Author: lakewooducc

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE PRELUDE

Deuteronomy reminds us that the land of Earth has been provided by God to give us what we need to live in peace. 

Deuteronomy 8:6-10

So keep the commandments of Yahweh; walk with reverence in the ways of God, Yahweh.  For Yahweh, your God, is bringing you into a good land — a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and in the hills, a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey, a land where bread will not be scarce and where you will lack for nothing, a land where rocks are iron and copper is dug out of hills.  You will eat and have your fill, and you will praise Yahweh, your God, for the good land given to you. 

PRELUDE

THERE IS A SEASON: A Time for Spiritual Healing

Earthlings

Humanity has an intimate relationship with, well, dirt.  In the opening stories of our sacred texts, we are told of the creation of the ‘earthling’ from the clay of the ground.  Poet James Weldon Johnson [1871-1938] offers this retelling of that story:

Then God walked around,

And God looked around

On all that he had made.

He looked at his sun,

And he looked at his moon,

And he looked at his little stars;

He looked on his world

With all its living things,

And God said: I’m lonely still.

Then God sat down—

On the side of a hill where he could think;

By a deep, wide river he sat down;

With his head in his hands,

God thought and thought,

Till he thought: I’ll make me a man!

Up from the bed of the river

God scooped the clay;

And by the bank of the river

He kneeled him down;

And there the great God Almighty

Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,

Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,

Who rounded the earth in the middle of his hand;

This great God,

Like a mammy bending over her baby,

Kneeled down in the dust

Toiling over a lump of clay

Till he shaped it in is his own image;

Then into it he blew the breath of life,

And man became a living soul.

Amen.      Amen.

[From “The Creation,” in God’s Trombones]

So we are people of the dirt.  We are dependent upon dirt, soil, rock, clay, to root the plants that feed us, shade us, and give us wood for building and tools.

And we are dependent on the billions of miles of mycelium networks in the dirt that communicate messages among root systems to keep plants and trees alive.  We are dependent upon these networks in the soil to break down vegetation to create more soil so that plants can grow to keep us alive.  Did you know, according to scientist Paul Stamets:  “There are more species of fungi, bacteria, and protozoa in a single scoop of soil than there are species of plants and vertebrate animals in all of North America”? [Mycelium Running:  How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, Paul Stamets, p. 1]

While we may be enchanted by our cities and highways and glass clad skyscrapers as signs of progress and success, we are still fundamentally people of the dirt.

Dirt.  Humus.  The root of the word humility which does not mean servility but means having a keen awareness of our abilities and our limits.  Even Sir Winston Churchill, one of the supreme egos of the 20th century, declared:  “We are all worms, but I do believe I am a glow-worm.” 

Poet Wendell Berry celebrates our connection to the Earth.  He writes:

We come from the earth and return to it, and so we live in agriculture as we live in flesh.  While we live our bodies are moving particles of the earth, joined inextricably both to the soil and to the bodies of other living creatures.  [Quoted in Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire:  The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements, Christine Valters Paintner, p. 126] 

We have done much to diminish and deny this connection.  Work that involves the earth, the ground, getting dirty, is seen as servile.  Many have the image that getting dirty is something you pay someone else to do.  Someone of lesser class and status and certainly, means. This system of values undermines our well-being by separating us from our Mother, the Earth, from the source of our lives, and from our own essence.

And this kind of thinking also separates us from our spiritual wholeness and home.  Again from Berry, “We arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.”  [Quoted in The Soul of a Pilgrim:  Eight Practices for the Journey Within, Christine Valters Paintner, p. 126].  Being connected to the dirt fosters our well-being, sense of belonging, and wholeness. 

The ground feeds our bodies and our spirits.  Trees rooted in the soil create sacred spaces, sanctuaries, holy places.  It is the arching of enormous trees that inspired the architecture of the cathedral.  This is specifically referenced in the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain.  The architect, Antoni Gaudi, designed pillars to intentionally resemble trees, from which they were originally inspired.  That whole church is a celebration of the holiness of the earth and humanity’s connection to the earth. 

Jesus told stories that involved the earth and its issue:  seeds,  lilies, birds, foxes, sheep, fish, the fig tree, the rocky soil, the fertile soil, the sandy soil, dust, the fields of grain, grape vines, bread, wine, and other references to the earth fill his teachings.  The whole earth speaks of the glory of God, as the Psalmist reminds us.

We are dependent on the earth, on dirt, not only physically but spiritually as well.  In a microscope we see the marvels of amoebas, mycelium, and cell life, and from mountains, we see vistas of the vastness of creation.  We witness the awe of this planet, our home.  And we realize that it is all connected, we are all connected by soil, by dirt, by ground.  Astronauts tell us that from space, you cannot see where one country ends and another begins.  You are struck by the unity of the earth.  One, gorgeous, blue green marble, adorned with the cotton white of clouds. 

It’s interesting that in this time of pandemic, we have been reminded of our oneness on this planet.  What is to keep a virus molecule in one country and out of another country?  This virus is so pervasive, it has been found on Mount Everest, the highest place on earth.  And the Chinese government is creating a barrier on its national border with Nepal so that even there, on the slopes of Everest, the virus does not spread from Nepal into China.  Can the virus see the barrier?  Will it honor the border?  This is one world, and we are all connected to it, all made of its substances, earthlings, as Genesis tells us. 

