A Liturgy for A Middle School Pilgrimage...

I created the following for the middle school pilgrimage at Trinity Cathedral...creating a liturgy is an honor, the gift of time with young people who do not have access to cell phones a privilege!

An invitation to worship is read:

Worship is not a play, it is not theatre or concert. It is not something to be consumed, nor it is the work of any one person. Rather it is OUR play, OUR work and OUR celebration. Join us in this holy duty! Celebrate, play and work with us--because it is in our shared life, our shared body and our shared remembrance that we welcome the presence of God!

We gather in silence around a bare table. A cloth is spread, we begin to light candles and incense. The thurifer censes the altar and the gathered company as the following is read:

The words of Aslan in C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair

"Here on the mountain I have spoken to you clearly. I will not often do so down in Narnia. Here on the mountain, the air is clear and your mind is clear; as you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken. Take great care that it does not confuse your mind. And the signs which you have learned here will not look at all as you expect them to look, when you meet them there. That is why it is so important to know them by heart and pay no attention to appearance. Remember the signs and believe the signs. Nothing else matters."

We look for the signs
Of a loving God

We look for the signs
Of an awesome God

We look for the signs
Of a beautiful God

We are the signs
Of Christ in the world.

O God of love and grace, you gave us your son and with him the command, “go and do likewise” help us to do your will and your work in the world that we may proclaim your love, live in awe and celebrate your beauty. Amen

At this time I invite us to introduce the good news together. From this time until the proclamation stomp your feet, clap your hands...for we are the instruments of God in the world!

A reading from the Gospel of Luke
Glory to you Lord Christ

Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. And when he was 12 years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and him mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.


The Gospel of the Lord
Praise to you Lord Christ

We resume our stomping and clapping until the following words are read:

A word, a prayer, a sharing.

We share in a time of guided reflection

This is God’s table and God has invited each of us here. Let us share the story, let us share the hope and let us proclaim our belief with these words:

We believe in
a loving God
a world of justice
a place for everyone
and Jesus among us.

We believe that we are called
with all the saints
to share the story
with the work of our hands
and the words of our mouths.

We believe
in a greater power
a greater glory
the breath of the spirit
and that at the end of all time

God’s love will endure.

Mary and Martha

In my first CPE unit I had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with an elderly woman who had been admitted to the inpatient psychiatric unit with severe depression. She was a vibrant and intelligent woman, and in her later years had found herself increasingly crippled by Parkinson’s disease.

A great deal of her depression stemmed from her sense that her “usefulness” was gone. In her state of physical dependence she was convinced that she was no longer a use to those around her and felt that she had become a burden. I found her to be an amazing woman, her experience and passion for life was one of her great strengths and I began to realize that much of her despair stemmed from her strong sense of duty.

Working with the story of Mary and Martha (the one where Martha is doing all the work while Mary is attentively listening to Jesus) we talked about how various points in our lives demand from us different ways of being. And, at this point in her life she was being called to be like Mary, allowing others to do for her so that she could attend to Christ.

Are you called to be Mary or Martha (or both)? Does your role/vocation/calling change from day to day, moment to moment or with each passing phase of life?

Marvelous Toy

We like to keep the toy selection in our home fairly minimalist. H has blocks and stacking cups. He has a few stuffed creatures and a wooden wagon. He has plenty and enough, but what he does not have are the wide array of things that, with the assistance of batteries, light up/sing/beep/toot/whir/fizz.

Folks have not bought us these things nor have we bought them for him. That is, until this week. We were at the toy store trying to find out how to best use the money we had after making a return for store credit. Thinking ahead to H’s birthday we bought him a simple shape sorter and a wooden xylophone. And, then, near the register as we stood with our fussy boy, L saw it. A garish piece of plastic, somewhat wand like, that whizzed and whirred...but most amazingly lit up and spun. Henry’s eyes crossed, his mouth gaped open and he was absolutely mesmerized. Needless to say, that piece of plastic (with the 3 triple A batteries required) came home with us.

And, every time we press the button that causes the spinning and the whirring and the flashing he is amazed. The joy upon his face is akin to someone in the midst of an ecstatic vision and there he is...having a quasi religious experience as he glories in the power of light. This piece of plastic has successfully calmed stormy tears. It has lit up a dark room and inspired laughter. It has caused us to embrace our little guy in wonderment at his wonder.

Light is something that most of us take for granted...we flip a switch and there it is. We light a match, we press a button--and it exists. However, for most of human history obtaining light was a much more complicated matter. Wax and wicks, oil drenched cloth, pitch and spark--and the sun’s rays. Light, particularly in the darker months was an elusive thing and I like to think that people greeted the light with the same kind of joy that H does as he is met with his spinning whirligig.

Thus, as I reflect on what it means to be the light in the world (Mt 5:13-20) I find myself thinking of the joy this particular light has brought to our child. I find myself wondering how we might illuminate the darkness, calm fears and dry tears. I find myself in awe at the glory that is creation. Because, the light has helped me to see--in more ways than one--what it might mean to be a light in the darkness.

I Want to Follow Jesus

Yes, the title of this post is the song currently stuck in my head. It's a rather saccharine tune meant for children...and is slowly making me batty.

That, and the sleep deprivation which has already made me batty, are not lending themselves terribly well to sermon writing this week.

But, thankfully, it is Epiphany. And Epiphany is a time of encountering Jesus, of divine revelation and human encounter.

A time to ask who Christ is...

But this week we have scripture that ask us who we are.

What if God (incarnate) were to sit down with you and ask "who are you". What would your answer be?

There, I think that's the start...

