hearts. Add in what we particularly need to hear today. Draw our focus not out into a story of old, but in toward our innermost heart. Speak to us, O God. Speak so that we might hear. AMEN

Prepare our hearts, O God. Bring us to attention so that as we hear the scripture read, we do not just hear words spoken but also receive a message from you. Open us to your purpose and calling.  AMEN

Author of words divine, In the words we are about to hear reveal yourself. Greet us.  Meet us as we hear this story of old.  AMEN

God of eternal light, Shine your rays through the words are about to hear. Like a laser, emblazon them upon our heart so that we might ponder them long after the reading has ended.  AMEN

God, Etch the words we are about to hear upon my heart.  Give me pause to return to them, remember them, and revive them as I have need. Your word is my strength and my guide.  AMEN

FOR EASTER – On this most blessed day, O Lord, let us witness to your word. Let us join with the people of the past, the people around the globe, and the people of the future to celebrate the wondrous story of your son’s resurrection. Let our hearts receive the good news so that we may go out into the world and live it out.  AMEN

Wondrous One, Wake my heart that it may hear the word about to be read.  Let me gather it like a precious woven tapestry so that I may take it out and admire it again and again and again.  AMEN

Radiant God, who placed the stars in the night sky and gives them the power to shine, as we hear today’s word read bring them your radiance as well.  Let us hear them and know them in ways that bring forth awe, admiration, and a change in our way of being,  AMEN

Holy One, Reveal your word to us today.  Let us hear your inspired word in the depths of our soul.  Let it unfold within us that we may be transformed having heard it.  AMEN

God of word and witness,  Wake us from our sleepy ways.  Shake us from our passivity. Call us to attention.  Prepare us to hear your holy word and thus to become part of your living embodied message in the world.  AMEN

ASSCENSION SUNDAY – Holy God, As we hear this glorious word, let us not stand and gawk. Let this word move us, propel us, and inspire us. May your inspired word not close us in, but open us up to the needs of this world and the actions that you call us all to. May these words we hear spark our internal fire of compassion, love, and justice.  AMEN

Teacher, Abba, Creator, As we prepare to hear your word, let us open our whole selves to the hearing of it. As your word is read, let us not just prepare to store it as a memory, but instead let it flow through us, changing us as it does.  Let your word not fade from our memory, but become a part of us and who we are going forward.  AMEN

PENTECOST SUNDAY –Holy Spirit, as you alight on our hearts today inscribe the words we are about to hear upon it. Let them not leave us when the reading is complete, but let them continue to form and inform us long after our time today.  AMEN

Do you use a Prayer of Illumination in your worship? Do you find such a prayer helpful?

Please feel free to share any that you would like to for others to use below.

Illuminating the Word

At this week’s mid-week meditation we explored the idea of Illuminating the Word: an ancient practice of embellishing our sacred scripture with drawings and designs. (A great article on the history of Biblical Illumination can be found here.)

First, we explored what has been done historically and then we engaged with the process. As we were not actually hand writing the entire Bible and only had an hour for our process, we chose single verses to illuminate. I had brought a scripture coloring book which had some scriptures pre-chosen and printed for anyone who was uncomfortable picking a text, but interestingly everyone opted to chose and write their own.

I shared with them what an important part of sermon prep for me writing the text long hand was. I have a specific way of breaking down each line and separating out prepositional phrases and such which helps me to see patterns and notice words in a different way. This personal interaction with the word helps me to integrated the text within me so that I can begin to play with it and ask it questions.

I also showed them an example of the many Bible’s these days that make space for Illumination within them these days.

This is an example of one that I have that I embellish periodically. Notice the nice wide margins.

Illuminating the text not only gives us an opportunity to get to remember the text better, but it also helps us understand it more deeply. In order to add to it, you have to listen to it with your heart first.

At the end of our time, which many of us agreed wasn’t a long enough time – some of these meditative activities you could engage in for hours, we shared our creations in the state they were in in the moment and reflected on the process.

Here are some examples of what people created.