Savannas, plains, hills, swamps, fields, forests, rocky mountains, deserts, mesas, beaches, woods, creating us, sustaining us, though all we may notice are the concrete and glass and steel and the structures made by human hands and ingenuity.  Yet we are dependent on the very dirt of the earth. 

Poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning tells us:

Earth is crammed with Heaven. 

And every bush aflame with God.

But only those who see take off their shoes.

So gathering here in this sanctuary, made of earth, as we are reminded by the beautiful wall of rock, with a vista of the ground and trees, we invite you to take some time to contemplate your connection to the earth, the dirt, the soil, the stuff that grounds us and sustains us.  You may sit in your seat and reflect.  You may get up, walk around.  You may take your shoes off to experience the ground under your feet. 

You are welcome to go outside.  To feel the bark of a tree.  To experience the canopy of the trees above you, a sanctuary, especially pronounced over by the Memorial Garden.

Personal Time of Reflection:  However you would like to do so, you are invited to reflect on your connection, your relationship, with the earth, from which you come and to which you will return.  How do you experience communion, intimacy, with the rocks, dirt, soil, and sand of the earth? 

Music from Hilton

Unison Reading                                                                                     Rumi

Where you put your foot on earth, my life,

Tulips, violets, and jasmine sprout.


If you take some clay and breathe on it,


It becomes a hawk, a dove, a crow!


If you wash your hand in earthen bowls


They become, thanks to your hand, pure gold.

Naming of Fathers

Introduction

We are all here, connected to the earth, because the breath of life has been breathed into the clay and we are lovingly sustained by the land.  As part of that process, there have been those who have nurtured us and cared for us.  Today we remember the fathers and father figures who have accompanied us on this journey and who have helped us to feel grounded

On this Father’s Day, let us lift up the names of men in our own lives who have fathered us and made manifest to us the power of Divine Love.

Naming of Fathers

ALL: May daughters prophesy justice and sons dream peace!

A Building Project

In the gospel of Matthew, we are given this teaching associated with Jesus:

Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the sage who built a house on rock.  When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  It didn’t collapse because it had been set solidly on rock.  Anyone who hears my words but does not put them into practice is like the fool who built a house on sandy ground.  The rains fell; the torrents came; the winds blew and lashed against the house.  And it collapsed and was completely ruined.  [Matthew 7:24-27]

A solid house. A weak house.  We know this imagery from the story of the three little pigs and the wolf!

Jesus uses the image to emphasize to his followers that the way he is offering is a way of life.  It is solid.  It is sound.  What does it mean to build your house on the rock?  There are many things that are involved in building your house on the rock.  One thing that contributes to a solid foundation is accepting that we come from the earth and we will return to the earth.  We are mortals.  We are only here on this precious earth for a short time and then we return to the dust:  dust to dust, ashes to ashes.  It’s interesting that this is part of a solid foundation for life, the house built on the rock, includes acceptance of our impermanence.   Part of the solid foundation for abundant joy and wholeness is the acceptance of our mortality and of death.

We see the importance of death in the life of the earth around us.  One example is compost.  Leaves and organic material fall to the earth.  They decompose thanks to mycelium.  And create soil.  Which nurtures the roots and fosters the new growth of other plants and trees creating more leaves.  In agriculture, there is the technique of chop and drop – plants are cut down and chopped up to fertilize and create soil for the other plants to thrive and bear fruit.  We, too, are part of this cycle of earthly life, physically and metaphorically.  We come from the earth and we return to the earth and in the process we foster new life that will continue after us.

I remember when our children were young, they asked me what I wanted to be done with my body when I died.  I told them, I want the ashes to be put in the Memorial Garden at church to help the plants grow. 

Acceptance of our mortality is not morbid or depressing or fatalistic.  It is an affirmation of the great cycle of life that has been designed into Creation.  It is a constant reminder of how sacred every moment of life is.

Mortality makes each and every moment of our lives here on this earth precious, holy.  We are only a speck of dust, here for such a short time, and we are given the awesome gift of experiencing beauty, pleasure, love, anger, pain, sadness, grief, disappointment, all the things that make us human, that make us alive.  It truly is beyond comprehension.  It is mystery.  Why we, here on this bit of rock hurtling through infinite space, have been given this opportunity, this consciousness, this gift of experiencing life in all of its glory, all of its disappointment and sorrow, all of its holy treasures.  Each and every day.  Moment after moment. 

Cynthia Winton-Henry tells us about her friend Peggy who died of liver cancer:

The first time Peggy took an InterPlay class with me she was seven months pregnant with her cherished son, Gene.  Peggy radiated such beauty as she danced with that big belly of boy.  Seven years later, her belly had filled out again, only this time Peggy was pregnant with death.  Her swollen belly created a haunting contrast against her skeletal form, yet Peggy continued to radiate more and more beauty as time passed. 

Then we hear of Peggy’s last dance encounter:

With considerable difficulty, Peggy lowered herself to the floor and curled into a tiny ball, symbolizing the place she had been before her diagnosis of cancer.  Peggy gently released the tight ball of her body and, with miraculous ease, slowly rose to her feet.  Standing tall, her arms and chest opened as she gratefully claimed the expansion of her spirit. 

As several tiny tears flowed down her cheeks, Peggy shared her profound sadness about dying.  Embodied grief.  Embodied love.  Embodied gratitude.  [What the Body Wants, Cynthia Winton-Henry with Phil Porter, pp. 210-211]

To build our house on the rock, to have a solid foundation for our lives on this earth, we need to not only accept but to embrace our mortality.  We need to see it as part of the cycle of life, the flowing of the river of life.  Death makes it possible for new life to emerge and thrive.  And the fragility and brevity of life makes our experience on this earth holy and sacred. 

