Windows

Whilst dipping pen in ink, I hereto ascribe these thoughts. In other words, the computer is in the shop! We don’t have the fancy i-phones or Google phones, and I’m old enough that I would rather write long hand than try and piecemeal a letter on a 2x3inch screen anyway - so in computer terms that means I’ve dusted off my Windows 98 laptop. I wanted to try and connect the laptop to our wireless router, but I was unable to find software or downloads that will work with these ten-year old ancient standards. Planned obsolescence. We are forced to use newer operating systems, with more memory, and with different connectors for peripherals. I’m not one that rebelliously will hold out until the bitter end crying for the demise of Microsoft, and I’m not computer literate enough to program my own solutions, but I’m frugal enough to appreciate this ten-year old computer still has the essentials that I need. The main drawback is the heat that is generated makes me warm and sleepy! As long as I’m not trying to download 7M files (which takes approximately 30 minutes via dial-up modem) or support NASA then all works as it should. I’m not leery of progress, nor do I dismiss the newest advances, I’m eager to see the new shortcuts, options, and productivity aids, but I’m not one that stands in line awaiting the latest beta version. I prefer to wait for the price to come down and the kinks worked out for the average consumer.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We are never beyond upgrading in your eyes! You have the belief that we can continue to grow and mature in our faith and in our choices to live more Christ-like. Sometimes we remain at one stage, not because we fear the next step, but because we want to make use of all the resources that are available, and fully appreciate all the opportunities that are still viable. We don’t want to bypass an untapped gift in our rush to clamber to the next goal. Let us not be satisfied to remain level permanently. Give our dreamers the freedom to soar above our expectations and help them deliver your vision in a way that demands that we take notice. Our minds and energy await the challenges that come with adapting what we have with what You have waiting for us. Amen

Sweeten the Pot

I’ve always liked the inspiration of the American melting pot, an eclectic mix of nationalities and customs combining to create a new and stronger country because of its fusion of the best of multiple cultures. An editorial in today’s Dallas Morning News was written by a brand new American citizen, Murli Melwani. He writes of the conscious decision he made to live in another country besides the one to which his alignment was assigned by birth: “the desire to live in a place where one is allowed to give full play to one's gifts, talents, skills and abilities freely, while respecting similar rights of others; where one is not treated as a foreigner in a part of one's own country because one comes from another province or state…” As part of the ceremonies, a video was played of President Bush welcoming the newest citizens: "Our country has never been united by blood or birth or soil," he said. "We are bound by principles that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens." The editorial is concluded by an old anecdote from the community of Iran.

In the 8th century, a community from Iran, which later came to be known as the Parsis, fled the persecution by fanatical Muslim invaders of their faith. They arrived on the coast of India. Before these pilgrims set foot on the shore, their leader sent a glass of milk to the Indian ruler. The ruler returned the glass after adding more milk, topping the glass right up to the brim. His action sent the signal that the country couldn't accommodate any more people. The leader of the pilgrims, a sagacious man, added a spoon of sugar, without spilling a drop, and sent the glass back to the Indian ruler. The ruler understood the significance of the gesture: Sugar blends with milk and sweetens it without changing its composition or qualities. The ruler allowed them to settle in India.

Mr. Melwani can’t say whether the story is true or not, but that he understands the emotion and the sincerity, because he feels that he will be able to sweeten the American melting pot.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You hold all of the earth’s nations under your authority. We long to lessen our ties to kings and nations and increase our allegiance to your sovereignty. We are people choosing to live within your justice, your encouragement, and your welcoming grace. Let us add our talents and gifts to sweeten and enhance the portion of the world we are charged to administer and restore. Let us welcome the insights and diverse backgrounds that bring new understandings and new ideas to our congregation. We were established by many voices and varied opinions that made us stronger over our history. Let us continue to tell our stories, share our unique perspectives, and work to combine and unite them all into one house of worship, offering praise and adoration to our one, true Lord. Amen.

Give Me Your Eyes

Paul Newman had one of the most memorable set of eyes with their piercing, clear, and vibrant qualities. They were magnified by projection onto the movie screen, and along with his impish grin captured an image that made him an international star. He also had the talent to support his status. The thing I notice first about a person is their eyes. Some congregations share the phrase “I see the Christ in your eyes” as they Pass the Peace. It’s a phrase that encourages you to seek a deeper level of that person, as you look each other eye-to-eye, soul-to-soul. Others are encouraged to see the world around them, using Christ’s eyes as a filter. One of the Christian singers I’ve started listening to is Brandon Heath. He has a song called “Give Me Your Eyes” that is an invitation to do just that.

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the once forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
- Brandon Heath

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You have the ability to see the world as it should be, as it could be, and as it is. Let us seek the Christ in others, realizing that each one is a Child of God, and loved. May we find the capacity to love as well. Let us look at the neighborhood around us to see what we might have missed as we rush by to arrive in time for the next service, the next fellowship, or the next meeting. Let us look into the eyes of our neighbor, searching for the connection that reaches beyond their color and into the possibility of the person You have called them to be. Let us look at the mirror, into the eyes of one who has the talent to support the role that You have given as our mission. Give us Your eyes for just one second so that we can see as you can see. Amen.

40 Days

“The Bible is clear that God considers 40 days a spiritually significant time period. Whenever God wanted to prepare someone for his purposes, he took 40 days:

• Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of rain.
• Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai.
• The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promised Land.
• David was transformed by Goliath's 40-day challenge.
• Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 days of strength from a single meal.
• The entire city of Nineveh was transformed when God gave them 40 days to change.
• Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the wilderness.
• The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection.”

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

We now have 40 days until the presidential election. It may seem like we have been wandering in political wilderness for 40 years preparing for this election, but in six weeks we’ll know who the next president will be. The first debate between Obama and McCain will hopefully add some insight into their individual strengths and ideologies. Early voter registration is expected to be light as voters are waiting the full length of time hoping to find a defining moment when they can throw their support behind one candidate. Too often Americans vote against a certain candidate rather than for a candidate. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to know you were voting with certitude and were able to place your full confidence and enthusiasm behind your vote? Perhaps better than relying on political ads, media coverage, or talk show rhetoric that we could make our decision through 40 days of intentional prayer for guidance.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are Lord of all! You govern our comings and our goings, and we are blessed to be under your rule. For the next 40 days let us pray with purpose for our nation, for the vote that each one holds, and for the leader that will emerge. This new president-elect will be forced to embark huge difficulties the moment the count is tallied, let us use our power to be lifted in prayer for wisdom rather than use our power to weigh down the energy needed to resolve. Let us pray for leadership that follows your model of direction and management. Ultimately, Lord, You have authority over us. And we are forever thankful. Let these 40 days be a time of testing of your will and being aware of your guidance. Amen.

