January 19, 2024
You'll see below a new section of the Announcer this week, called Saint Annians in the Wild. It may be a section that comes and goes: to every thing there is a season. But for this week, it is here, and it is a celebration of us and all of the things Saint Annians do outside of church. It is also an invitation to get to know ourselves a little better. Many of us only see one another for a short time on Sunday mornings, and some weeks that might consist of a greeting, a passing of the peace, and a genuine but too brief, "How are you?" and "Stay warm!" as we head back out into the world.
Look below. Read up on what some of your fellow Saint Annians are up to. Marvel at the amazing people with whom we keep company. Ask them a few questions the next time you see them. Show up and cheer them on if you're able. And if you have something of your own to share, please tell me too, so I can put it in a future Saint Annians in the Wild.
My prayer for us this third week of Epiphany, the season of stars and journeys and new understandings, is the opportunity to learn something new and maybe surprising about one another. You are all pretty amazing people, made in the image of God and brimming with the light of Christ in all kind of spectacular ways. My prayer is for you is to let your light shine in every way, and in every place, you can.
January 5, 2024
Merry Christmas! It's the last time I can say that to you for approximately 354 days - this Saturday the church calendar marks the Feast of the Epiphany , or Three Kings Day, as it is known in many places, and the official end of the Christmas season.
When I was a little girl growing up in Puerto Rico, Three Kings Day was at least as big a celebration as Christmas. Christmas Eve was candlelight and hymns, Christmas Day itself was church, and the ringing of bells, and yes, some presents, but honoring the 12 Days of Christmas was tradition, so Christmas Day was when the real celebration began and it only grew from there.
Through the 12 Days there were groups of revelers in the neighborhoods who would go from door-to-door, singing and merry-making, and if they knocked, you had to invite everyone in for food and drink - and then head out with them to the next house. Through my little girl lens, this all happened "in the middle of the night". Truthfully, it was probably more like 8 PM, but I was often already in my pajamas, and it all felt exciting and magical and daring to me, to go out singing into the dark night. Then, on the eve of Epiphany, the night before Three Kings Day, kids would pick grass from the lawn - for the camels - and put it in a box under the Christmas tree next to the creche.The next morning, the grass would be gone and there would be presents in its place. There would be a parade that day too, through the streets of the city; a final celebration of the arrival of the Christ.
Honestly, as an adult, I don't know how parents, or anyone for that matter, did it. I can't imagine having food and drink ready for neighbors to possibly drop by for 12 nights. Let alone grabbing my pajama-clad kids and joining them! But it was, as my kids say now, "back in the 1900s". A different time. One I might remember with the slightly skewed eyes of child (surely we went out one night - but it could not have been all 12?!, I'll need to ask my mom), but, nonetheless, it was a time I hold close in my memories as one of wonder and true joy in welcoming the Christ.
However you celebrate it, Happy Nearly-Epiphany. My prayer for you is for eyes to see the stars as the magi did, for hearts brave enough to step out and follow as they did, and for encounters with Christ that fill you with wonder, wherever you go.
December 29, 2023
Merry Christmas! We are right in the middle of our 12 Days now and I hope you have seen the light of Christ shine in some way. Our own Joan Stovall wrote a reflection after she saw the light of Christ this season and it is too beautiful not to share (with Joan's permission). Joan writes:
Christmas happened yesterday. Christ’s Light, right in the middle of Apple Valley. Bindi, our dog, was very ill and we searched frantically for an emergency animal hospital taking patients this Sunday. With many hospitals already at capacity, a vet at the emergency animal hospital in Apple Valley agreed to squeeze Bindi into their already packed schedule. The receptionist explained apologetically that it would likely be a six hour wait at the site. As Bindi and I sat waiting in the crowded room with the other animals and owners, staff greeted each incoming pet with compassion and concern. With exam rooms full, the vets quietly examined pets in the waiting room, helping the animals and calming anxious owners. At one point, the staff rushed out to help transport a very sick animal onto a gurney and in through another door. The waiting room became still, but the Light shined. Two separate people arrived quietly weeping, bearing their already deceased pets. Others came in to be with their pets as they went over the Rainbow Bridge. The staff offered quiet words and gently guided them to a back room. The professionals worked tirelessly through a continuous stream of desperate new patients and nonstop phone calls from frantic pet owners. They helped those they could and tried to find other resources for others when there was no more space. Christmas was happening. The animals looked on and the Light of Christ shined brighter and brighter.