To build your house on the rock, involves celebrating mortality as part of the great design of the universe.  Yes, we are all going to die.  Look around you.  Everyone you see is going to die.  Everyone you love is going to die.  In these covid months, we have seen staggering images of death.  But now, this moment, we have the privilege, the honor, the gift, of being alive. 

Shelia Collins faced many challenges in her life, not the least of which was the death of her son to AIDS.  She tells us, “When I first learned of Ken’s diagnosis, I was given the advice I would have given one of my clients: ‘Find a way to say yes to what you cannot change.’”  [Winton-Henry, p. 205].  This is building your house on the rock.  A solid foundation.  That will see you through heartbreaking grief and death itself.  Jesus is our companion in finding a way to say yes even to our mortality.

As part of our faith tradition, some people have found the way to say yes to our mortality by envisioning heaven, a life after this one, in the presence of Eternal Love.  That is one way of saying yes and building your house on the rock.  But how ever we choose to think about what happens after this earthly life ends, our faith teaches that each and every moment of this life is precious and holy.  And that the death of the body is part of the natural, sacred cycle of life. 

Personal Time of Reflection:  In these quiet moments, you may consider  How does mortality make life more precious to you?   If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, or very soon, what would you want to do before you die?

Music from Hilton

You are invited to share with someone seated near you, if you wish.  Maybe share something that surprised you from the time of reflection.

Unison Reading                                                                             John Soos

To be of the Earth is to know


the restlessness of being a seed


the darkness of being planted


the struggle toward the light


the pain of growth into the light


the joy of bursting and bearing fruit

the love of being food for someone

the scattering of your seeds


the decay of the seasons


the mystery of death
and the miracle of birth.

Rocks – The Cairn

There are many examples in the Bible where people put up a stone to mark something important, an encounter with God, or some other kind of important event to be remembered.

Here are a few:

Gen. 28:18. Jacob raises a stone beside the Jabbok River where he has encountered God, establishing a shrine to God. 

Gen. 35:14 Jacob makes another stone pillar where he has another encounter with God and calls the place Bethel.  House of God. 

Joshua 24  When the people recommit to God, Joshua puts up a stone as a witness.

1 Sam. 7:12. We are told that when God protects the Israelites from the Philistines, Samuel raises a stone, and names it Ebenezer, saying “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” 

This impulse is seen in other eras and other cultural traditions.  We can think of the standing stones of British Isles and other parts of the world. 

Stones continue to be important markers today.  We put stones as grave markers in cemeteries.  We see piles of stones in remote areas, like Mount Everest, where someone has died.  We see piles of stones in the woods or on trails as a landmark to guide others.  Stones continue to be a way of remembering something important and marking the way for others.  

In Ecclesiastes we are told there is a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together.  [3:5]

For us, this morning, it will be a time to gather stones.  Some of you brought stones or rocks with you.  We also have some here for you.

Our pile of stones will be a way to remember those who have died and to give thanks for the ways they have led us and guided us, giving of themselves in ways that help us to face the future.  It is a way of thanking them for being part of the circle of life. 

There have been many deaths the world over during these covid days.  There have been deaths around police brutality.  We are seeing an increase in mass shootings in our midst.  So much death.  In addition to that,  we have experienced the death of loved ones in our church family and have not been able to have a proper memorial.  We think of Wilbur Reid and Marg Radens and Irma Smith.  Sometimes I find myself waiting for Ann Rogers and Elinor Ross to come back to church.  But they are not coming back to church.  Many of us have had losses in our personal lives, again, perhaps not properly mourned. 

So I invite you to take a stone and hold it.  It is part of the earth, we are part of the earth.  It is a symbol of our essence.  As you hold the rock, consider the people who have died.  They are also part of the earth, in a new way.  As you touch your stone, maybe think of the ways those who have died have touched your life.  As you feel the weight of the stone, think of the weight they have had in your life, their importance, and what they have shared with you that you cherish. 

So take a few moments to hold a rock and remember. 

Music from Hilton

We will make our cairn of gratitude and remembrance.  You are invited to bring your stone forward and place it in the dish next to the altar.  As we do this, one by one, if you would like to, you may mention who you are thinking of as you add your stone to our memorial.  As you place your stone in the dish, you can think of laying down the weight of any guilt that you are carrying associated with those who have died, and you can think about releasing the some of the burden of grief which you may be carrying. 

People bring stones forward.

Litany of Reflection

Let us reflect on the pilgrimage of life; on how we all come from

the earth and all return to its womb.


In death as in life, we are all one family.


Let us acknowledge that we share this experience with all living

creatures through the unity of nature.

In death as in life, we are all one family.


Let us give thanks for the lives of those who have gone before us,

and for all the memories of them that we cherish.


In death as in life, we are all one family.


In the strength of God’s love, let us determine to keep alive in

ourselves those qualities which we admired in those who have

gone before us, for


In death as in life, we are all one family.

CELEBRATION OF HOLY COMMUNION

In the New Testament, we are told that whenever we share in communion, we are to remember Jesus.  Jesus is the vine that links us together, that encourages us to bear fruit, that roots us in the common ground of love.