Blind Spots

I’ve been telling people for months that I seem to have lost my ability to park straight. The car is just askew enough that it draws my attention when I get out. I’ve been driving a new car style for 11 months, and tonight I’ve found a pack of reports from other people with the same experience. Vindication! No one is sure why this is happening, possibly something about the shape of the car or the view from the driver’s vantage point. Reports indicate that the car does have a larger blind spot than normal. I was reminded again tonight, as I was driving home, how big a blind spot can be. Perhaps I was tired, or perhaps I had been lulled into the state of a lemming, following the trailer 15 miles below the speed limit for several miles, but as I continued following the trailer to merge onto another interstate there was a truck that suddenly appeared out of the blind spot, like a magician seemingly pulling a bird out of thin air. Thankfully that driver was more alert than I was! I think I’m normally pretty conscientious about checking for blind spots because it never ceases to amaze me how an entire car can slip into that space and become virtually invisible - that is, if one relies on the mirrors only. I could perhaps understand a motorcycle or a scooter, but an entire car, invisible? Unlikely! It’s not the best theorem to try and prove while you’re driving, but just take notice that you will probably have to look somewhere else for the full picture.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are all-seeing and all-knowing. From your vantage you can see beyond our horizons and beyond our understandings. You can see how lives fit together and how actions are brought into accountability. Just because we can’t see the entire vision all at once does not mean that there is not framework and support in place. Let us remember to look on either side of ourselves to see what could be hidden or concealed at first glance. It could be as small as a turtle crossing the road, or as large as an elephant that no one discusses. Let us not be blindsided by obvious obstructions because we didn’t think to look beyond our forward view. Let our congregation be cautious, but not afraid to enter the journey, joining the course of the saints. Let our intention be with you. Amen

Interruptions

A study by Dartmouth University listed four kinds of interruptions: distractions, intrusions, planned breaks, and discrepancies. Being called away from my work station often leads to at least three or four more distractions before I head back to the computer and try to remember what I was doing and how I was doing it. A friend passed along the statistic that said we are typically interrupted once every three minutes, either by external or internal sources! That’s a lot of stopping and starting! Which is one reason I don’t usually leave work the minute the whistle blows like Fred Flintstone did in the introduction of every cartoon, it’s amazing how the stress level goes down a notch and the concentration increases once the phones stop ringing and the front door is closed. Some studies show that it can take up to 15 minutes to regain one’s track of thoughts after an interruption adding to huge losses in productivity. There are tips to help minimize interruptions: close the door, schedule times when you are available, stand up and remain standing when someone comes into your office, put something in the visitor’s chair so that it discourages people from sitting, look at your watch, or say “How can you sum up what you need from me?” Some of the suggestions would be hard for me to enforce, although I have been known to start expanding my work surface to any open chair, but more from lack of desk space or organization rather than to discourage visitors. Productivity and peace cannot be compared, but it takes a certain amount of calmness to encourage productivity and creativity. Ideally one does not have to give up courtesies to try and gain a sense of control and centeredness.

“Peace it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” – unknown

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, What were you saying? You know how flighty and erratic we can be. We have good intentions and great desire to follow your call, but we get distracted by minor distractions like phone calls and meetings or by large intrusions such as illness or family crises. God of forgiveness, can you repeat that last thought? Let us make planned interruptions to our day to return our thoughts to you, to regain focus on your will for our lives, and to recompose and calm our heart. Let us be aware of the discrepancies between the things we do and the things we ought to do, and between the noise of the world and the peace found in you. Dear God, feel free to interrupt us! Let the sunrise suspend our morning to reflect on your glory. Let the laughter of a child disrupt our attitude of irritation and impatience. Let the unraveling of a seed pod disorder our priorities of immediacy. Let the needs of the world dislocate our inward spiral of importance. Let the prayers of our heart override the interruptions we allow in our relationship with you. Let us know your peace. Amen.

Citizens for Change

One of my pet peeves is when politicians add items to bills that are up for vote. They are like leeches that hang on the sides of the prominent bill and with no line item veto possible by the president; it’s an all or nothing proposition. And I say leeches with contemptuous authority because I’ve had to scrape leeches off my legs after getting out of a river, which is not an easy task; without a stick or a rock they just cling to your hand next as you try to pull them off. Then to the other hand! Leeches! Getting stronger and growing because of their host. So when these piggy-back items are attached to bills up for vote for such things as pay increase for the troops, relief funding for hurricane survivors, or children’s medical aide they get approved when they might not otherwise because not many lawmakers want to have on record that they voted against the troops or children. It may have been that the lawmaker couldn’t stomach the extra trappings, but as much as one tries to explain the reason for voting no, the media and the opponents will point out the heartless rejection of the headline bill. I can only imagine the late-night planners working on which projects to attach to the huge proposal being considered by Congress this week. As much as I enjoy board games and card games, I don’t take any pleasure in watching political games where lives are used as pawns and finances are traded like play money. One can argue that this system is the only way to get things done. If Congress had to act on every item singularly, it would be a quagmire…. Or a bigger quagmire? :-)

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are complete, uncomplicated, unwarranted Love. Your Grace is given to us without condition, without limitations, or without ulterior motives other than to offer your peace and freedom. We are a cynical people, weary and cautious by our own experiences, but You are pure and holy. We have no knowledge of government that can compare to your rule of justice, compassion and inclusion, where the greater good is a benefit for all of your people. Let us be proud citizens of your kingdom, upholding your laws. Amen.

