November 11, 2022

This has been a deeply tender period of time for many. The death of Saint Annian Hadley Bakker is a such a great loss and sadness for all who knew Hadley and Lori and their family. Some in our community are grieving other losses and navigating other difficult situations as well. Our communities and our nation just wrapped up another divisive and stressful election cycle. We are still figuring out how we are emerging from an unprecedented time of global pandemic. This is a tender time, in many ways.

Lori Bakker shared the following piece by Bishop Steven Charleston this week, and it feels just right for this moment:

Let us treat one another with a gentle touch, a hand of grace and comfort, for none of us knows what tomorrow may bring, and none of us is immune from what we least expect. All we know for certain is that our time to love is far too brief. The least we can do is provide a safe space for one another along the road of life, a place of understanding and support. We have that gift to offer, that quiet blessing to share, giving to others what we may need one day ourselves, a shelter from the storm.

My prayer for you this week is for you to have the opportunity to find, to share, and to be a hand of grace and comfort...a safe space along the road of life...a quiet blessing...for and with one another. This week - and always.

November 4, 2022

Can you hear them?

Can you hear them as they pass by? Can you feel them standing just beside you? They are the ones who have gone before, saints who have touched our lives. They are the family to which we belong, ancient and never ending. Our ancestors watch over us, their constant vigil keeping. Their wisdom surrounds us. Their healing a river through channels of time. Can you hear them? They speak of a love they have seen, love beyond imagining, love that holds us safe, until we rise to meet them.

The above was written by Bishop Steven Charleston, and I return to it again and again - on the Feasts of All Saints and Souls and on so many regular ol' days as well. That the ancestors are here, with us, guiding, guarding, celebrating, keeping vigil, is something I trust to the core of my being. I depend on the wisdom of the ancestors nearly as much as I depend on air and water. In these sacred days as we honor them, I am filled with gratitude - for those I knew, for those you knew, for those who we know only through the ancient stories. I am filled with awe at the connections we still share with them. Awe at the thinness of the veil, in these holy days.

Their wisdom surrounds us. Their healing a river through channels of time. Can you hear them? My prayer for you this week is that you can hear them - the saints of your lives, the Saints of our common life. That you can hear them, feel them, sense them around you. This great cloud of witnesses, offering wisdom, companionship, and cheering you on. Always cheering you on!

October 28, 2022

Your 2022 ECMN Delegates - Emilie Rexeisen and Joan Stovall - and Bob Furniss and I are at the ECMN Convention in Rochester this weekend, along with other Minnesota Episcopalians from near and far. We are connecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and engaging in and with the business and mission of the church. This is the first in-person ECMN Convention in three years.

One announcement that will be made at Convention is something I want to share with all of you: the Bishop will be appointing me as Vice-President of the ECMN Council for the next year, with the possibility of serving for up to three years. He invited me to consider accepting this role several months ago, and after prayer and discussion with the wardens (and my husband!) I said yes. The ECMN Council is somewhat like the Vestry of the ECMN. The Bishop is Council President and I will work with him in supporting the Council in the good work they do on behalf of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. (This will in no way affect or take from my commitment to Saint Anne's.)

One reason I said yes is that I am inspired by the vision Bishop Loya has set forth for the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. The ECMN identity statement is: "We are one church in 104 locations, bound together by our commitment to follow the Way of Jesus, joining God in God’s project to heal the whole world with love." As for how we accomplish this, Bishop Loya encourages 4 approaches: 1. Discipleship: living into the teachings of Jesus as best we can. 2. Faithful Innovation: joining the Spirit in new ways to live out the Gospel. 3. Justice: becoming Beloved Community. 4. Congregational Vitality: thriving faith communities of all sizes in all places.

Over the course of the coming year, I hope to dig more deeply with you into some of these practices. I'd love to hear your ideas.

My prayer for you today is that you are able to appreciate the deep roots we have as Episcopalians. Our connections near and far to people from all different walks of life, including those who have gone before us, support us in sacred ways. We are better together, thanks be to God.