We are also told that Jesus is the bread of life.  Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh tells us, “A piece of bread contains a cloud.  Without a cloud, the wheat cannot grow.  So when you eat the piece of bread, you eat the cloud, you eat the sunshine, you eat the minerals, time, space, everything.” [Quoted in Praying with Our Hands: 21 Practices of Embodied Prayer from the World’s Spiritual Traditions, Jon M. Sweeney].  It is all in bread.  It is all in Jesus.  It is all in us. 

So in this sacrament of bread and juice, we experience not only our connection to Jesus but to the earth itself, for these are gifts of the earth that nourish body and soul. 

In our tradition, we also celebrate that at this table, we recognize those who have gone before us on this earth, the communion of saints, also gathered at the table, spiritually present. 

So, as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we celebrate our oneness with the earth.  We experience our rootedness in Creation.  We express our connection to the Divine, to Jesus, and to one another. 

Communion Prayer – Silent Prayer – Savior’s Prayer

Blessing the Bread and Cup

Take your communion set, hold it in your hand and cover it with your other hand as a blessing – may this wafer and this juice, gifts of the earth, strengthen our connection to the vine of Christ so that we, too, rooted in the Divine, might bear the fruit of love. 

Take and eat – The bread of life and the cup of blessing. 

MORNING OFFERING

Offertory

CLOSING BLESSING                                                                       Celtic Prayer

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you, who,


herself unmoving, harbors the movements


and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures,

while resting contented, stable, tranquil.


Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!

POSTLUDE

Announcements

There is a season The month of June will be devoted to “There Is A Season.” Gatherings each Sunday will provide the opportunity to reflect on this season of transition in the covid pandemic. It will be a time to look back, to notice what we have been going through, and to move forward with intention. Each Sunday will be themed to one of the ancient elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. This Sunday, the theme is Earth.

Next Sunday: The theme is water. Please bring a reusable water bottle if you have one. Also, please bring some water, in the bottle or in another container.

Communion This is a communion Sunday. We are using prepackaged individual communion servings. Please know that everyone is welcome to participate in communion. Young people are invited to participate at the discretion of the adult(s) who have brought them  The Communion offering will be received. This offering is used to help people in the church and the community with basic needs such as rent and utility assistance, bus passes, prescriptions, etc. There has been heavy need for these funds. Please consider how you can help the community through this offering.

Immigration Justice: Action Item The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program provides a path to safety for Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and who, as a result of that affiliation, suffer direct threats to their safety. These visas have been long delayed. As the U.S. anticipates its final withdrawal of our Armed Forces in September, we know that we cannot simply abandon the Afghans who risked their (and their families’) lives to help us and our allies (think of the U.S. evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War).

Send a message to President Biden today! Urge the administration to provide urgent humanitarian protections, including evacuation for those who have put their lives on the line for our country. Easy, templated, from the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service: https://www.votervoice.net/LIRS/campaigns/85410/respond

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE

O Lord, take our ears and hear through them,

take our hands and use them,

take our lips and speak through them,

take our eyes and smile through them,

take our hearts and minds and wills,

and use them as lamps of love,

by which your light may shine in all

the darkness of this suffering world.

Modern Prayer, anonymous

PRELUDE                                

There Is A Season: A Time for Spiritual Healing

Many Effects of Fire

Fire.  Heat.  Energy.  Combustion.  It is all around us.  It is within us. 

Fire is at the heart of our planet and our solar system and the universe.  Fire has the power to heat, to ignite, to destroy, to refine, to cause regeneration, to cook, to purify, to transform.  It has the power to bring people together.  It has the power to sustain and protect.  It has the power to harm and to kill. 

We see fire naturally occurring in the sun, stars, and raging wild fires. 

We see humanly created fire in fireworks, sparklers, and candles.   We see it in campfires that gather people together to share stories that shape our reality.  We see it in bursting bombs and tumbling buildings.  We see fire stoking the engines of industry.  We see it in electricity which can provide light as well as spark fire.

There are many instances in scripture where we see the power of fire.  In Genesis we see the fire of the sun divided into the light of the day and the darkness of night.  We know the story of the burning bush and Moses and we’ll talk more about that a little later.  There is the pillar of fire that leads the Hebrews through the wilderness at night as they flee from slavery in Egypt.  There is the star that guides the wise ones to Jesus, the light of the world, who tells his followers that they are the light of the world with a light that is not to be put under a bushel basket.  There is the fire of Pentecost igniting the disciples to form the church.  And there is the fire of the book of Revelation leading to the emergence of a new world.  And there are other images of fire in our scriptures that remind us of the power and presence of the Divine. 

The image of fire, of light, conjures illumination, literal and figurative.  It suggests elucidation.  God’s word, a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. (Psalms)

Fire is powerful.  And its power is made manifest in many ways. 

This time of covid has been like a time of testing by fire.  We have been destroyed, renewed, and transformed.  We have seen new realities and new truths in this pandemic time.  We have seen destruction and refining and purifying.  We have been brought together around the hearth of Facebook Live and Zoom. 

We have experienced many changes during this time – in our schedules, sleep patterns, activities, habits, dress.  In how we live with our pets, what we eat, and how we shop.  We have experienced heartache, grief, loss of relationships, dreams, loved ones, jobs, and income.  And this has changed us.

When we think of the power of fire to destroy, to renew, and to transform, we see that we have experienced those kinds of changes in significant ways during covid. 

Personal Time of Reflection – Covid has had many effects.  It has been a season of transformation.  What changes have you noticed – in yourself, in the world around you, in the community, in relationships, etc.  We all know things are different now.  But how are they different?  You are welcome to make a list of these changes.  There are pads and pens for your use. 