Helpers and Light Bringers

It seems odd, even to me, that in the midst of tragedy--like that which all too many of us witnessed in Tucson last week--that I find myself turning to Mr. Rogers. Yes, Mr. Rogers, of the neighborhood. As a child I watched intently as he slipped off his loafers and donned his slippers, hung his sweater and welcomed me to his home. There was something comforting about the sweet ritual which began each show--there was stability, love, welcome and constancy. And, as I spent time in prayer and the research that accompanies sermon preparation I stumbled across this line “look for the helpers”. I delved deeper and found the following:

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." To this day, especially in times of "disaster," I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world."

What has struck me about this statement, “look for the helpers” is how simple yet comforting it is. Because, as the vitriol began to emerge; as politicizing began; as tragedy was compounded by tragedy--the stories of helpers began to emerge. The young man, Daniel Hernandez an intern, who staunched the flow of blood and offered companionship to the gravely wounded congresswoman is one such helper. Yet, this is by no means the only tragedy in the world nor is he the only helper. When faced with the tragedy of institutionalized racism Martin Luther King Jr. became a helper; Nelson Mandela sought the end of apartheid; Desmond Tutu witnesses to the power of truth and reconciliation; Mother Theresa served the poor; Jonathan Daniels martyred in Alabama during a semester spent working for equality; Dorothy Sayers who used her eloquence to share her love of Christ; there are many, many more notable folk--people who’ve made the news and our history books or who’ve been officially recognized. Yet, I am positive that each and every one of us can name helpers who have walked with us in our own lives, in our own tragedies.

One of my own light bringers was a woman named Karen who facilitated a glbt teen group on Maui--while Karen was most decidedly NOT a Christian; she was a former nun now turned pagan--she clearly exemplified the love and compassion of the kingdom of God through her work with marginalized teens. Take a moment, just a moment, and think of someone in your life who has been a helper, a light bringer, a “saviour” to you in some capacity or another.

These are the people who are a light to the nations; these are the people who have seen tragedy in the world and responded with the love of God. These are people who are called to be saints. These are people who have stood before the powers of evil and been like the rock for which Simon called Peter is named.

Yet, these light bringers are not called to be saints alone...as Paul writes they are called “together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours”.

In EVERY place, in the here and the now. This means that we are called to be light bringers, we are called to be helpers, we are called to be saints. We are called and these passages this day, they are a call to action. We are asked by Christ to “come and see”; to follow; to witness and in doing so we must respond. Like Simon, we are to be transformed.

That is, IF we heed the call; if we are willing to open our eyes and see and respond by living out our vocations as Christians. And, this, this call to seek Christ to follow Christ is a focal point of Epiphany. As I told the children last week we are called to be like the wise men--seek Christ; give our gifts; and keep Christ safe.

But, this week we can elaborate based on the scriptures we’ve shared today. It is our calling to be a light to the nations--to demonstrate how the love of God lived out in justice and mercy can transform the world. It is our calling to be saints--to live a life that truly seeks and serves Christ in every person and acts as Christ’s hands and feet in the world. It is our calling to testify to the presence of Christ in our lives, to invite others to “come and see”.

It is our calling to be helpers. so that when tragedy strikes others can look to us and see the transformative power of love.
It is our calling...to come and see.
Come and see...
Because Christ continues to be revealed to us...

Why yes, I am a hyperverbal extrovert. Why do you ask?

As I step, boldly, into the New Year I intend to write a bit more frequently. If you enjoy what I write, well, enjoy! If you find me an ever tedious navel gazer with too much time on her hands...well, then, find yourself a copy of the New Yorker and enjoy!

That said, I work best in conversation, with a real (or imagined) audience/partner in dialogue. Bouncing around ideas, developing programs, writing sermons--all of these things work better for me, more organically, when I do them with others. Which, is part of the reason why my blogging frequency has increased.

As a part time clergy person who works at home (ahhhh, the joys of e-mail/phone/on-line sermon research and an extensive home library!) I find that I get fairly isolated, fairly quickly. So, this blog becomes a means of getting my words out there to an audience (either real or imagined) that matters.

So, how do you work best? Do you need an audience, do you blog, do you work best ALL BY YOURSELF in the cozy hermitage you built out back? Reply, if you're real--or not, if you're imagined! Where do your best ideas come from?

The best and hardest of 2010

This is not a "best and worst" of post. Rather it is the best and the hardest--because I realize the benefits of much of the hard stuff in this year of monumental firsts and the hard things are by no means bad things (unless you count the sleep deprivation ;)

Best moments:

Positive pregnancy test
Getting into the second trimester
The first "real" contraction
Pushing
The baby's first time in my arms
nursing, 13857983759365 times
First smiles
First laughs
Watching our son become his own person
Becoming moms, together
Watching other people fall in love with our son
Wearing our baby in carriers, "close enough to kiss"
Realizing that the smacking noise the baby loves to make with his lips is his version of the kisses he always gets
The sense of closeness I now feel to the "BVM" (Blessed Virgin Mary)

Hardest moments

Fear of loss throughout my pregnancy
The sleep deprivation
Resuming work
Having to pump in churches with NO privacy or having to leave mid-mtg to pump
Going through major body transitions with a sense that so many were watching
Feeling isolated
Being forced to become more disciplined in my preaching (sleep deprivation and extemporaneous preaching don't mix!)
The enforced prayer time of the nursing mama
nursing, 13857983759365 times

All of that said...2010 was filled with so many blessings. And, I leave the year with a poem (yes, I wrote it. No, I did not get into the creative writing class I wanted to take in college because the professor did not think my poetry good enough--so keep that in mind as you read ;)

Birthing Amongst Women

Mary, mother of God,
While I screamed
You comforted
While I waited
You watched

The first suckle
As two bodies met
Was within your arms
Cradled together
Women and their son.

Grace became you
A slippery,
Floppy creature
Lion's roaring into our arms
Witnessed

A love unimagined.