October 21, 2022

October 18th is The Feast of St. Luke on the church calendar. St. Luke is the Luke of Gospel fame, as in "Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John". The same writer is believed to have written the Book of Acts. The story around Luke is that he was a physician. The truth is probably closer to the idea that there were several writers who contributed to this Gospel, any of whom may or may not have been physicians. But the writer(s) of the Gospel of Luke do emphasize the healing stories of Jesus, and the wide-reach of that healing. The Book of Common Prayer offers the following for the Feast of St. Luke:

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Several years ago, our own Richard Hemming taught me that the days surrounding the Feast of St. Lukes are often known as St. Luke's Little Summer in the Northern Hemisphere: those days in late October that are especially warm and golden, especially cherished, since we all know what's coming next. It is proving to be true again this year. Thank you, St. Luke!

My prayer for you today and always is that all who are in need of healing of any sort come to know, in body, mind, and spirit, the golden warmth offered by the healing hands of Jesus upon them.

September 30, 2022

When my husband and I stepped onto our street for our evening walk earlier this week, we saw what looked to be a small rock, moving slowly down the street. Closer inspection revealed not some sort of natural phenomenon in the form of a mobile rock, but a newly hatched turtle. It was a tiny thing, right in the middle of the road.

There was no way to tell where it came from, but the road did not seem like the best place for our new friend to hang out, so my husband picked it up and we carried it about a 1/4 mile to the neighborhood pond, where we set it gently on the grassy bank.

For the rest of our walk, my inner over-thinker came out. What if the turtle had been born in a nest near our home and needed to be there for safety? Would the turtle be disoriented in its new surroundings? Was the street was where the turtle had wanted to be, and we messed it all up? I went back and forth between feeling like we did a good deed, and wondering if we caused unintended harm.

(Did I mention I am an over-thinker at times?!)

In the end, this was my conclusion: we'll never know. We'll never know if we did right by this turtle or not. All we can know is that we analyzed the situation, our hearts were in the right place, and with all good intentions we did what we thought was best. That's all we can know.

This is life. We are presented, over and over again, with situations for which we will not, and do not, have all of the answers. And none of us will ever do everything perfectly. The good news is aren't asked to or expected to. All we can do is do our best to act with kindness, good intention, and integrity. We can look to the stories of our ancestors for guidance. We can look to the teachings of Jesus for guidance. We can look into our own hearts, radiating the love of God out into the world. And we make our best decisions.

My prayer for you this week is to know that in all of your endeavors, your best is good enough for God. Which means it's good enough. Your heart, your integrity, your kindness, is enough. You are enough.

September 16, 2022

I spent a few days camping in the woods this week. We were only an hour from the Twin Cities, but the early fall sun was warm during the day, the nights were perfectly cool for sleeping, the bugs were minimal this time of year, deer came around to visit often, and there were were whole stretches of time where nothing could be heard but the wind in the trees. It was calming and centering and just what I needed.

Driving back into the Twin Cities was jarring. Traffic and honking. Police sirens. Heartbreaking and disturbing stories on the news about migrant families being moved around as if they were political pawns and not real people. And back at home, the to-do list was still waiting!

It's easy to just wish I could go back to the woods. Deer make lovely neighbors and the wind in the trees is much more pleasant than the news on the radio. But the reality and truth is that we live in both worlds: the calming beauty around us, and the messiness, and sometimes heartbreak, that comes hand in hand with the joy and energy of living in community with one another. The truth is, it probably takes a little of both to most deeply live into both.

Jesus went off by himself sometimes - but he always came back. My prayer for you this week is to find balance where you need it. Wind in the trees when you need some calm, and some energy and joy to be found in the returning. Even if it is a bit jarring!

September 9, 2022

The end of summer has been busy behind the scenes at Saint Anne's, as your staff, Wardens, Vestry, are looking ahead to fall and finally the ability to gather in person in all of our various capacities. We're planning a Ministry Fair, freshening up our Confirmation and Children & Youth programs and our Choir program, planning Peace & Justice projects, considering Adult Ed topics, and starting to look toward our 2023 Pledge Drive. The emails have been flying, the phone is chirping non-stop, and buzz is in the air. It's exciting to daydream and then to make those dreams realities.

And meanwhile, the world continues to spin in the here and now. Kids are going back to school. Queen Elizabeth, the titular head of the Church of England, has gone on to greater glory. The 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is this Sunday. We in Minnesota are staring to notice the beginnings of fall leaves and earlier sunsets.