The Only Thing We Have

“We say, readily enough, that ‘God is love.’ Do we really believe it?... If you do feel and trust that the guiding principle of life is one of love and benevolence, why is there so much of the opposite around?...
I have a candidate to bring to you as chief suspect: Fear!”
– Margaret Silf

This attempt to answer why such harmful acts take place in the world, comes as close to any other answer I have heard discussed that has tried to apply rationale for unreasonable acts. Is it the fear of our differences that prompts wall building? Is it the fear for our own safety that provokes attacks? Is it the fear of our peers that encourages silence? Is it the fear for our livelihood that prods us towards deceitful practices? Is it the fear of waiting that pushes us towards acting prematurely? Is it the fear of hearing answers that discourages us from asking questions? It is a perfect time to review the inaugural speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt in which we grew up hearing: “… the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” Reading the transcript has a sense of déjà vu; it could easily be broadcast today. Another source explained fear as an acronym, “False Evidence Appearing Real” – Veer Sharma. These rebukes against fear help us put fear back into containment; however fear is ready to spring back into our lives with any perceived opening of doubts or reservations.

My prayer for the congregation?

Mighty God, Defender of the faith, You look fear head on and reduce it to powerless submission. The only way fear regains its strength is when we release some of our own suspicions and doubts. We become slaves to fear’s whimsies and pettiness and we are surprised by actions that we thought were below us. Dear God, give us resolute trust in your power and majesty. May we find wonder and joy in our diversity instead of distrust. Let us be a people of courage and valor aided by your constant presence and guidance. Let us shackle fear with our firm faith that God is love. Amen

Day of Peace

We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace.
– William E. Gladstone

In 1981 The United Nations passed a declaration to promote peace through a shared day of unity known as the International Day of Peace, a date for all nations to commemorate and strengthen the ideals of peace. The day is now honored every year on September 21st. Whether one attends a large festival honoring diversity or a solitary reflective act of lighting a candle, anyone can participate in the plea, “May peace prevail on earth.” There is also a call for 24 hours of cessation in violence and hostilities to allow those living in conflict zones to realize peace is possible and allows relief workers to bring in needed supplies. Judging from the video coverage on the nightly news, I don’t think that all factions bought into the idea. We can’t control other authorities, yet this call for ceasefire is not just for the warring powers to stand down, but that individuals may take this opportunity to make peace in their own relationships.

If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends.
You talk to your enemies.
- Moshe Dyan

My prayer for the congregation?

God of Peace, We long for freedom of fear and anger. We long for a time when the lion and lamb will lay side by side. We long for a time when we care more about our neighbor, and our enemy, than ourselves. We long for a time when injustices are stifled and love prevails. We long for a time when our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers are stationed at home and not at a post far from home. Give us a day when we can set aside our anger and hatred, and those things which separate us from you. As we celebrate one day in your kingdom of peace, may we grow homesick to return again and again. Shalom.

Numbers 6: 24-26 "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace."

Listening to Wisdom

How do you decide which book to buy? Usually the cover or the title first gets my attention, and if it’s non-fiction I usually look at the table of contents with the names of the chapters and read the author’s bio to get a sense of the viewpoints the author may bring from his/her background. If the book lasts through those two tests then I open the book randomly once or twice to check the ease of reading and understanding, and to see if something jumps out that says, “Buy me! I have something you need! You will learn the wisdom and philosophy of the ages! Your life will be forever changed!” I must have a low threshold for gullibility because I believed four different books just this weekend! One is by Rob Bell, another is on traffic (yes, traffic as in cars and highways. I tried and tried to put it down but it was like a yo-yo rebounding into my hands) and another book on listening. The author, Michael P. Nichols, warns that we think we are better listeners than we really are, and I know there’s an art to listening that is beyond my abilities. When I opened the book to the first random page, bolded text stood out on the page:

“A listener’s emotional reaction seems inappropriate only as long as you can’t see his or her memory.”

Wow! The wisdom of the ages came pouring towards me! This statement felt like direct guidance for a recent discussion when it took several attempts to find some common ground before we could even begin our conversation. “Most failures of understanding are not due to self-absorption or bad faith, but to defensive reactions that crowd our understanding and concern.”

My prayer for the congregation?

Great God of compassion, You patiently listen to our petitions, our complaints, our dreams, our confessions, our joys, and our thanksgivings. We come before you and others with our whole lives, the fears and interpretations of our youth, the intentions of our thoughts confused with the words we choose to say, and the barriers we set that treat our vulnerabilities as treasures instead of scars. You listen to our heart and understand us better than we understand ourselves. Let us learn the art of listening, improving our relationship to others and dismantling our own obstructions. Let us be generous in listening frequently and being fully attentive. Listening is a gift we can give, deserved. Grace is a gift we receive, undeserved. Amen.

Dumber Numbers

There’s plenty that I don’t understand. How do video cameras turn people into x’s and o’s, send them electronically over air and then transform back into an image I can recognize on my TV? How does the Space Shuttle lift off like a rocket, land like an airplane, and how can it possibly ride piggy back on another airplane? And I really don’t get economic theory, cash flow, and projected earnings. Okay, I understand simple projected earnings – I plan to keep working in the same job and with stable funding I should be paid, and I should be able to pay for xyz. But it’s the invisible money part I can’t grasp. They are just numbers on a page. I have direct deposit from my employer, which sends numbers to our bank, who adds it to other numbers representing money, and they send me back a page with numbers showing how many cents I have, then we send numbers to different companies. For the most part we only use paper money for a few, small items or fast food, with check writing becoming uncommon, instead using debit cards or (dum, dum, dum) credit cards. So the reality of money I hold in my hand equaling those numbers on a page is becoming even harder for me to relate. I know enough to try and not overextend, shop for sales, and watch out for impulse buying, but it’s the numbers with extra commas and extra 0’s that boggle my mind. Just this week alone the numbers are unfathomable. The numbers used during the financial bailout; the numbers that pay for the hurricane housing relief for those who are waiting to return home, for those who can; and the numbers that pay for political progress. That’s all on top of the other numbers used daily to pay for the millions of federal workers, our national protection, our schools, transportation and social programs… We put so much trust in those numbers on a page; it’s interesting that our printed money has “In God We Trust.” The phrase started being printed on coins after the unsettling times of the Civil War, and on paper money during the Cold War. Maybe we’ll find some way to add the phrase to our electronic receipts and print outs as we adjust to having less printed money. Even though we are supposed to have confidence in our economy, after a financial week like this, maybe it should read “We Can Only Trust in God.”

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We need to put our trust in you. We find ourselves placing money as our figurehead, the starting point for what we do, where we live, how we make decisions, and who we want to become. As with so many false lords, we are left with more questions, and less satisfaction at the end of the day. Let us be responsible stewards of our gifts and resources, conserving and preserving these interests for future generations. Let us return again to putting our full trust in you and restoring your kingdom to its rightful Lord. Amen.

