Services
for this coming Sunday, March 16th, The Second Sunday in Lent, will be at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. We hope you
will join us for worship and fellowship. (It is rumored that the coffee hour
may have a St. Patrick’s Day flare.)
Readings
for this Sunday: Genesis 12:1-4a, Psalm 121, Romans 4:1-5, 13-17, John 3:1-17. 
Our Wednesday Lenten Simple Suppers will begin on March 19th at 5:30. (Last
Wednesday’s was cancelled due to weather.) Please talk to Carolyn Boldt
(767-0533) if you would be willing to provide soup, bread, or salad. We will
hear an engaging reading for about 15 minutes during our eating, then we will
converse about for a bit, and close with an informal table eucharist. We will
meet in the Prince Room.
Participating in LoveLife:
Living the Gospel of Love: To sign up, go to www.SSJE.org/lovelife You will receive a two-minute on-line
video, followed by a reflection question for the day. With this, you are
invited to join in a sequential reading of the Gospel of John. This particular
gospel, engaged in thoughtfully and reflectively, can help us all live more
abundantly the life of love we are called to live. The 9 a.m. Wednesday
services of Morning Prayer will be anchored in John’s Gospel and our daily
reflections. Yesterday’s conversation was definitely spirit-filled … and please
know that you’re are welcome, even if you are not following the LoveLife series!
Adults, do you sometimes
wonder what your children “get out of” their time in church?
Lots! I received an email from Kathy this week telling of their family’s recent
acquisition of a goodly collection of Lego figures, a gift from a family with
older children who had outgrown them. Albert set to creating the assemblage to
the left. When asked if this was some sort of a meeting, Albert said, "No,
it's church. Everyone is waiting for
communion.” How many adults, offered an
opportunity to play with Legos, would think to create the altar and chancel of
their parish church, with the congregation gathered around the table in a full
circle (well, square, since it’s a Lego board) expectantly and eagerly awaiting
the bread and wine – God-with-us as food for the journey of life! Thank you,
Albert, for sharing this with all of us!
Have you discussed with your
family making a household practice of Generosity and Sharing with others during
Lent? For full description Click Here . Here are some alternative suggestions:
Put aside one item of food each of the 40 days of Lent and donate them to our food pantry.
OR Provide “a meal a day” for a person in need by calculating the per person cost of your family supper and put that in bowl each night, giving the money to the food pantry.
OR Surprise some people and invite them to supper. Remember generosity and sharing is fundamentally about building a broad community of equality in which no one goes hungry and no one is lonely.
Food for thought and reflection … and perhaps an invitation…
Last Sunday a multi-generational group of us gather for the first of our Inquirers’ classes. As a way of bridging the variety of life and church experience that was reflected in the group and of beginning to talk about how we experience God, we were invited to tell about a time when our “hearts were warmed.” Here’s what the question evoked:
“When I am welcomed home with eager affection after a long day of work.”
“When I was hiking in a beautiful place with a group of friends, and we dove into a pool under a huge waterfall.”
“When I look at my grandchild and remember being that age myself and have a wonderfully deep sense of connection.”
“When I’m in the grocery store and I see that someone needs help [They’ve dropped all their oranges on the floor and they’re rolling everywhere.] and I turn to help and discover someone’s gotten there before me!”
“When I’m in the grocery store and I can’t reach something and someone volunteers (without being asked and with a smile) to get it for me.”
“When I was walking at the top of a cliff on the island of Iona and was able to scramble down a ways so as to peer into the nest of a family of puffins, observing at close range their astonishing beauty.”
“When I visit a friend and know that my day and hers will be better for the time together.”
“When something that was a chaotic mess has been put to rights.”
“New fallen snow,” (although maybe we’ve had enough lately!)
“When the words of a hymn melt something inside of me.”
“When my spouse creates yet another tasty meal for us to share.”
As each of us shared, I realized that our experiences covered a wonderful breadth of biblical themes, metaphors, and encounters with the holy. The list that follows pairs directly with the list above: homecoming;
the beauty of nature, baptismal water, and the joy of friendship;
family love and the power of ancestral connection;
the joy in responding to another’s need and the joy of seeing others respond as well;
gratitude and the willingness to be vulnerable
and accept help from another, even from a stranger;
the power of sacred places, the awesome beauty and variety of creation;
the power of deep friendship;
being co-creators with God in bringing order out of chaos and the gift of beauty and order;
the spellbinding beauty of the natural world made “new” before our eyes,
and the fact of infinite variety (in snowflakes);
prayers sung are prayers prayed twice (!) and the gift of music and poetry to touch our souls; being fed.
When have you experienced your heart warmed?
Where have you experienced God’s presence in your life?
See you in church! (The forecast is for fair weather on Sunday!)
Blessings, Heidi+