Even as we look to what's next with anticipation, we are reminded to mark and honor the passing of time. We are reminded that the life we are given is precious - and not promised. A life of faith involves looking toward the future with a vision, and each day we are given is meant to be savored.

My prayer for you this week is to find one thing to plan for with joy, and one thing to take in slowly and with gratitude, in the here and now. Both are holy.

August 19, 2022

As I write this to you, I'm in the passenger seat of our full-to-the-brim car, somewhere in the middle of Missouri. We are taking our daughter to her first year at the University of Kansas. The drive is long and the sky is wide and there is a lot of space for reflection.

This time in the car is a middle time. We're leaving what was, but not yet at what will be. As we drive, we're still a cohesive unit: listening together to an audiobook, stopping together to stretch our legs, sharing water and snacks and phone chargers. Tomorrow Tessa will move into her dorm and will launch into something new, on her own. The next time we're together, we'll all have grown and changed in ways we can't know yet.

I've heard the between times of our lives compared to swinging from one trapeze to another. There's a moment in time where you need to let go of one trapeze bar in order to grab another, and in the letting go you're one part exhilarated and one part terrified. One part wanting to hang on, one part ready to leap. To be clear, I've never personally swung on a trapeze and it is not exactly on my bucket list. And to be perfectly honest, I don't love the feelings between times bring. Solid? Safe? Secure? Now those are feelings I enjoy. Flying untethered through the air, not as much.

Our God, however, seems to be a God of Trapeze Flying, and is constantly directing us to new things. New ways to learn, new ways to grown, new ways to experience this one precious life we're given. And that means our God is constantly leading us to between times. I'm trying to remember that, driving through the middle of Missouri. This too, this letting go we all must do, is of God. My prayer for you this week is that whether you are holding solidly to a trapeze bar, or flying through the air to catch the next one, whether you are holding on or letting go, you are meeting God in it all.

I will still be in the between this weekend and will not be at church on Sunday. I'm thrilled to let you know that the Rev. Gwen Powell, who knows a little something about between times, will be there to celebrate with you.

August 12, 2022

On Thursday I spent a little time moving chairs in the sanctuary to create space for the Red Cross Blood Drive that will be held at Saint Anne's today (Friday) from Noon - 6 PM. Though I was in there alone, I was definitely not alone. Saints and angels kept me company, and you were there as well, all of you, just as surely as I was.

With outdoor services since the beginning of June, it's been a little while since we've all been together in the sanctuary, but along with the saints and angels, your presence in that space is palpable. Your laughter and tears. Your prayers and longings. Your love and losses, your light, and the hope you carry. It wasn't lost on me that I was clearing space in that room so that we might all give blood: share lifewith one another. That's what we do, isn't it? Share life with one another. The ups and downs, the joys and the sorrows.

This Sunday we will have the joy of welcoming Amanda Fredrickson in baptism. Baptism is central to how Episcopalians see our place and purpose in the world. We believe every person is created in the image and likeness of God and is loved beyond imagining. Baptism is about welcoming all into this belonging. We believe every person has been given gifts needed for the healing of the world, and everyone is needed for that healing. Baptism is about the commitment we make to help create the world we know is possible. And Baptism is about the promise of new life. The promise that all things are always being made new, sometimes in unexpected ways and places. The promise that even death is not the end.

As I moved the sanctuary chairs this week, I thought about all of this. I prayed for Amanda, for Christian, her husband and baptism sponsor, for each of you, for myself, for our community, for all who will receive the gift of new life through the blood we will donate. I prayed for all that has been and all that will be. When I was finished moving chairs, the newly open sanctuary space felt just right. It still held every bit of who we've been, every prayer that's ever crossed our lips, every sorrow, every joy, every note of music played, but it was also ready for something new. Something waiting to be born. It reminded me that we're all always on the cusp of something new waiting to be born. Thanks be to God.

August 5, 2022

It is too easy, once August comes around, to forget to live in the moment. Thoughts about earlier sunsets, tightening up routines and schedules, and wearing shoes other than flip-flops start creeping in. "It will be fall before we know it," we say to one another. Back-to-school sales have been going on for weeks. It's practically September, isn't it? Then we might as well start thinking about Halloween... Thanksgiving... And all too soon, we've blinked our time away.