Newborns

There’s no need for TV or any other entertainment when there’s a new baby in the room. You just put the baby in the center of the room and adults position themselves around for an undisturbed view. Every twitch of the baby has running commentary and every quick upturned smile is admired. New gadgets are passed about the room and other mothers wonder how much easier it could have been with these newer conveniences. When little eyes begin to flutter there’s a craning of necks to determine if the baby is waking up, and what color the eyes are. Everyone looks at their watch estimating if the baby could be hungry again, and theories are shared about feeding on demand or keeping to a schedule. Does it look like the right hand or left hand is favored? Do you see a little red tint to the hair color? Those nearest the baby stroke the soft skin and will sit motionless for hours if the baby wraps its small hand around an index finger. There’s overall pleasure when the baby makes the little squeaks that are distinctive to newborns, and there’s no better napping than having a sleeping baby on your chest. It’s just like having your very own miracle, right before your eyes. Welcome to the family little Kate! You are a blessing indeed.

“A new baby is like the beginning of all things –
wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” – Eda J. Le Shan

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God of Miracles, we are thankful for babies and new life! We feel like their life is the beginning of something limitless and grand. There is a belief in fresh hope and prospects for boundless opportunities. Each child is a gift, a blessing, with their own purpose and their own unique relation to our world. We have a wonderful chance to see your direct works, and the change in ourselves and others through our entwined lives with this new child of God. We are filled with amazement and wonder at the miracle of life. May we view each day as a new beginning and appreciate our own opportunity to live as a newly formed person, molded by your hands. You swaddle us and hold us tightly in your care to restore a sense of calm. Make us as helpless as a newborn, dependent on your word and your will. Amen.

Ordinary

After the complex reading on Contemplative Prayer in Richard Foster's book, it was a welcome respite to read about Ordinary Prayer. Seeing that every ordinary act, washing dishes, combing your child's hair, mowing the grass, or watching the sunrise can be a prayer. And while he held up the slower, more family-oriented dinner times of farm life filled with conversation to be closer to ideal, he also encouraged that we take advantage of all of the smaller increments that we have in our faster paced lives. Those minutes may be in the carpool, the drive-thru line, or the bedtime rituals, but they are ours to use to the best of our ability. "Holy As a Day Is Spent" is a song by Carrie Newcomer that seemed to explain the whole concept very well. When she sings of "folding sheets like folding hands, to pray as only laundry can" or "the hymns of flying geese" it does paint a picture of allowing the oridinary to be holy.

God is everywhere. The world is crowded with God, but the real labor is to remember to attend and, in fact, to come awake."
CS Lewis

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are extraordinary! Not only in your majesty, but also in your transforming grace to bring all to holy wonder. In our ordinary tasks, let them be purposeful prayers. In our ordinary day, let us recognize the common as uncommon. And in our ordinary way, let us be a walking, talking, sharing witness of our growth towards a Christ-centered life. Amen

Holy is the place I stand, to give whatever small good I can
and the empty page, and the open book,
redemption everywhere I look
unknowingly we slow our pace, in the shade of unexpected grace
and with grateful smiles and sad lamentas holy as a day is spent
and morning light sings “providence”as holy as a day is spent
- "Holy As the Day Is Spent" Carrie Newcomer

Presidental Wisdom

Sometimes I like to tie quotes into a weekly inter-office e-mail I generate or connect current topics within the title. So my co-worker was rather disappointed that I didn’t have any quotes from Dwight D. Eisenhower along with the mention of Hurricane Ike. I know she was jesting in part, but nothing like an internet scavenger hunt to brighten the day! Eisenhower was the president when I was born, and I know he was an inspirational general during World War II, but his quotes painted a different person than I imagined. From home-spun remarks similar to Will Rogers or Yogi Bera, to observations that touch our current political campaign, to thoughtful, deeply felt ideas on war and peace.

• Ankles are nearly always neat and good-looking, but knees are nearly always not.
• Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
• I'm saving that rocker for the day when I feel as old as I really am.
• Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.
• Any man who wants to be president is either an egomaniac or crazy.
• I can think of nothing more boring for the American people than to have to sit in their living rooms for a whole half hour looking at my face on their television screens.
• No one should ever sit in this office over 70 years old, and that I know.
• Oh, that lovely title, ex-president.
• I would rather try to persuade a man to go along, because once I have persuaded him, he will stick. If I scare him, he will stay just as long as he is scared, and then he is gone.
• I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.
• I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.
• Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You offer perfect authority! As we grow closer to our presidential elections, let our nation find the leaders that will provide the greater wisdom to observe and address the complex daily decisions of the executive office. To elect those that can place the nation’s needs over their party’s livelihood or their contributor’s projects. Increase their humility to find the desire to consult with you daily in prayer. Let words of those who have stood in their place mentor to them as no other advisor can relate. "Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and co-operation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace." (D. Eisenhower) May we find leaders that are bound for justice and peace. Amen.

Missing Vertebrae

Could you hear my heart pounding yesterday? I had to step up to the plate and confront someone who wasn’t doing the right thing. It took me seven hours, or maybe seven months to reach the point where I grew a vertebrae and stood up for a minute. Only 32 more vertebrae to go before I can stand up for the right thing without seven months of labor and seven hours to fuel courage! I know part of the lengthy delay was my dread of confrontation, but I also couldn’t help believing that the situation would correct itself, just by the very basis of the obvious wrong behavior. I know I’m fortunate (or naïve), but I’m used to being around people who do the right thing. This is a good person, but the situation was wrong and it became unbearable that I had the knowledge and the ability to correct it. I slept last night as if I had run a marathon, my body and mind exhausted from the abnormal exertion. Today I woke up wanting answers: Did this go on because no one said stop? Did this go on because my silence fueled disrespect? Did this go on because my powerless inaction gave the power to be taken advantage? Did this go on because not enough expectations were communicated? Did this go on because the supervision wasn’t thorough? I wanted answers - but then the phone rang, an e-mail needed attention, appointments lined up and before I knew it I had lost the mental ground I had staked the day before. Got milk? I think my back bones need the calcium.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, How do you weigh your power with such sound judiciousness? How do you encourage your people to live in righteousness and follow your commandments? Let us be a people of strong stature, standing up for those whose voices have been silenced or to correct a situation that is injurious. Let us communicate our expectations that all people are due respect and kindness; that small injustices unfettered grow into larger transgressions; and that silence can equal permission. Let us see with clear eyes the situation before us. Do not let our own weaknesses cloud the opportunity to make a clear and concise projection of your justice and righteousness. Let us be supported by your obvious power and judgment. Amen.