My prayer for you, this Christmas week and always, is for you to see, with your eyes or with your heart, the light of Christ shine through and in unexpected places.
December 22, 2023
O Holy Night is easily my favorite Christmas carol. Well, technically, it isn't known as a carol. And it's not officially a hymn; it doesn't appear in many hymnals. “Sacred song” is maybe the best term I've heard. But whatever label anyone wants to give it, O Holy Night has an interesting history. Like many intriguing pieces of history, and like lots of good theology - like Mary’s The Magificat, which we heard last Sunday and will hear again this Sunday morning - the story of O Holy Night involves twists and turns and political challenges by a world that sometimes misses the countercultural message of Jesus. Like the message of Jesus often is, O Holy Night was tangled for a time with human power struggles. It even survived a ban by the church.
Aside from the exquisite melody and the chills I get when I hear this song sung well, the lyrics themselves are a balm and a comfort to my heart, which indeed can feel weary at times, heavy with the struggles of the world. The lyrics invoke a theology that speaks of love and liberation flowing from something beyond ourselves. Our human struggles - the conflict, division, inequity, bitterness, resentment, even hatred that humanity wrestles with far too often – are real. Also real is the presence of something bigger than we are; an energy flow of love and light and yes, a thrill of hope.
My prayer for you this week is for hope to show up for you as tangible and real. My prayer is that whatever makes you most weary, whatever it is you struggle with most deeply, can be soothed, even just slightly, with our Holy Night. My prayer is for you to feel some piece, however large or small, of the thrill that comes with knowing that For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn…
December 15, 2023
Angels and shepherds and soldiers, oh my!
That's right, this Sunday is Saint Anne's annual Christmas pageant and I can't wait. After an hour+ of rehearsal last Saturday morning, one of the pageanteers approached RaeKell with concern and said, "I think we're going to need more practice." Though RaeKell and I both noticed the... spirited!.... atmosphere at the rehearsal, we assured our participant that the pageant will be amazing. It always is, and those little quirks that pop up only make it better.
I did value the concern, though. This pageant performer understands the importance of story and good story-telling. Just like the Gospel writers. And just like you. What, you say you don't fit that category? Well, quick, think of a favorite Christmas decoration in your home and why is it a favorite. Chances are it's not the object itself, but the story that goes with it. Maybe it was made by your grandmother, or your child(ren)? I have both of those as favorites at my house. Maybe your favorite is a gift from someone you love, and it makes you think of them. Maybe it holds a treasured memory from a vacation or from a Christmas gone by.
Shared stories are at the heart of any culture or community. Storytelling is how cultural and religious knowledge and traditions are passed down. Stories create a community out of a group of people. And the amazing thing about the really good stories is that there is always something new to discover about them. The Christmas story is one of those. Just wait until Pageant Sunday, you'll see!
My prayer for you this week is the chance to immerse yourself in our shared stories of Advent and (almost) Christmas. My prayer is time to read, or listen or watch something that draws you more deeply into the impossible, messy, mystical story of Emmanuel: God with us. My prayer for you this week is that the familiar story feels like a warm blanket around your shoulders - but that it also has you looking up at the stars with new thoughts in your head and new dreams in your heart.
December 8, 2023
How is the waiting going? Have you been able to sink yourself deep into the Advent message getting quiet and allowing yourself to be nurtured in the darkness, like a seed waiting underground? Have you been lighting your candles, settling in, and taking time to just BE?
I have been a pretty serious failure at that this week. Well, I'm good at the lighting candles part - I practice hygge and make sure to light candles at sunset every evening during the dark winter months - but other than that, I'm doing a poor job of just letting the flurry of life go around me for these few precious weeks. I am longing for the quiet Advent hush, though, and I know the plea Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence includes me too. I also know making time for our souls to take rest is holy.
Prepare the way! John the Baptist will remind us this Sunday. I vow to do better in the weeks to come. May it be so.
My prayer for you this week is to be better at Advent than me! And my prayer for you this week is to know that whether you are feeling the peace of this season or not, whether you are lighting candles or not, whether you are ok right now or not ok right now, you are loved beyond measure and new light will come.