But this week my husband and I met dear friends for dinner on a patio and as we all toasted (with our drinks, not in the sun, though it was 88 degrees and sunny on that patio!), my friend said, "Happy Summer!" It struck me right away that she spoke in the present tense. Not "Farewell Summer", not "It was a good summer", but Happy Summer. Here and now.

My friend's toast pulled me into the present. There are weeks left of another glorious Minnesota summer, with its bursts of colorful prairie flowers everywhere and lakeside parks that just beg for someone to sit down with a picnic blanket and a full basket. There is evidence of the Creator's hand everywhere you look. Here and now is all we really have, and here and now should be enjoyed.

My prayer for you this week is for slow moments. Time to soak it all in. Time to be in the here and now. My prayer is for time for your heart to beat in rhythm with the ripples on the lake, and for you to see Spirit dancing in the shimmering water. My prayer is for August to linger, so that we can too, right here and right now.

July 29, 2022

A few nights ago, a parliament of barred owls* showed up in the trees in our yard. It was, at first, entirely baffling. We had no idea what we were hearing in the yard other than a noisy bunch of critters, whooping it up about something they deemed important. For a few minutes we thought they might be turkeys, and then felt badly thinking no, maybe a coyote had found dinner. As the noises and calls continued we were more and more puzzled. Finally, we went outside to investigate and found the sounds coming from the trees. We took a video and friends on Facebook let us know they were barred owls. 

We live in Mendota Heights, in a standard suburban neighborhood, on a standard suburban street. There is a little bit of woods near us and the Mississippi River is just a mile away, so we occasionally hear or see coyotes, fox, and turkeys, but these noises were unlike anything we'd ever heard. Birds of the World calls the barred owl calls “a raucous jumble of cackles, hoots, caws and gurgles.” Here's a listen, if you're as new to them as we were.

The most amazing thing about our Great Owl Experience was that it was so unlike anything we've experienced before. We've lived in our home for 20 years, but no owls before this week. We've been hiking and camping in woods from the Smokey Mountains to to the Pacific Northwest. And of course all over Minnesota. No owls. It was in no way on my radar that an entire parliament* would show up in my yard one night, calling so loudly that they called me out of bed.

Isn't life an incredible surprise?! Thanks be to God!

My prayer for you this week is that at least one incredible surprise will make itself known to you. It might be puzzling at first. It might be noisy enough to keep you up at night. But my prayer is that it brings you a sense of wonder about the world, and a sense of awe about the gifts we are continuously given, often in the most unexpected places and the most unexpected ways.

July 22, 2022

I have often wondered how our Saint Anne's came to be called Saint Anne's. Why Saint Anne and not Saint.... Someone Else? I've asked around and read through our historical documents, but all I can discover is that the name was voted on by members of the congregation. I can't seem to uncover what inspired the decision. (If you are reading this and you know, let's talk!)

It's an uncommon choice. There are other churches called Saint Anne's, yes, but Anne's story, and her role as the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, isn't recorded in the Bible: oral tradition and extra-biblical writings detailing her encounters with the Holy have told Anne's story through the centuries. This makes her story a bit less-known in today's world, and a less-common choice as the patron saint of a church. 

I love that Anne's uniqueness as a patron saint is reflected in the ethos of our Saint Anne's community. That Anne's story appears in wisdom writings outside of traditional Bible stories has inspired our community's interest in non-canonical wisdom writings. Anne's story as a person who carried hope in her heart and grounded herself in prayer seems to be reflected in the outlook found in the Saint Anne's community. Anne's encounters with nature were an important part of her spirituality, as is true for many at Saint Anne's. And let's not forget Anne's flexibility and willingness to follow Spirit wherever She leads with trust and delight. That is definitely the Saint Anne's we all know and love.

I am looking forward to celebrating our patron saint together this Sunday at our annual Saint Anne's Day celebration. Our service will be at 9:30 as is our regular summer schedule, and we'll have a festive celebration to follow. Come one, come all, Spirit calls us in!