Music from Hilton

Sharing in Small Groups

Tending the Fire

The June 2 issue of Christian Century has a collection of short narratives called Spark.  I want to share one of the stories with you.  It was written by Ingrid Rasmussen from Minneapolis:

The night after George Floyd was murdered by police, I got a call that the medic site serving demonstrators near the Third Precinct in Minneapolis needed to find a new home because of encroaching fires. The caller asked if the church I serve as pastor, located in the heart of growing unrest, would open its doors and tend to the wounded.

It was a big ask. Our building had been completely closed for two months because of the pandemic. But faithfulness and love require different things from us in different moments, and that night we needed to say yes. Because some congregants were already protesting in the area, we went from doors locked tight to doors propped wide open in about 20 minutes.

A few days later, a man approached me carrying a lantern. He introduced himself as Brian Dragonfly from MIGIZI, a Native youth empowerment organization located across the alley from the church. MIGIZI’s building survived the first night of unrest in the neighborhood, but the next night a fire spread from a neighboring structure. The building and most of its contents were destroyed.

When Dragonfly arrived to assess the situation, the building was still burning. “I decided to capture the fire,” he told me, holding up his lantern. Would Holy Trinity Lutheran Church tend the fire for MIGIZI until they could rebuild? He thought that the flame might bring some comfort to his community in the weeks and years ahead.

In our sanctuary, he set the lantern on the altar. I ran to find a candle. We shared the fire and along with it the trauma of the preceding days, the conviction that not all that was destroyed was to be mourned, and the hope that the ashy moment in our neighborhood’s life would be an opportunity for new life.

Later, I decided to bring the flame home for the night—I was more than a little fire-conscious in those days. I drove the candle home in my car’s cup holder. When I made it to my home with the flame still flickering, I wept. Even shattered dreams need tending.

Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen

Minneapolis, MN

Tending the flame.  During this covid time, we, too, have had to protect and tend the flame – of our lives and our spirits, our hopes and our dreams. 

In this time of stress and danger and threat, we have had to keep alive our humanity, our creativity, our divinity.  And we have had to help to tend the flame of others around us who have been dimming. 

So how have we fed our spirits?  How have we kept our flames burning, our coals warm?  What star has led and guided us through this time?  What spiritual practices, readings, habits, prayers, resources, relationships have been life giving?  How have we kept the flame of our spirit alit during this time?   What has led and guided us through this wilderness of covid? 

In this time of personal reflection, you may give some thought to how you have kept the light alive during these days of covid.  How have you nourished your spirit and maybe been a light for others?

Music from Hilton

Sharing in Small Groups

What is emerging for you as we emerge?

We know fire is needed to foster life.  Naturally occurring fires and controlled burns are needed in nature to spark new growth and to feed the soil with ash and debris from vegetation.  There are pine cones that need fire to release the seeds they contain to seed new trees.  So new life can come from fire.  Fire is needed for new life to emerge. 

So in thinking about this covid time, a time of trial by fire, we think about how new life will emerge.  What will come forth?  What is being brought to life?  What conditions are emerging that will enable something new to come forth? 

In the book of Exodus, Moses has escaped from Egypt to save his life after killing an Egyptian overseer.  He is busy living the pastoral life as a shepherd in the hinterland far from the centers of power.  He has gone on the down low.  And one day as the sheep are grazing, he sees a bush.  Let’s listen to that story:

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.  Leading the flock deep into the wilderness, Moses came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

The messenger of Yahweh appeared to Moses in a blazing fire from the midst of a thornbush.  Moses saw — ‘The bush is ablaze with fire, and yet it is isn’t consumed!’  Moses said, “Let me go over and look at this remarkable sight — and see why the bush doesn’t burn up!’

When Yahweh saw Moses coming to look more closely, God called out to him from the midst of the bush:  ‘Moses!  Moses!’

Moses answered, ‘I am here.’

God said, “Come no closer!  Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground! 

‘I am the God of your ancestors,’ the voice continued, ‘the God of Sarah and Abraham, the God of Rebecca and Isaac, the God of Leah and Rachel and Jacob!’

Moses hid his face, afraid to look at the Holy One. 

Then Yahweh said, ‘I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt;  I have heard their cries under those who oppress them; I have felt their sufferings.  Now I have come down to rescue them from the hand of Egypt, out of their place of suffering, and bring them to a place that is wide and fertile, a land flowing with milk and honey — the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have watched how the Egyptians are oppressing them.  Now, go!  I will send you to Pharaoh, to bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.’

[Exodus 3:1-10]

The plight of the Hebrews lit a fire in God and God enlisted Moses to respond.  So, we can think about this time of covid, and all that we have been through in the past year, as individuals, communities, and as a society, and think of the needs that have come to light.  What has gotten your attention?  What desires, callings, or needs have arisen for you?  What has troubled you?   What sacred passion has been ignited in you during this time?   What fire is God kindling in you to bring you to life, to bring life to the world? 

Before we take some time to think about this, I want to mention something.  Sometimes we may feel that it’s all that we can do to keep ourselves going.  We don’t feel we have the capacity to do anything more.  Moses could have ignored that bush.  But there is a cost when we ignore the fire, when we don’t pay attention to the passion that burns in us.  We may experience frustration, addiction, conflict, depression, apathy, despair.  There is a peril to missing your calling, to not helping, to ignoring how you are needed in the world.  There is a cost to you and to others. 

So we are going to spend a few quiet moments thinking about what has been ignited in us during this covid time.  What has lit our passion?  How are we being drawn by the fire? What desires, what callings, needs have arisen for us?  What are we needed to be doing? 