Remember with all of these meditative art processes, it is not the product that matters. It is the process. Enjoy! I look forward to seeing what you create or hearing about your own Illuminating workshop.

Lenten Planning

Today, I finally packed away the final Christmas ornaments (except the one I said I would keep out to remember Jesus’ birth throughout the year), Epiphany is in full force, and I’m in full Lenten planning phase.

The Christmas ornament that I held out from my birth-father and his wife.

I try to finish my planning within my blocked out planning time, but this season, it just didn’t pan out. I continue to fill in the blanks, but I have gotten pretty far and should be ready long before March 5th.

Here is a glimpse into the overall theme:

And here is a Call to Worship and Invocation from the series:

CALL TO WORSHIP  (based on Psalm 51 & 103 – DMA)

Pastor:  We come to you, O Lord, imperfect, but hungry.

People: We trust in your steadfast love and take hope in your abundant mercy.

Pastor: We turn to you, O Lord, recognizing that too often we turn away.

People: We trust that indeed you are merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in compassion and lovingkindness.

Pastor: We desire, O Lord, your wisdom in our inmost heart.

People: We open ourselves to you.

INVOCATION (DMA)

Creator, Meet us here. Meet us now. Walk with us on our Lenten Journey. Continue to create us and form us in your likeness. Let our very being act as an offering to you. AMEN

If you are a pastor, what are you considering for this Lenten season?

If you are not a pastor, what would you hope to hear in church this spring?

NOTE: If you ever would like a template that I’ve created, please just ask. I’m happy to share. If you would like to use a prayer, piece of liturgy, or poem for educational or religious reason, please just cite me as the author.

A fun confirmation activity

This week we had the second of of our confirmation classes. This time we focused on Jesus. In each class, I’m trying to teach them a spiritual practice, engage them in actually reading the Bible, and connect Christian living into their everyday life.

So this week we started with a visio divina from Jesus washing a disciples feet. I had them look at three different pictures for three minutes each in silence and then talk about what they liked and found compelling.

You could no doubt pick any few pictures, but I appreciated how this scaled outward and showed something I suspected that they were at least somewhat familiar with. After sharing our reflections, we talked about how this action revealed a bit about Jesus’ view on leadership and then read Mark 2:23-28 which led to again a question about Jesus’ leadership style and general theology.

At this point, the kids needed a little fun, so we began a competitive sword drill. Sword drills are not too common in my experience of my progressive Christian arena, but I do think it can be used as a fun way to get to know the Bible. Since this is a relatively new church to me and I wasn’t sure about the kids familiarity with the Biblical text I limited our scope to just the gospels. Doing so also gave me permission to offer some vocabulary like gospel and synoptic. I was even able to talk a little bit about the potentially lost source of Q (Quelle) and the theory of when each book was potentially written.

The idea of the game is to have a prewritten list of scriptures for the teams to find. When they find the scripture, the scripture will name an item that you have placed some distance away from them. They have to go find the item and return it before the other. Here is the list that I created:

BE FOREWARNED – – -I learned that I had overlooked that in the Mark 6:8 scripture there is actually a belt and bread. On the positive, the scripture says no bread, but yes a belt. So you could argue the need for a more careful reading. In may case, I accepted both answers.

Also note, that to make this even more fun, we set the kids up in competition with the parents. If you are wondering who won, the kids crushed it.

Following the game, we moved into some ethical case studies and instead of trying to devise solutions, we tried to come up with questions Jesus might ask of the situation or himself to decide what the next best step was. (The case studies were borrowed from Goodcharacter.com )

The whole class was only 90 minutes, and I dare say they even enjoyed it a bit.

Art can open your heart for God

I have found that art is a great way to shut down the noise of life and settle into the arms of God. Recently, I’ve been using art as a way to help others do the same. In my new church setting, I am offering my second series of mid-week meditations. Our first meeting was this morning when we found our center by doodling.

It is funny that when we are young, teachers and others try to get us to stop doodling. “Pay attention. Don’t doodle.” “Why are you just doodling? Draw something real.” As adults though, we need to recapture the freeness of doodling.