July 15, 2022

I spent an afternoon this week with two of my East Metro Episcopal Church colleagues: the Rev. Anna Doherty from Christ Church in Woodbury, and the Rev. Lindsey Biggs, the new priest at Saint Mary's, in St. Paul. It was such a pleasure to invite Anna and Lindsey to Saint Anne's, the midway point between the three churches, and give them a tour of our beautiful grounds, building, and sanctuary. It was wonderful to hear about everything happening in their communities, and it brought each of us a feeling of connection to something bigger than ourselves to hear that some of the same wonderings, some of the same explorations, and some of the same desires to grow into what's next for the Episcopal church in this world are being expressed in each of our communities.

More than anything, it was wonderful to imagine in an outward way again, after so long of being so (necessarily) inward focused. I hadn't realized how much I missed the spark of Spirit that comes from connecting with other communities to share and hope and dream more widely. My afternoon with Anna and Lindsey reminded me of this offering from Bishop Steven Charleston, posted on his Facebook page this week:

What do you need most right now? What would be of the greatest help? Once you have clarity of focus you can create a spiritual strategy for yourself. That will include prayer, of course, but it can also include intentional reading, small group conversations, meditation, contact with the Earth...or any number of other sacred resources designed to support you. Our needs are not always met quickly or easily, but they feel less overwhelming when we have a plan to cope with them. Your primary need is a good place to start on the way to establishing wholeness.

My first prayer for you this week is time to discern the question What do you need right now? My next prayer for you is one of gratitude. Thank you for being part of this community and the support we offer one another in answering questions like this - first for ourselves, then for our church community, and then for the wider world. Little by little, we are laying the foundation for the wholeness that comes from living into the answers. Dreams and visions become God's beautiful reality when we make it so, together.

July 1, 2022

I've mentioned before that Rumi, the13th-century Persian poet, theologian, and mystic, is often a source of wonder and inspiration for me. The way he shares his understanding of God feels to me like a door to an enchanted garden. This week, this long, winding, and wearing week, when I found myself very much in need of some enchanted garden time, I opened a book of Rumi poems and came across this simple, single, line:

“Where there is ruin, there is hope for a treasure.”

Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure. My prayer for you this week is that amidst all of what feels like ruin in the world right now, your hope for treasure is not diminished. My prayer is that you are able to hold fast to the goodness of the world: the care and compassion of others, the care and compassion in your own heart, the beauty of a summer day, the joy of a child on a playground, the presence of the Divine all around us. My prayer for you this week is some time in a Divinely enchanted garden. Breathe deeply, and take your time.

June 17, 2022

Unless it is too cold or too wet outside, my husband and I generally go for a walk each evening. We don't have a set time, or a set distance, we go whenever and for whatever length of time we can fit in between dinner and evening meetings and the general busy-ness of family life. As the days get longer this time of year it always feels like we have more space in our days. Our walks get longer and we often choose to walk "a new way", randomly turning down this street or that, trying to find something new-to-us.

It is surprising that after living in the same neighborhood for 20 years there are still "new ways" to go - a new corner to turn, or some "Have we noticed this before?" moment. The way there is always something new to see, even after walking the same streets for 20 years, makes me think about the idea that our God continually "makes all things new". Perhaps this kind of understanding of God is what comes of a faith rooted in not one but two stories of Creation. And it might have a whole lot to do with our resurrection stories as well. But what I've been pondering lately is myrole in seeing as new the things I desire to be made new. How does God ask for my partnership in this work?

When the world feels stuck, when we feel stuck, what old things can we try to view in a new light? What can we discover about ourselves, about the world, about God, if we look for opportunities to shift our lens and our thinking? In a world that does feel very stuck sometimes lately, I invite you into this practice. What old thing can you look at in a new way this week? What does it reveal to you about God? And about your place in God's world?

My prayer for you this week is that the place you feel the most stuck, or have the least hope, will shift when you invite God to give you a new perspective. If not, keep asking. Keep turning those corners. Something new will come with time. And when it does, please share your "all things made new" stories with me and with one another: sometimes it's through the eyes of each other that we can see most clearly.

Happy PRIDE

HAPPY PRIDE, one and all! 

I moved to Minnesota from Eugene, Oregon, 25 years ago this month. My husband and I moved into an apartment on Loring Park, just up the block from St. Mark's Cathedral, just before PRIDE weekend. We had no idea what to expect when our new neighbors told us Pride in the Park was coming, but we woke up on one of our first mornings there to music, rainbow balloons, glitter, and glowing, happy, faces right outside our doorstep - and as far as the eye could see. It was a beautiful way to start our lives in Minnesota.