December 1, 2023
I was at Target on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Yes, that is a direct result of poor planning on my part, and yes, I deserved what I got. What I got was two available cashiers for the entire, very busy, store, and a line for self-checkout that, for those who know your West St. Paul Target, wrapped all the way past produce to the bread aisle. If you know your West St. Paul Target, then you know I was in a line at least 30 people deep. As I stood in line, I did what literally every other person in front of me was doing: I reached for my phone. Texts, emails, social media - how else would I keep myself entertained for the entire 15 minutes I was in line?!
The truth is, I have gotten progressively worse at waiting - for anything - over the last few years. The pace of everyday life is such that long lines feel especially long, and doing - gasp! - nothing while I wait feels especially hard. The twist is, of course, that being still is not "doing nothing". Stillness, waiting, holding space, breathing in the calm, is not only "something", but is a very valuable something. Our bodies, minds, and spirits need time to just be. It's only in this kind of time that we can wonder and imagine and daydream. And wondering, imagining, and daydreaming are essential. Even Biblical!
Advent is this kind of time. Inky darkness comes early in our part of the world, the colder weather (most years!) keeps us wrapped and cozy, and we are invited to live into the stillness that it all brings. We are invited to put our phones down, to turn the world off for a bit, and to marinate in the quiet and calm. To let our hearts beat with the blinking of the stars.
As it happened, when I reached for my phone in the long Target line, I realized I'd left it in the car. I was given no choice but to wait quietly, and let myself experience some moments of "doing nothing". Breathing. Thinking. Letting my mind wander. Who says one cannot experience a moment of sacredness in line at Target?!
My prayer for you this week is for some of the quiet and calm that allows you to see the stars and hear whispers of Spirit - wherever you can find it. My prayer for you this Advent is for time to allow your dreams to run wild and your hearts to find peace. My prayer for you is for some of the quiet stillness that allows for God to be more deeply known.
November 10, 2023
Today is the first full day of the annual ECMN Convention, and your two delegates, Corinne and Joan, and I are in for a weekend of connection, community, church business, worship, and - best of all - our incredible Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, will be will us for the weekend, preaching on several occasions.
The theme of this year's Convention is "Repairing the Breach". The description of the weekend reads: Join us to revive our commitment to the Way of Jesus and to one another, and to restore our hope and commitment to repairing the breaches in our lives and communities.
It's a tall order, but if anyone can get us one step closer, it's our Presiding Bishop.
My prayer for you, for us, and for the ECMN this week is for renewed resolve for the work we are called to do together. Walking the Way of Love is not for the faint of heart, but if anyone aside from the Presiding Bishop can get us one step closer, it's you. (Yes, you!) My prayer this week is that you know this.
If you would like to watch online in real time you can register for a Zoom link right here. There is a $15 cost. I would imagine Presiding Bishop Curry's sermons will also be posted later - and Joan, Corinne, and I will be sure to share the highlights.
November 3, 2023
This week's celebration of the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls is among my favorite of our holy days. If we go way back in the tradition, these two days are part of the fuller season of Allhallowtide, which actually includes the three days from 31 October to 2 November. Three is a sacred number in our tradition, of course, and for me these days feel truly sacred. It was an honor to spend time this week lighting candles and saying aloud the names of the saints of my life, your lives, and our lives together.
In the New Testament, the word "saints" describes the entire community of followers of The Way of Jesus. From the very early church, followers whose lives were particularly inspiring began to be described as "Saints" with a capital S. On All Saints' Day, November 1, we remember those Saints whose lives and actions we look to as models for our own. All Souls' Day, November 2, extends from All Saints' Day as a time to remember and honor deceased family and friends. We'll celebrate both together this Sunday, at both services. As The Book of Common Prayer teaches, “The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise.”
Of course, our ancestors and loved ones, our "great cloud of witnesses", as Scripture puts it, are always with us. But this is a time when the veil between this world and the next is considered paper-thin. We light candles to draw them closer to us, and us to them. We speak their names to keep them alive to us, even as we are acknowledging that death has no power to separate them from us.
My prayer this week is for you to feel that sacred connection between people across time and space: a sense of the Saints, and the saints, to love and guard and guide you, and a sense of your own sainthood, as a follower of the Way of Love. My prayer for you this week is for an embracing of the Holy Mystery of these paper-thin days.