Feels Like Home

I've had a song on the brain for the past several weeks, and it hasn't diminshed. I find myself humming or going over the chorus in my head whenever I walk a distance, or have some down time. "Feels Like Home" has been recorded by numerous artists like Randy Newman, Linda Ronstadt, or the version which I've listened to the most, Bonnie Rait. It's probably meant as a love song if you read the entire lyrics, but it's in the chorus that I spend my time humming or singing softly.

Feels like home to me, feels like home to me,
Feels like I'm on my way back where I come from.
Feels like home to me, feels like home to me,
Feels like I'm on my way back where I belong.

At first I just liked the tune, but since the chorus has stayed with me for so long it is beginning to take context from Psalm 139 (The Message)
You know me inside and out,you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You have known us from the beginning of time, and your desire is that we know of the home you have open and waiting. In your presence it "feels like I'm on my way back where I belong." We are at home whether we are baking pies in our own oven, rebuilding in another state, sleeping on a cot in a shelter, walking a forest trail, waiting in a doctor's office, working enough for two jobs, or worshipping in community. We are home because You are there. We can't imagine the provisions and formations that you've created to allow for all your people to be near you. It never feels crowded. It feels like you have a special seat reserved next to you so that we are close enough to share side remarks and share the same meal. Let us do our part to make sure everyone feels at home, where they belong. There is room at the table. Amen.

Psalm 139: 1-10 Lord, you have seen what is in my heart. You know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know what I'm thinking even though you are far away. You know when I go out to work and when I come back home. You know exactly how I live. Lord, even before I speak a word, you know all about it. You are all around me. You are behind me
and in front of me. You hold me in your power. I'm amazed at how well you know me. It's more than I can understand. How can I get away from your Spirit? Where can I go to escape from you? If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the deepest parts of the earth, you are also there. Suppose I were to rise with the sun in the east and then cross over to the west where it sinks into the ocean. Your hand would always be there to guide me. Your right hand would still be holding me close.

Shelter from the Storm

In anticipation of one the recent hurricanes going across Cuba a news report quoted a government official as saying the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay were safe because they were in a hurricane proof building. That statement seemed rather fool-hardy and begging to be proven wrong by nature. As architects and builders I’m sure they know their trade and created digital mock-ups of hurricane force computer models on their structures to back up their claims, but it still seems an extravagant claim. And maybe you can make hurricane proof buildings, but are they also flood proof? Can you seal up something so tightly? I suppose so, even though it seems at first unbelievable. I’ve been in a few tunnels around New York City, but that doesn’t mean I enjoyed the experience! To travel the English Channel tunnel would take strong confidence and faith in engineering and maintenance.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You provide shelter for a weary world. You don’t rely on mathematics, physics or steel, but offer your power as our shield. We are quicker to fall back on our own knowledge and experience than to fall in prayer. We turn to you as a frightened child, seeking safety and warmth when our own devices have broken and let us down. Let us turn to you before we turn another channel. As we learn more about the impact of Hurricane Ike, let us offer thanksgiving for the many that evacuated safely to other cities, for those who are providing food and a place to sleep, and for those who are taking the steps of discovery and recovery. Let us have as much faith in you as we put in our engineering marvels. You, O Lord, are marvelous. We find shelter within your arms. Amen.

Try imagining a place where it's always safe and warm.
"Come in," she said,"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
-Bob Dylan

Lost at the Wheel

I spent twelve hours on Thursday in an airplane hangar as part of a team assisting with medical evacuations ahead of Hurricane Ike. I spent another three hours of the same day lost either trying to find the hangar or trying to find my way back home. It’s easy enough to explain away the confusing trip to the airport since I had never been there before and it was in the wee hours of the morning. I had to stop at a Marriott for directions and another hangar before I found the place. When it looked like the chances of receiving more evacuees was growing slimmer that afternoon they told me to share my contact information and leave - and I tried. An hour later I was back almost to the place where I started! The thought of driving down LBJ at rush hour was not at all appealing, nor did I know how fast I could come back to the airport via LBJ at that time of day if they needed me, so I stopped and ate. I was close enough to the command center that I went back to make sure they didn’t need me and left for the second time to go home. And AGAIN I got lost and spent close to another hour trying to get on the right highways going in the right direction. I can easily make my way in and out of DFW airport, but the freeways around the airport run at odd angles and new highways have been built that I’m not even sure where they lead. This is not my first run-in with this maze and I practically need to double my time if I have to travel to that area to allow for back-tracking and re-routing. My husband said he may not wait for Christmas to buy me a GPS.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You provide a true bearing in a confusing world. We travel with assurance of direction and cause, but at times find ourselves brought to the realization that we may not be on the correct path after all. We think we have read the signs correctly, studied our course, and aligned our bearings to arrive at our destination, but despite our careful planning find we are not at all where we thought we would be. Sometimes alternative routes prove to have better results than the one we proposed, but other times we find ourselves making the same mistakes over and over. You bring us back to a starting point and with a firm push entrust us to find our legs and balance. O God, you are our northern star, a centering point to which we can return again and again, and a position we can reference when we are on expeditions and missions. Let us be where you want us to be. Amen

Loveless

I never had a reference point when people asked “Do you know where you were when President Kennedy was shot?” All I can remember is that Captain Kangaroo was not on as it should be and instead there were people dressed in black, standing in a long line. Where was I on September 11th? At work. The plane had already hit the first tower when we got a call to turn on our TVs, and then we weren’t far away from a TV after that. What stands out even more prominently than where I was on that day, was where the rest of my family was that day. My hubby was in Turkey visiting ancient sites, #1 son was deployed to Okinawa, and #2 son was living on a college campus. I didn’t know enough about Turkey at the time to realize that hubby was in a safe area, I just knew he was overseas without any guarantees of how, or when, he could get home. #2 Son called to check in. #1 Son called to say the Marines were on highest alert and preparing to board ships but he couldn’t tell their destination. After the quickly organized prayer service at church that evening I came home and started tearing down wall paper. It took about two years to finish the project in the boy’s bathroom but for those days it was a mindless activity that served a purpose.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, we can be creatures of mindless, senseless, careless, thoughtless acts. Take away our loveless actions and make them more: more caring, more thoughtful, and more giving. Fill us with compassion and respect for each other and honor the command to love our neighbors. We pray that you may bring balance to an off kilter world, made unstable by hapless acts from those who are helpless and powerless to sin and indulgence. Let us be drawn closer to you, to increase our strength and resolve so that we may become powerful and stand firm in our commitment to following Christ by serving others. Where harmful acts are no longer possible and peaceful acts are our habit. We pray for continued healing for those who suffered loss and we also pray for healing for those who find the divide of politics and doctrines too wide to see each other as a child of God. Let us be creatures of love-filled acts. Amen.