Music from Hilton

Unison Reading

Strengthen my tongue that it may

Convey even one single spark of all

Your glory to future generations.

Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321

The Matches

The bush is there, awaiting our notice, bringing God’s dreams to light.

Now it is time for the matches.

For what we are going to do, you need 90 matches.  You also need three rubber bands. 

Please get out your matches, and make 3 bundles.  One with 21 matches.  One with 19 matches.  And one with 50 matches. 

Here’s the story with the matches.  Spiritual guide and therapist, Gunilla Norris has created a practice involving matches to help with staying focussed while engaging in a process of spiritual transformation.  [See Matches:  Bringing Heart and Will into Alignment 90 Days of Practice, Gunilla Norris]

This practice involves allowing a spiritual intention to surface.  And noticing it.  Identifying it.  And fanning that flame. 

The intention.  This is not a self help goal per se.  Like, I am going to put the top on the toothpaste tube every day and train myself to always do that.  Those kinds of goals are important but this process is not designed for that.  This is about something that has been sparked in us, something that is emerging or awakening in us, and that is transforming us into more loving, fully alive people. 

After the stress of the pandemic, and all that we have been through, this match ritual is an opportunity to pay attention and see what is coming out of that experience that we want to bring forward.  Maybe you have been struck by something in these days and months of covid and it is an ember seeking to become a flame.  This match ritual is about fostering that inner intention.

Here’s the process.  Once we have identified an intention, we speak intention and light our match, once a day for 90 days.  This daily practice is an outward ritual signifying an inner intention.  It is symbolic.  While 3 weeks, 21 days, can lead to a new habit, 90 days can lead to transformation. 

The match helps to remind us of our fire within, a divine fire, seeking to be made manifest in us.  A flame captures our attention.  When we light the match each day and it burns down, we have to stop, pay attention, focus, to be safe with the fire.  This gives us time to remember our intention and keep it in focus.

Then after the 21 match bundle, there is the 19 match bundle, to make 40.  A sacred number in the Bible.  The days of rain in the story of Noah before a new world emerged.  The years the Hebrews wandered in the wilderness before beginning their new life as a settled community of justice and peace.  There is the story of Jesus spending 40 days in the wilderness, a time of preparation for his ministry.  So, first the 21 matches, for 3 weeks, getting into the habit of lighting the match, and then the  19 matches to make the sacred 40.  Then 50 matches, a time of solidifying the intention and taking us into the period of transformation.  The whole thing is a slow process requiring patience and acceptance.  A time of emergence.  Some people say after the 90 matches they make more bundles and keep going. 

Here are some more details about the match process.  Norris recommends saving the burnt match stubs in the box to help remind you of your faithfulness and how far you have come.  She also suggests decorating the box, maybe inside and out, with images or drawings or cut out pictures from magazines.  This will help to reinforce your intention.

Also, if your box has a cardboard strip inside, you can write a scripture verse or a word or a quote on that to help fan the spark of your intention.  And along the way, you may find that you want to put something in the box.

It helps if you light the match at the same time each day.  And say your intention as you light your match.   And if you miss a day, then you are to begin again with match number one.  It’s not about failing.  It’s about being honest and truthful.  And learning from your experience.  And being true to consistency.  That helps to foster integrity.  So, it’s important to be constant.  Ninety days in a row. 

You may feel reservations or doubts along the way.  That’s ok.  If you feel resistance, examine it.  Listen to that resistance.  Maybe it’s a sign that you are going deeper and that something is changing.  If you have doubts and feel the process is silly, accept that.  And keep lighting your matches.  Continue.  Let go of the outcome.  If it feels rote, well, then pay attention to that.  Are you resistant in some way, putting up an obstacle?  All of these experiences can offer opportunities for deeper awareness.  They can shed light.

So, now we’ll take some time for reflection on the intention, on what passion is enflamed in you, on what kind of transformation your spirit is seeking, what is your deep desire, how is God calling you?   

If after the time of reflection, nothing has surfaced for you, you haven’t caught sight of a fire, a passion has not been ignited within, not to worry.  Norris says to light your match each day, pursue the outward practice and something will come.  Be patient.  A spark will appear. 

Time for personal reflection.

Music from Hilton

Pairing Up

Those who would like to are invited to pair up with someone.  Share your intention with the other person.  If you are willing, consider following up with that person in the days and weeks to come.  Help to fan one another’s flame along the way.  Offer support and encouragement.  Maybe share what you see happening in each other.  Share what you are experiencing.  Having a partner is a way to keep the flame burning and see what it is showing you. 

So if you would like to, spend some time in pairs and share your intention and discuss being continuing companions on this journey.

Dedicating Our Match Boxes

You are invited to hold your box in one hand.  Place your other and over the box in blessing.  If you are in pairs, hold your box, and let the other person put their hand over your box, and vice versa. 

Let us pray:

We dedicate these matches as a symbol of our desire to be transformed by the flame of divinity, burning and glowing in us, shining the light of love in the world.  Through this process may our passions be rekindled, may our deep desires meet the needs of the world, may our fire nurture new life, growth and transformation for the good of the world.  May these boxes remind us to come out of the boxes we make for ourselves so that we can see the full light of life and love in all of its raging splendor.  Amen. 

Morning Offering

Music from Hilton

Morning Prayers — Savior’s Prayer

Closing Blessing

         Have everyone light a match not from a bundle. 