October 27, 2023
Luis is a priest! It was such a celebratory occasion. As Bishop Loya put it on his Instagram account: "The joy was deep, the Spirit strong, and the music rocking". It was all of that, and more. There are so many thank yous to offer:
To the Vestry who followed through with all the paperwork
To the Atlar Guild who beautified and made sure we had enough bread and wine
To Jessica Ricardo, for all she did to help coordinate the service
To everyone who served as greeters, ushers, verger, and acolytes
To everyone organized and decorated and brought food
To Tony, Naomi, and the choir who did us all so proud (and got us dancing!)
To all who showed up, watched from home, prayed and sent well wishes
To Mary Holland who made our beautiful matching, stoles!
What's next? With the Bishop's blessing, Luis will now enter a two-year curacy at Saint Anne's. (A curacy is basically an internship that takes place after ordination.) This means that Luis will continue to be a regular presence as part of the worship team on Sundays, and of course Carrie and the kids will continue to be Saint Annians, too. Thanks be! Thanks also to the Church Divinity School of the Pacific for sponsoring Luis in this program.
My prayer for you this week is that you have occasion to feel the presence of Spirit, experience the joy of shared connections, and that you hear music to dance to, whether in body, mind, or spirit. As one of my seminary professors always said, "It takes a community to raise a priest". We're all in this together and the ministry of one is a ministry for all. My prayer for all of us this week is for our joyful shared future together.
Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Luis Ottley, Carrie, and their family, on his ordination!
October 20, 2023
I went for a walk along the river near the University of Minnesota campus wth my Gopher yesterday. The fall colors in the early evening light were absolutely exquisite. I was reminded of one of my favorite poems:
Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.― Elizabeth Barrett Browning
As I'm sure you know, the third line of the poem refers to the story of the Burning Bush, from Exodus. In the story, when Moses walks over to examine the burning bush, God says, "Moses! Moses! Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy ground." (Exodus 3:5)
There is nothing wrong with picking blackberries, of course. In fact, there is a lot that is right with picking blackberries. But oh, to see the earth as "crammed with heaven"! To see the presence of God in every common bush! That is my prayer for you this week: glimpses and glimmers and occasions to remove your shoes.
October 13, 2023
Yesterday, I posted on Instagram an image of my home altar: a wooden table hand made for me by my uncle, on which sits images of Jesus (specifically Jesus the Healer), Mary the Mother (the protector from dangers), Archangel Rafael (known for healing and protection), a Citrine angel, a chalice, a cross, some rocks from Lake Superior, shells from ocean beaches, mementos of loved ones who have died. Incense. Candles. Along wth the photo I posted, I invited anyone who felt moved to do so to send me a prayer request. I received many, from all different people. Some requests came from people I know well, and some from people I don't. Some of those people are religious, and some are not.
Most of the prayer requests I received were, in some form or another, prayers for peace. The lack of peace in the world weighs heavily on our spirits and souls right now. The deep longing for it aches in our hearts. I think we pray so fervently for peace because we know peace is so sacred that it must come from a source bigger than any of us. As the prayer requests came in, I lit candles at the altar and prayed every one.
Peace is my prayer for you this week as well. It is my prayer for our communities, for our world. This week and always: peace, peace, peace. Lord, have mercy. Let there be peace.
October 6, 2023
This week I heard from one of my closest high school friends, letting me know her father had died. I was sad to hear of his passing and grateful my friend reached out. It had been many years since I had seen him, but during high school he was like a second father. Always supportive, always joking, listening to our stories, offering advice, chauffeuring us around, and always welcoming me as part of the family. I thought I knew him well, but it was not until I read his obituary that I learned his full story.
I knew Frank was proud of his Jewish heritage, but did not know his family immigrated to the United States to escape Nazi Germany in 1939. Frank was born just after their arrival in New York City and grew up speaking German in his home. I knew he was a lawyer, but I hadn't known he worked on the worked on the Watergate Prosecution staff. I'd known he was a professor, but hadn't realized he'd written a book about the trials of the Holocaust. And those are just the highlights. A week after learning of his death, I continue to be struck by how little I knew of the details of his life. I was a teenager when I knew him best, and likely appropriately self-absorbed, but even so. How easy it is to know so little about one another.
The last time I saw Frank was a number of years ago when I stopped at their house over a Thanksgiving weekend. I showed them photos of my kids and they showed me photos of their latest trip and it was a lovely time, as it always was at their house.