Sounds of Silence

Our past few chapters on Prayer by Richard Foster have been reviewing inward prayers using contemplative or meditative models, trying to allow prayer instead of creating prayer. Foster made his case so strong for the difficulty of practicing contemplative prayer that it did not encourage anyone to take the practice beyond the reading in the book. But by the end of the class we could agree that we all appreciated silence, even if we weren’t ready to take the prayers to the nth degree that the desert fathers describe. I’ve been trying to focus on being quiet, but not such an easy thing. You hear noises in the next room, a need to itch, and of course the revolving door of ideas, concerns, and questions. Last night when I laid down I wanted to try again to be quiet. When work lists started accumulating, I made a conscious judgment that I had already given work more than enough of my time and energy that day because I had stayed a few hours longer, and gave myself permission to shut those thoughts out. I’m sure it helped that I was tired and I didn’t stay awake too much longer for a different set of barricades to fly up, but this was a major accomplishment to control one set of thoughts and allow silence to fill the void. I’m not fooling myself to think I’m approaching the level that Foster describes, but instead of totally disregarding the practice, I would like to learn to appreciate some of the benefits, not creating conversations with God, but instead staying quiet and letting God have a turn.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, We would love to hear what you have to share. Amen.

Closed Up Shop

Even in our state that has an above average economy, there are hundreds of empty buildings where business have moved to other locations or had to close permanently. The ones that seem the most glaringly obvious are the BIG empty boxes and acres of empty paved parking where grocery stores or large discount retailers used to serve customers. Our community has been pretty resourceful in recouping old grocery stores into libraries, churches, government offices, or specialty school extensions, but there are more sites left vacant than can be renewed. It’s too expensive to raze and too costly to refurbish for new businesses who often prefer to build their own big box on a new plot of land. I can’t imagine what a ghost town it might feel like in other areas where the economy is not as strong as our own. The deserted space seems to be a reminder of greed, poor planning, and selfishness. I don’t have the answers; I only know it makes me sad to see the waste of good land that could still be fields of grass which might help meet the high demand for sports practice fields and parks, and at the very least provide a daily sense of life and beauty. (as long as the grass is mowed, eh? :-)

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are the great creator and designer of rebirth! We praise your works in the land and in our lives. Do we, your people, ever remind you of big vacant lots? Where there used to be exchanges of commerce and contact and now are left empty and solitary? Where hope was once present and now despair has taken residence? Where vitality at one time was bright enough to light the night skies and now has boarded portals allowing no entry? What do you see in us? Do you mourn our waste of resources? Are you frustrated with our choices? Do you reject our greed? Are you saddened by our lack of vision? Do you see a vessel worthy of rebuilding? Do you see the potential beneath the rust? Will you love us still? Help us to be receptive to your burnishing and restored by your renovations. Let us be humbled by your attention and care, and joy-filled by your grace and trust in our undeserving lives. You are the great creator and designer of rebirth! Amen.

Simple Theology

Kate Braestrup is a chaplain to game wardens on search-and-rescue missions in Maine. “There, she says, the rubber meets the road theologically. And her sense of life, death, and God is formed by what happens between and among people… If someone asks, you know, ‘Where was God in this?’ I'll say, ‘God was in all the people that came to try to help, to try to find your child.… And so I often say, the question isn't whether we're going to have to do hard, awful things, because we are. And we all are. The question is whether we have to do them alone.” Her “ministry of presence” to the wounded was in part formed by those who nurtured her in the wake of her husband’s death. “The longer I work and live the simpler my theology gets... that God is love. And I mean that pretty literally…God is that force that drives us to really see each other and to really behold each other and care for each other and respond to each other.”
Presence in the Wild , Speaking of Faith.

My prayer for the congregation?

Loving God, in your wisdom you created companionship for man along with night and day, water and land. In times of sorrow, distress, hardships, and pain let us attend to one another with thoughts for others first and revealing more about our role in your kingdom than hours of self-contemplation. Let us also allow ourselves to be nurtured and cared for so that our companions can realize their potential in ministry to others. Let us find the simple gestures of love in the most complex situations, and learn to bring it back to that most common denominator, where we can find your touch in our midst. Let us rejoice that above all, God is love! Amen

Individualism

I found an article about the marketing strategies that pushed bottled water into our lifestyle to the extent that now “an entire generation is growing up thinking that drinking water comes in plastic bottles.” The author has written an entire book about the topic, but the article focuses on our throw-away-mentality and hyper-individualism. Aha, a new qualifier! In my search to find out more about this new description of our changing community, I found a firm in Colorado that works with public schools. They have attributed four key forces that fuel hyper-individualism.

• Abundant Variety. We have more choices available to us than at any time in history. Abundance of choice creates an expectation that every individual’s unique interests can and should be satisfied.
• Access to Knowledge. The rise of the internet gives us access to unimaginable amounts of information – but information alone is of little value. It is when information is organized into knowledge that it becomes a powerful tool.
• Personal Influence. The desire to influence decisions that affect our lives is deeply ingrained in us all. The advent of abundant variety and access to knowledge enables people to exercise personal influence like never before. Over time, people will turn to those institutions that do the best at facilitating people’s desire to make informed choices about their lives.
• End of Geography. Geography is not the organizing principal it once was. People lead their lives without regard to traditional boundaries of time and space. Neither business nor individuals feels aligned with governing bodies such as school districts the way they once did.