         Then say,
         Go, set the world on fire.

         St. Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556

Postlude

GATHERING MUSIC

WELCOME and ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIGHTING THE PEACE CANDLE  

We are told in the gospel of John of an encounter between Jesus and the disciples after the crucifixion:

“In the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, the doors were locked in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Temple authorities.

“Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Having said this, the savior showed them the marks of the crucifixion.

“The disciples were filled with joy when they saw Jesus, who said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As Abba God sent me, so I am sending you.’

“After saying this, Jesus breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” [John 20:19-22]

On this first day of the week, wherever we are on our journey, may we be open to Divine peace which is as close to us as our next breath.

PRELUDE                                

THERE IS A SEASON: A Time for Spiritual Healing

Breath and Connection

The Bible, our sacred text, begins with stories of Creation. In the first story, we are told of the wind brooding over the face of the waters. That word for wind also means spirit. So our story begins with spirit, air, wind churning the deeps and drawing forth the Earth as we know it with its countless life forms. A perfect storm!

In the second creation story, we hear of the formation of an earthling created from the clay of the ground. Then Yahweh “blew into its nostrils the breath of life. And the earth creature became a living being.” [Genesis 2:7]

So our story begins with air, spirit, the life force, animating the world and our species. And as humanity has developed and put the brain we have been given to work, we have learned that what we breathe is air, rich in the element oxygen. Oxygen is provided for us by the trees and plants of our environment. We have learned that we breathe out carbon dioxide, which is needed by trees and plants. So we are in a mutually dependent relationship with the natural world around us. And the oxygen atoms that form the air we breathe are the same atoms that were in the air breathed by Jesus, and the wooly mammoth, and the stegosaurus, and the all the breathing animals that have ever lived. We are all breathing the same air.

Air is our lifeline and it connects us to each other, to the Earth, to the past, to the Divine. Air is an invisible often unnoticed bond that is holding life on this planet together.

Air, wind, breath, soul, spirit, respiration, inspiration, all connected and connecting the Divine, Creation, and all life forms to one another. Seventh century monk, St. Maximus the Confessor, tells us, “God is breath.”

So, in these quiet moments, breathe, breathe deeply, pay

attention to your breathing, and feel your connection to all of life,

to yourself, and to the Divine, in this present moment.

Music from Hilton

Unison Reading

The image of air and breath is important in all religions. Incense, prayer flags, and other rituals convey this. We’ll join together in affirming this connection by reading the words of the Zuni chant together:

Beseeching the breath of the divine one,

The life-giving breath,

The breath of old age,

The breath of waters,

The breath of seeds,

The breath of riches,

The breath of fecundity,

The breath of power,

The breath of good fortune,

Asking for divine breath,

And into my warm body drawing that breath,

I add to your breath

That happily you may always live.

Connection during Covid

Divine breath, my breath, your breath, connected, commingled.

As we’ve noticed, we are connected by air. We all breathe the same air. We all need air. Air, spirit, sustains life. Air also carries sound waves which are necessary for communication through speech and language. Air makes it possible for us to talk and hear. Oral communication is dependent upon air.

And during the covid pandemic we have been reminded of the importance of connection, communication, and contact. Being together. Touch. Speech. We have seen how necessary connection is to us physically, relationally, spiritually, and emotionally. We have learned to appreciate our connections in new ways.

As humans, the world over, we have experienced separation and isolation. We’ve all dealt with restricted contacts and activities. We were all on lock down, on shelter in place. The world over.

We have all dealt with masks, separating us, restricting the visual cues of facial expressions, making it harder to understand each other when speaking,

We have learned that communicating and connecting is so important to us that we have mastered once foreign technological tools like Zoom and Facebook Live and Facetime to see and hear each other. To connect. To work. To love. To feel alive.

And we have realized how important face-to-face, interpersonal, physical contact is to us. For our well-being. Our wholeness. Our joy. We have been through these things together as a human race.

And this extends beyond our connection with other people to our connection with the natural world around us. We’ve noticed that when people were sheltering in place and driving was diminished, the air was cleaner, purer, more breathable. Remember those pictures of cities like Los Angles without all the pollution from the cars?

Remember how with our cars parked, with our movement restricted, the movement of animals and birds increased? The sound of birds chirping was raucous.

The pandemic helped us to see how we are one functioning whole on the earth, all connected. We saw the interplay between humanity and nature in new ways.

This pandemic time has given us an opportunity to examine the importance of connections – our connections to family, nature, work, community, technology, friends, the wider world, ourselves, the church, our spiritual practices, our beliefs, our species. In the face of an immediate global threat, we have had to examine everything. Even down to noticing the air around us which we are usually oblivious to.

So, in the quiet moments that follow, you are invited to reflect on how you have experienced connections in new ways during the pandemic. What connections have you become aware of? What connections did you miss? How do you feel connected in new ways? Think about this theme of connections related to the pandemic.

After the quiet reflection, you will be invited to move into small groups and share some of your thoughts in the group, if you would like to. If you prefer not to share in a group, that is fine, too. We have pads and pens if you would like to make some notes.

So take a few minutes to reflect on the theme of connection in this time of covid.

Music from Hilton

Sharing in small groups

Fear and Covid

We have considered how air keeps us alive and keeps us connected. It is our lifeline, which may be one of the reasons that this pandemic has us so undone. It is air borne. You get it from virus droplets in the air. The same air that keeps us alive can kill us. It has become deadly. And covid is a respiratory illness, it effects the lungs, which process the air that keeps us alive.