Doodling has been associated with all sorts of benefits: everything from improved concentration to better memory, from calmer disposition to reduced cortisol levels. Artistic skill is not a necessity and there is a benefit to its repetitiveness. So doodle, doodle, doodle all day long.

Doodling isn’t as much about the art as it is about the state that you are able to bring your mind into. Different people have different reactions to it based on the mood that they are in, but in general doodling helps us open our heart and quiet our mind. In that state we become more receptive to God.

Today, I shared this practice with several congregants. The workshop was an hour long. We began with a prayer and read a poem. Then for 15 minutes we worked off of a preset doodle to warm up and get used to the process. At the end of the 15 minutes, we reflected on the process and continued on to read another poem. Then we moved to the “scary” idea of a blank sheet of paper. Where participants had another 10 minutes to draw from scratch.

Different people find their connection with God in different ways. For some, they sit in silence. For others, they prefer to pray or sing. These are all ways that we have acknowledged and are included in most worship services. Less accepted are movement and art, but they are also legitimate ways to center ourselves.

May we all be willing to experiment with how we can best hear God speak to our heart.

Resources:

Open my mind to remember
your presence.
Open my mouth to speak
your wisdom.
Open my heart to extend
your love.
Open my hands to serve
you generously.
Open my whole being
to you.

-Joyce Rupp

https://mindfulartstudio.com/art-journaling-for-healing-doodle-and-de-stress/

https://svmoa.org/taxonomy/term/48

We specifically use A.A. Milne’s poem and the one by Dan Albergotti. There was no drinking except water and tea.

Have fun and Enjoy!

May you quiet your mind enough to hear God in your life.

Here was our first Mid-Week Meditation series which was based on spiritual practices. Our next series will be the writing edition where we will focus on the written word.

Economic Justice Sunday

This Sunday we are holding an Economic Justice Sunday as we kick-off our drive for our mission trip to Maine this summer to repair houses through MATE.

For that worship service, here is a Call to Worship and an Invocation:

CALL TO WORSHIP  – Based Psalm 69

Pastor: Save us, O God. The water is up to our neck.

People: We are sinking with nowhere to place our feet.

Pastor: The water is deep

People: and our voice is being drowned out in the tumult.

Pastor: Hear, O God, our cumulative cries. 

People: Respond to those in peril and send angels to their sides.

Pastor:  If we are among the troubled, bring us peace and justice.

People: If we are among those already in peace, bring us purpose and perspective.

INVOCATION: –

Holy One, In our time together this morning, press open our hearts to the pain and pressures of life that others are bearing. Let us hear the cries of those being overwhelmed by the world around them. Shake us from complacency. Move us to action. Forgive us when we justify inequity.  Inspire us to act as your emissaries in this world, and let us become a part of your healing balm. Be with us as we are awakened to and reminded of the harsh realities that exist in world today. AMEN

Seeing things in a new light

As we enter into this Epiphany Season, we are beginning a series about seeing this in a new light: basically, considering alternative perspectives. As I’ve been rattling this theme around in my mind, I have felt compelled to put together a bulletin board using some of my photography in ways that make people think more deeply.

Now one bulletin board isn’t going to change the world, but in conjunction with the remainder of the series, I hope it may affect a few people. I’ve always been amazed at how sometimes old-school ways, like a bulletin board, can really help people connect with a message.

I actually enjoyed putting this particular board together. In fact, I have really come to enjoy photography. I don’t mean fancy photography that requires special lenses or careful development; I mean Contemplative Photography. Contemplative Photography invites me to commune with the sacred and to really pay deep attention to the world. I simply use the camera on my phone to capture places where I see God is still speaking. I have been doing this so often that I began to look for an outlet for some of my pictures.

One of the places you might see some of them is in the UpperRoom’s Sight Psalms. There is no financial reward for these submission, but I find that I get the reward of hopefully opening the world in a new way for others, and it causes me to reflect even more deeply.