They think public schools will move away from the Era of School Accountability (Good-bye Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills?) and move towards the Era of the Individual Child. They offer examples of how these new assumptions may apply to the schools and offer some strategies for the new era. Hmmm....This Era of the Individual Child brings many conflicting thoughts and concerns.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14) You have found a myriad of combinations to create unique individuals with unique gifts, needs and personalities. Only you can answer the cries of all. We have grown in importance to ourselves, and our world enables the facade to continue. We are allowed to insulate not only from our neighbors, but also from our families spending more time with headphones than in conversation. Yes we are wonderfully made but we are not the ultimate answer to perfection. We grow in community, learning to blend talents, respecting other viewpoints, and sharing in life's joys and sorrows. Help us to continue to learn about our changing world and how we can help shape it into the cast of your dream and not our own will. Amen

First Line Response

Jane and other PDA team members will be traveling to Houma, Louisiana on Saturday to evaluate the damages caused by hurricane Gustav. Her camp in New Orleans is fine but Houma was closest to the center of the destruction. We know Gustav could have been much worse, but for those lives in Houma, it’s hard to be comforted by “how worse it could have been” when they are coping with “it came to my home.” Jane’s concerned with knowing how to help without the enormity of the situation and the lives affected overwhelming her senses, because she has connection with this community. They are not just faces on TV. She has shared meals with them. Over the past three years she’s been helping with rebuilding in the gulf, but this time she is close to the recovery and was a part of the preparation, landfall and aftermath of Gustav. Medical triage assessors must use their knowledge and skill sets to quickly evaluate and administer aide to patients acting on a kind of superficial level, knowing if they really allowed themselves to sink into the reality of the situation and the consequences that they could become so distraught that they could not help the next person who is someone’s brother, mother, daughter, or grandfather. It’s an aptitude to see without recognition, to touch without sensation, and to temporarily postpone the impact on them. Jane recalled asking our previous minister if he ever got used to making emergency visits to the hospital and consoling families. “He said he hasn't and if he did, he would know it was time to get out of the ministry.”

My prayer for the larger congregation?

Mighty God, We are in need of your strength, your power, and your wisdom. Give our first-line responders the energy they need to continue meeting need after need. Reinforce their skills and allow these gifts of service to offer hope and a sense of stability to the residents of the gulf area. Allow the responders to be treated and attended, knowing that their own lives are in need of restoration and healing. Never allow us to reach a point where we completely turn off our senses, coping as we must but never wholly abandoning or disengaging. As more hurricanes are approaching the coasts, let our country not become overwhelmed by the extent and helplessness of natural disasters instead focusing on what we can do to help. From person to person contact or by prayers where we stand, we can help. Dear God, you are the great comforter and supplier of hope. We trust in you. Amen.

Eureka!

When I walked out with the dogs this evening it was surprisingly pleasant. I had the resourceful idea of using my laptop to do some work outside and enjoy the weather. As I set up my work space outside I positioned myself so that I could see the crescent moon slowly rising in the sky with the evening colors beginning to fade. Brilliant! It was conducive to creativeness. I was like Monet, not just prepared to express impressions of nature, but actually witnessing the colors, feeling the breeze and listening to the sounds of faint wind chimes in the distance. Why hadn’t I thought of using the laptop in this way before? This new approach would surely become a new standard of practice. I was prepared to begin a masterpiece! Ready, set… WAIT! The first thing I noticed was the small flying insects being attracted to the light and my heat. Mosquitoes! Well, they didn’t seem to be landing, just investigating like sharks around a raft. Then the neighborhood dogs could sense that someone was outside and began barking. Hey, I’m a dog person, but even when I called to them and tried to assure them, they just couldn’t rest. Then I started worrying about the neighbors who aren’t dog people. And yes, the insects decided to start testing the feeding trough so I had to pack it up. I tried moving to a screened area but then I couldn’t see the moon and the breeze wasn’t as accessible. The moment had passed. No magnum opus today. I had to chalk it up to another idea in need of revision and reworking.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You are the source of all energy, thoughts, and creativity! On our own we may be able to express a second-hand interpretation of your kingdom, but if we are present in the kingdom, we are part of your masterpiece. We can feel the surge of power when we are tapped into your revelation and we are encouraged to proceed. Sometimes, our first tries don’t fit into practice as we imagined. Give us the wisdom, imagination and stamina to regroup, reevaluate and retry. Let us draw our dreams and ideas from your will and your vision. Amen

Pendulum of Routine

In most things I practice moderation. I think it’s one of the core values our dad practices and one that he finds important to pass along. Don’t get caught up in extreme diets, excessive spending, severe fads, unrestrained power or radical ___(fill in the blank). Keep a routine of hours, a pattern of work and rest. One area that I can find particularly hard to maintain is a standard for sleep; for the past few days it’s been a pendulum of extremes. Sometimes it has to do with worry or anxiety, but usually it’s simply waking up for one reason and not being able to fall back asleep, or finding the quiet time of night an excellent time for e-mail, planning, etc., or being like Goldilocks trying out different sleeping locations trying to find the one with just the right temperature, noise level and light sensitivity. It could be the couch, the floor, or our bed – I’m really not picky, but I hate lying in bed if I can’t sleep, so then I start wandering. And there is a special quietness and suspense of reality when the rest of the house and the neighborhood is asleep that facilitates my thinking and creativity. Afterwards it can be hard to quiet the brain even though you know work and real life is just a few hours away. But with an annoying alarm clock out of my direct reach, I can still get up and continue with my daytime work routine and for the most part maintain a moderate composure. This week the sleep got a little too unbalanced and I’ve gotten off schedule.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear God, You provide a constant bearing when we are wandering and distracted. Like a metronome you provide a steady rhythm that calls us to follow in beat. Help us to maintain a routine of prayer, study, worship and work. Let our daily routine begin and end in thanksgivings to you. Sometimes we are called to step out of routine when our help is needed and normal standards aren’t enough. Remind us not to be so attached to habits that we can’t break away when opportunity dictates. We are called to be radical by practicing the example of love offered through Jesus. And in our base, we feel your steady rhythm keeping us in practice with your pulse. Amen