There are a few passages in the Bible, known sometimes as "clobber passages", that have been inaccurately used by some to condemn LGBTQ+ people and relationships. In truth, the cultural, historic, and linguistic data around sexuality and gender in ancient cultures tells us that the practices these passages condemn have nothing to do with the mutually beneficial, consensual, same-sex relationships (otherwise known as just "relationships"!) we know today. Nor do these passages speak to personal gender identity. And Jesus never mentions same-sex relationships or gender identity at all. 

What Scripture does tell us is that God created the full breadth and depth of humanity in God's own image. And our Creation story uses a very particular literary device, called a merism, to emphasize that point. A merism is a set of two words that serve as endpoints to convey a full spectrum. An example of a merism in the Creation story is "morning and evening on the first day". This does not mean only morning and only evening, but also everything between. Later, Scripture tells us to care for "the widow and the orphan". This does not mean we care for only elder women and young children, but all vulnerable people. Jesus said he was "the alpha and the omega", but was not only the beginning and the end, he also encompasses everything between.

There are many theologians who believe, as I do, that the pairing of "man and woman" in the Creation story is also a merism. "Man and woman, God created them" is mean to convey "man" and "woman" as points on a continuum rather than two discrete categories. There is a full spectrum of humanity between those two far-end points, and many understandings of the connections and love people share. Every bit of it is a beautiful reflection of God.

This month, as we celebrate the reflection of God found in each and every person, and every loving bond between people, my prayer for you is that you are able to live in the world proudly as your authentic, true, glowing-with-a-spark-of-the-Divine, self, whomever that might be, and however you might express that. Today and always. 

June 3, 2022

My sweet grandma died just before Memorial Day weekend at the beautiful age of 102. As many of you know, she was one of the loves of my life, and one of the guiding lights of my life. Her own life wasn't always easy, but at least a few times each day she would find something for which to "thank the good Lord above!". She loved a good shoe sale, babies, the Episcopal Church, animals, and Aldi's, possibly in that order (but don't tell the good Lord above!).

My grandma's funeral was held at her small Episcopal church in Northern Wisconsin. The service was beautiful, as the Episcopal funeral liturgy always is, but the most beautiful part was the group of church members who did what church members do: they took care of us. They greeted us at the door. They offered us tissues. They baked bread for Eucharist. They set out tablecloths and flowers. They served food. They washed dishes. They shared with us how much they loved my grandma. They sent her out in the way she lived her entire life: by serving as Christ's hands and feet.

There were very few Sundays, in her entire 102 years, that my grandmother missed church. Oh, she loved God alright. She also talked to God constantly, she didn't need church for that. But she knew that a church community is unlike any other. A place to learn and grow, to laugh and cry, to serve and be served. It is not a small thing, to be part of a community like that. A community like Saint Anne's. One reason I am so looking forward to beginning outdoor worship again is the chance for our two services to be blended again, into the one congregation we are at heart. And, at our service this Sunday we will officially be welcoming "new" (and not-so-new) members into this beautiful community of people doing our best, the same way my grandma's church does, to follow Jesus. A community which laughs together and cries together - and does plenty of dishes together. A place to serve and be served, and then take that love and care beyond ourselves. We are blessed. Thank the good Lord above!

May 27, 2022

My heart has been heavy this week, as I know yours have been, too, with the news of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. It is unimaginable, and yet all too common.

Whenever these atrocities occur, a public battle ensues between legislators who offer "thoughts and prayers", and rightfully furious citizens who demand action. As people of faith, it sometimes helps to remember that we are called to both. Prayer is what offers us strength and resolve to then go out and do the work that needs to be done. I read a poem this week on the connection between prayer and action that spoke to me:

We pray for the hungry,
And then we feed them.
That's how prayer works.

We pray for the lonely,
And then we enter into their lives.
That's how prayer works.

We pray for the naked,
And then we clothe them.
That's how prayer works.

We pray for the stranger,
And then we welcome them.
That's how prayer works.