The world has one big air system that keeps us alive, and as we now know, can kill us. This has made the pandemic extremely disconcerting, unnerving, jarring, and disturbing. With other diseases, you can avoid behaviors that transmit the disease. How can you avoid breathing? Covid is a radical attack to our lifeline.

And in the midst of it, we heard the voice of George Floyd, begging, “I can’t breathe.” And everything got more harrowing and more disconcerting. Another system set up to protect and to serve, also deadly.

And there was the presidential election, another system gone awry.

At one point I went to the dentist for a cleaning. All the proper precautions were taken. The dentist noted that he thought I had been clenching my teeth in my sleep. It’s something people do when they are under stress. I told him, “If you aren’t clenching your teeth now, you should be.” It has been a difficult time. A time of being continually buffeted as this covid crisis has unfolded.

People have died. Alone. Relationships have ended. Jobs have disappeared. Schools have been closed. Dreams have evaporated. It has not been easy. It has been scary to have the world as we knew it disappear right before our eyes. Whatever security we thought we had, blown away.

So the air that we breathe, that keeps us alive, became an accessory to death. No wonder we are afraid. And it is a reminder of the many fears that we have been facing.

We want you to take some time to think about the fears that have been real for you during this time related or unrelated to the pandemic. How have you felt afraid?

You’re invited to make a list of your fears. There are pads and pens. Following a time of reflection, those who would like to may share in small groups.

Music from Hilton

Sharing in small groups

Consider your list of fears. What on that list surprises you? Perhaps share that in the small group.

Feathers and Blessings

You were invited to bring a feather to church this morning. And to bring more than one to share. So, you may get out your feather and share with others if you have extras.

If you don’t have one, it’s ok. It’s a symbolic reminder. Maybe you will find one on the way home from church.

We have been talking about air. Well, how do birds stay in the air? How do they soar? How do they stay aloft, seemingly floating on, well, nothing? They are perfectly designed for flight. With their hollow bones and feathers providing just enough wind resistance to sail aloft. Some birds fly for endless hours migrating around the globe borne by those precious feathers pushing against the air. Some birds soar on air currents endlessly, effortlessly, thanks to those feathers.

Feathers remind us of the power of the air, the wind. We don’t actually see the air, but we know it is there by its effects – enabling birds to fly. Or spinning pinwheels or wind mills. Waving prayer flags. Tinkling wind chimes. Making tree limbs dance in the breeze.

Ah, the wind. Invisible yet powerful. Like the spirit. Perhaps subtle. Perhaps conspicuous, like the sound of the wind in the Pentecost story. But there. And having an impact.

The feather is a reminder of the presence of air. Air that enables the birds to fly. Air that sustains our lives. And it reminds us of the spirit of God, of the presence of Divinity, uplifting, cleansing, refreshing, renewing, empowering, like the wind. In ways we may not even notice.

So the feather is an invitation to notice. The presence of air. The connectedness of all of creation, and our dependence on nature. It is also an invitation to notice the many blessings of our days. Moments of uplift. Perhaps much needed. Maybe from an unexpected source. Or a blessing of inspiration. From a conversation or a book or a song or a walk outside. Maybe the feather is a reminder of the blessing of a memory. Something from long ago that still has the power to move you in some way. The feather is an invitation to pay attention to those feelings, experiences, encounters, that bless, uplift, that are life-giving. Maybe they mostly go unnoticed, like air. But the feather is an invitation to notice. To connect with the blessings.

The feather is also an invitation to notice how you uplift others, perhaps with some small action or word, slight as the touch of a feather, yet bringing needed relief, hope, comfort, or inspiration of some kind. And as with the touch of a feather, the air, this may go unnoticed, you may never know that you have had an effect. And yet a life may be changed.

They say the movement of a butterfly wing has the power to change the world. Think of the power that we have. We are changing the world. But how? Are we changing it in the ways we want to be changing it?

So, we invite you to contemplate your feather if you have one, or think about the image of the feather, draw one if you like on your pad. And reflect on those blessings, received and given, that have been uplifting in some way during this covid time.

How you have been touched by blessing in this time? How has that helped you to stay aloft?

Music from Hilton

You are invited to keep your feather where you can see it daily. It can be a reminder of how we are touched by blessings each and every day. And how we can be touched by the blessings that we share.

Unison Reading

God has given to the earth the breath, which feeds it. It is God’s breath that gives life to all things. And if God were to withhold that breath, everything would be annihilated. God’s breath vibrates in you, in your voice. It is the breath of God that you breathe – and you are unaware of it.

Theophilus of Antioch

MORNING OFFERING

CLOSING PRAYERS, SAVIOR’S PRAYER and BREATH MEDITATION

In closing, we will make our breath our prayer – so that, like the writer of Thessalonians, we might “pray without ceasing.” [I Thessalonians 5:17]

Take a deep breath. And another.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Feel your lungs expand. Creating more room for your heart to be

filled with love.

Breathe deeply, allowing the oxygen in the air to relax your

nervous system. No clenching. Release those fears.

Breathe deeply increasing your capacity for compassion for

yourself, others, and the world.

Breathe deeply so that you may be more alert and aware. There

are blessings in every one of our days.

Breathe deeply allowing the Divine to animate your wearied,

withered spirit.

Breathe deeply. And be connected to the Oneness of reality.

Breathe in God. Breathe out love.

Breathe in God. Breathe out peace.

Breathe in God. Breathe out compassion.

Breathe. Amen.