Reading Glasses

It’s happening. I don’t even try to hide the gray; it comes back faster and brings extra strands with the arrogance of a bully showing who has the more powerful friends. There is a pair of reading glasses on almost every flat surface in each room of our house but they are not all mine. It’s often like a game of aging musical chairs, but instead of rushing to find an open chair we are grabbing for the open pair of glasses left on the table. I realized that it’s just downright dangerous not being able to read whether a switch says “on” or “off,” whether a price tag says “$10” or “18,” or whether the menu says “squash” or “squid.” I’ve wondered if we should offer extra reading glasses in the same manner we provide assisted listening devices for worship services. “Why would you want lisping devices???” Yep, the hearing is making for some creative conversations. Even though my friend and I still use the stairs at work as much as we can, there’s a certain amount of wincing and stiffness as we lumber up the flights or plod down. I was on the floor today organizing computer cables and I tried to show my co-worker how I used to prefer to sit on the floor with my knees together and each ankle at the outside of the hip. Well that position lasted about 2 seconds and then I had to unfold, never gracefully, back to side-saddle. For 20 years time left me alone, and now it thinks we’re BFF.
"You can judge your age by the amount of pain you feel when you come in contact with a new idea." – Pearl S. Buck

My prayer for the congregation?

Eternal God, You are as old as creation and as young as the next breath. You are revealed through ancient crooks and bends of river erosion and you are as spontaneous as the flicker of the breeze. Help us to keep our minds supple and yielding to your will, and mindful of actual shifting limitations that surprise even ourselves. May the circle of life be evident in our community filled with youthful wonder and learned elders, energetic activities and calming motions, spontaneous growth and staged planning, each enriching each other. Let us celebrate the uniqueness of each person and rejoice as each melds within a collective community responding to your call. Sometimes we may need glasses of discernment to see more clearly what is out of focus. Supply a healing balm for the aches and soreness as we exercise the body of our congregation to keep agile for your mission. Let our ideas be shaped by your dreams and truthful to your direction. Amen.

Caring Enough

If we want to go deeper, however, desiring that as God’s people
we will grow together toward maturity,
we must care enough to confront.
Isabelo Magalit, Filipina theologian

Today's prayer won't be so much for the congregation. What's the saying? If you point a finger at someone else you're pointing three at yourself. When I opened this e-mail devotional from Sojourners it hit me like a slap in the face. “…we must care enough to confront.” Luckily I'm pretty good about turning the other cheek and letting bygones be bygones! No need to get all worked up over something that could more easily be ignored. Another of my great super powers besides indecisiveness is conflict avoidance. "A cat likes fish, but doesn't like to get his paws wet." Who needs fish??? There might be bones, it will make the house smell, and I don’t know how to cook fish anyway. “We must care enough to confront.” I like to think I have cared enough to confront my kids when they needed correction, or that I have cared enough about a friendship to make amends, but sadly the percentages show I have an underdeveloped understanding of confrontation. I can read inspiring quotes, and I know the benefits not just for myself but for all of those involved, but when it comes to opening my mouth the words get swallowed up and I turn heel to hope that the next time my back bone isn’t pure jelly. “We must care enough to confront.” Of course by the time I do work up any courage, my words sounds more like an apology rather than constructive language working towards a measure of accountability. The final impediment is that whenever my stress level gets too high my crowning defacement is impulsive, unfounded tears. Egads! It would be rather touching if the tears came from a passion of conviction, but more often they come from incapacity to cope. How practical is that? Talk about losing leverage. “We must care enough to confront.”

My prayer?

Dear God, You so loved the world that you gave your son, confronting our salvation through his life. When I think about how meager my own attempts at reconciliation and partnership are I am filled with disgrace. I’m not even sure what to ask for God. Is it courage? Is it confidence? Is it being open to care deeply, passionately? It is so much easier to live at an arm’s stretch away; a protective distance between my world and my neighbor’s rather than being intimately connected with others. That might require my time, my heart, my involvement. It might mean disagreements along with collaboration; times of confrontations along with times of jubilation. It might mean we were maturing into your grace. We must care, O God. We must care deeply. Amen.

In All Things, Love

I stumbled across the Moravian Church during a Sunday School lesson which looked at the connection between the Wesleys and Moravian missionaries. Since I love to go off course, instead of focusing on the Wesleys as was the focus of the lesson, I decided to find out more about the Moravians. The Moravian Church is a reformed tradition started in the 14th century when there was a call to return the churches in the Moravia and Bohemia region (Czech) to simpler acts of early Christianity. One of their communities that settled in Germany in the 18th century experienced a transformation, where they “learned to love one another.” They attributed the transformation to a visit by the Holy Spirit, similar to the visitation in Acts. A few unique achievements attributed to the Moravian church during this time or renewal are:

• Setting up a watch of continuous prayer which ran uninterrupted, 24 hours a day, for 100 years.
• The origination of the Daily Watchwords – started as an attempt to keep the fire of Christian zeal burning by sharing a daily text with each member in the community. Now it is an ecumenical devotional reaching 1.5 million daily.
• The formation of many hundreds of small renewal groups operating within the existing churches of Europe, known as "diaspora societies". These groups did not intend to convert people to the Moravian Church but to awaken the hearts of believers and make them better members of the churches to which they already belonged through encouraged personal prayer and worship, bible study, confession of sins and mutual accountability

One of the things that first caught my eye as I was researching this community is their motto: “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things, love." The Canadians expands on the motto on their website:

• In Essentials, Unity: The reality of God’s love offered in Christ is what our life of faith is all about. Our faith in Christ and our commitments to live as his followers are what really matter. Christ is the ground and source of our unity.
• In Non-Essentials, Liberty: Tolerance is too easy; acceptance is our real challenge.
• In All Things, Love: Love affirms our unity rather than our divisions. Love has the power to make of our differences no difference. We believe we all have much more in common than we will ever have in difference. Love not only brings us together in God’s family but keeps us together as a community of faith

I have been receiving the watchword through daily e-mails for almost a year. Each week there is a common theme, and then two scriptures and a prayer are sent daily to re-enforce that theme. I preferred their prayer for the start of the school year much more than my own, so the prayer for the congregation will not be my own today, but will come from the prayers of the Moravian church.

My prayer for the congregation?

God of wisdom and understanding, many of us are gearing up for school -wondering, anticipating, and curious. Thank you for the gift of learning as we develop our intelligence and compassion. Thank you for those who are foolish enough to teach, strong enough to ask questions, humble enough to learn, angry enough to want to bring change, focused enough to care effectively, and wise enough to pray. Amen.