A few stanzas later, the poem offers this:

We pray for an end to gun violence,
And then we repent of our colossal failure.
We stop making excuses,
We demand that we change our hearts and minds,
And we act.
That's how prayer works.

(The Rev. Charlene Rachuy Cox)

I do urge you to pray, this week, and always, for those experiencing the deepest pain and grief imaginable. I urge you to pray for students, who go to school fearful. For teachers and other leaders. I urge you to pray for change in the way we idolize guns in our country, making them a god. Pray for yourselves, and the built-up grief and trauma you carry. And then I urge to you to feel empowered to take action. The Peace & Justice Team has some suggestions as to what you might do, if you are looking, - see below, within this Announcer, for that.

In the middle of the deep grief of this week, as you pray and as you act, my prayer for you is that you are able to hold on to hope. As I shared in a letter to Saint Anne's families with children this week, one of the most powerful moments I've ever experienced was at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., after the Parkland shooting. The organizers had been expecting 100,000 people. 800,000 showed up. The crowd was largely students and the speakers were largely students and though I am as worried about our kids as all of you, I also see hope for the future in their passion, their voices, and their demands that their world not look like this. I believe in them. We will get there. Thoughts and prayers alone won't do it, but we will get there. A world where all things are made new is God's great promise and it's a promise I trust.

Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy,

No Mow May

My family is participating in No Mow May for the second or third year in a row. And for the second or third year in a row, we are the only family on our block participating. Though we are glad we have an opportunity to help our pollinators thrive, there is a part of me that cringes a bit every time I pull in and out of our driveway and compare our neighbors' neatly trimmed yards to our own shaggy one.

I never took myself to be a person concerned about what my neighbors think of me, but apparently all it takes is a few weeks of letting the grass grow and I find myself wanting to either duck and hide my face or shout out to every person who walks by, "It's No Mow May!" To be clear, our neighbors are all wonderful people who likely aren't thinking anything at all about our lawn, let alone making judgements. No, the source of my cringing is all internal.

I don't know why we do this to ourselves. Why we ever doubt our belovedness, fail to see the brightness of our own light, convince ourselves, against all evidence to the contrary, that our neighbors disapprove of our lawns? We humans are a funny bunch.

Now, my kids, the lawnmowers in the family, are campaigning for No Mow June, July, and August as well, and if that should happen (it won't!), I may need to reconsider. But for now I am going to practice shifting my focus. I know my neighbors are not passing judgement on our lawn, but you know who might be? The bees and the butterflies and and other essential pollinators. So for the rest of May, every time I invent in my mind a scenario where a neighbor is annoyed at my lawn, I will stop myself right there, and instead picture bees and butterflies celebrating among that tall and shaggy grass. I'll picture them dining, dancing, and raising their families, safe and sound among the lush green of our lawn. Maybe I'll even throw in some images of them sliding down dandelion stems and collecting water in the "cup" of a creeping charlie flower, just for fun.

My prayer for you this week is that you do the same. Every time self-doubt or the smallest amount of shame about this or that - any of the things that make us human - enters your mind, replace it with this: the image of God dancing and celebrating the wonder that is you in the world. Maybe God will even pick some dandelions for you and invite you to play.

May 13, 2022

Dear Ones,

I came across a new-to-me Mary Oliver poem this week, and it is too stunning not to share. It's called Don't Hesitate:

If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,

don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty

of lives and whole towns destroyed or about

to be. We are not wise, and not very often

kind. And much can never be redeemed.

Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this

is its way of fighting back, that sometimes

something happens better than all the riches

or power in the world. It could be anything,

but very likely you notice it in the instant

when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the

case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid

of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.

In Bible Study this week, we spoke about how difficult the world can be. And maybe it's not that "this is an especially hard time", but simply that living a life with a heart open to the cares and concerns of the world (not to mention our own) means that our hearts will break, sometimes. Yet, over and over again it happens just the way Mary Oliver says it does: joy surprises us. The first green buds on the trees. Spring peepers. The laughter of a child. A favorite song on the radio. A sense of the Divine: a glimpse of the goodness of the world or an answered prayer.

This world will always break our hearts a bit. But if you unexpectedly and suddenly feel joy, don't hesitate! My prayer for you this week is that you find yourself, at least once each day, at the place where love begins again.

Blessings,
Jennifer