Here is the link to the one that I most recently had published and below is a modified picture of it. Interestingly, these blackberries were picked from wild blackberry bushes fresh that day I photographed them. In fact, that is how the photo started. My husband picked one and said that they were delicious and so we decided to pick more. When I saw the lush abundance in my hand, I decided I needed to capture that to remember God’s abundant care for the world. I hadn’t planted these bushes. I hadn’t weeded this garden. I was simply enjoying the harvest on this particularly lovely day. For this, I needed to be grateful, and I suspect we have all had an occurrence like this.

Abundance:

God provides. Let us be thankful for the many ways we receive what we need.

The photography will not ever make it into the Louvre, but that is not where I hope it is displayed. I’d prefer that such pictures help people open their hearts.

Making Space in a Cluttered Brain

As a pastor, so much of what I do requires me to be focused. I generate an incredible amount of material each week for worship, special programing, workshops, and other activities. Sometimes my brain starts to feel like the pong game on the early Atari video games (Yes, I am dating myself, but I figure you can kind of tell that from the picture.). In order to help myself keep in the creative zone, I need to give my brain time to quiet down to think. Simple repetition allows my brain to make space to gather the thoughts that need a little time to percolate or go by too fast to gather. Recently, I have found that crocheting has become a way to offer my brain this time.

I used to crochet years ago, but haven’t in some 25 years or so. I decided to take it up again when I took my current call so that I could find a way to connect with our prayer shawl knitting team and meet some new friends at a local art shop in town.

This is actually the second of my creations. The first one already shipped out for a recent new arrival into the world, the child of one of former Girl Scouts. I extended the pattern of this prayer shawl so that someone could wrap themselves comfortably in it and feel the palpable presence of God’s love around them. I have yet to know exactly where I will send it, but I trust I will know where it should go when the time is right.

It is a good thing that this project found its logical conclusion because I have been feeling called to do another baby blanket for a new cousin who was set to be on his way. I picked up the yarn last week, and ironically as I started my first three rows on the blanket, I received a text that announced the arrival of little Theo into the world. They will really have to call this one a prayer blanket, because I will need to pray to complete it before this little one graduates from college.

Who knows how long this activity will continue offering the relaxation that I need. I know I can’t do anything too complicated and am not really looking to improve, but I am enjoying this venture into creative compassion and self-care. Who knows what projects are yet to come.

What do you do to clear the cobwebs and calm the neural pathways?

What does Tuesday mean to you?

For some, Tuesday brings to mind Tacos. For others, it may mean dance class or Pilates. Perhaps for some, it is payday or the day they regularly go visit their parents. For me and for members of my church community, Tuesday has meant prayer night.

Each Tuesday since the beginning of Covid (circa 2020), I have posted this or a similar post on my personal FaceBook page and that of the church I am serving. Each Tuesday evening I then open a Zoom room where several of us gather to have a moment of devotion and hold the prayers that we have gathered for that day.

Some people may find this an incredibly futile act given the enormity of the issues that people are dealing with, but I believe that our gathering and our regularity makes a big impact on the world. It may not be a “cure”, but simply our gathering and sharing of the prayers give the petitioners the comfort of knowing someone else cares. I think it also softens the heart of those who hold these prayers.

None of us knows exactly what prayers do. They surely do not always work as we expect them to, but that is not to say that they are ineffective or unneeded. In fact, Soren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher, is reported to have said, “The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.” To some degree, I have witnessed this first hand in the prayer time that we hold each Tuesday evening. The people in the group have even begun carrying around pads to jot down prayers as they come by them; so that they can be remembered and upheld in the group. We listen and remember those who have asked for prayers over time. Our hearts become more open and more supple to the issues of others and definitively to each other.

This little 1 hour gathering has become the consistent beat in my life for almost 5 years now. Occasionally now I even get a text or private message from people who are afraid that perhaps they may miss the time to get their prayers in and so they send a note to me privately rather than waiting for the “official” post. This makes me realize how much others have come to expect and to appreciate this rhythm..

Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” She surely did not mean this within the context of a prayer group, but I do think it applies.

It is Tuesday, do you have a prayer that you would like held?

If you ever have a prayer that you would like held, I invite you to email me with it or post it below and you can trust that it will be held and lifted up each Tuesday evening.