I wish I'd stayed a little longer and asked a few more questions.
My prayer for you this week is for more time and more conversation with people in your life. To be as present for one another as Christ is for us. For My prayer is that we all remember that life is short - may we live and love accordingly. My prayer this week is for Frank, and for all the Franks in the world: good people who will be missed.
September 22, 2023
Seeing the Northern Lights has been a long-time dream of mine. A few years ago I decided that wanting to see them and trying to see them are two different things, and so I decided to try.
Trying is not that easy. I have several apps on my phone which offer forecasts, but the technical aspects of the forecasts are sometimes difficult to discern. Luckily, there are several online groups for "Aurora Hunters" in our area. These groups include some people who are very good at interpreting the data and always happy to share. Community is a good thing.
Keeping track of conditions is just the first step, however. Favorable forecasts don't often show up with much warning, so a willingness to be spontaneous is another part of the trying process. And of course, it needs to be quite dark outside for the lights to be visible: midnight would be the earliest during the summer months. This means there have been some late nights and some corresponding tired mornings. My husband is a good sport.
Next is putting ourselves out there. Literally. During favorable conditions, the best opportunity to see the lights in our part of the world is to get away from the light pollution of the Twin Cities. An hour or more north is the bare minimum. Then the trick is to find a safe area off the road, facing north to an open horizon (no woods). And then it's time to wait. And wait. And wait. Most of the time nothing is visible, so the waiting is the entire adventure before we turn around and drive home. Did I mention that my husband is a good sport?!
This week we were blessed with a glimpse. Not the spectacular dancing colors we're chasing, but a glimpse nonetheless. I'm not satisfied, and I'm not done chasing these lights, but I am in even deeper awe, and inspired anew by the connection to something greater, more majestic, and more peaceful than we humans, and the by mystery of it all.
My prayer for you this week is for a glimpse of something that fills you with awe. Something that feels mysterious and majestic; hopeful and holy. My prayer for you this week is that you'll put yourself out there a bit looking for this glimpse of the Holy, because it will be all the more sacred for the sacrifice. My prayer is that you'll find deep peace in your glimpse of the Holy. My prayer is for your glimpse of the Holy to be in wild technicolor.
September 15, 2023
This time of year at church is a flurry of jumping back into old routines and creating new things. New liturgies over our standard two services, Sunday Club and Sunday Conversations ramping up again, lots of plans for fun gatherings as a community, gatherings with the wider Episcopal church in the forms of our Fall EMMA meeting and the ECMN Convention, looking ahead to what this Advent and Christmas will look like. Believe it or not, we're already talking Christmas Pageant.🎄
It's wonderful, but after a slower-paced summer where we spent much of our time together in the sunshine and under the trees, it feels a little bit like I'm stepping onto a treadmill going just one level too high. I'm keeping up, but barely. Luckily for me, I'm not trying to keep up alone. A good portion of the flurry of activity is coming from your Vestry, and from Tony, Naomi, Kathy, RaeKell, and so many, doing so much.
I am so looking forward to all that is to come and I am doing my best to hold onto some of the lessons our Creator offers in the summer sunshine, some of the whispers of Spirit blowing through the trees. I am doing my best to take care of all there is to do at a pace that allows me to appreciate the gift of it all. Some days, some weeks, do fly by in a blink, but I'm trying.
My prayer for you this week is that your treadmill is moving at just the right pace for you, and that there is still time to notice the scenery around you. My prayer for you this week is for some of the Holy Wisdom offered to us so freely in the gifts of summer to find a permanent place in your heart.
Sept 8, 2023
As many of you are probably aware, well-known musician Jimmy Buffett died about a week ago. His music spanned decades, and spanned genres from calypso to pop to country to folk. He was well known for his lyrical storytelling and celebrating the "island life": sunshine, sailing, the sand and the water, family and friends. Though I can't claim the honor of being a "Parrothead", as Jimmy's most dedicated fans are known, I did see him in concert several times, and his XM radio station has been a long-time favorite preset in my car.
One of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs is called One Particular Harbor. It's a lovely song about finding peace in a busy world; finding a place you can truly feel your soul is at home. After last week's final outdoor service of the summer, Carrie Eagles sent me a photo of some of our younger Saint Annians enjoying time together, and as I looked at the sweet photo, a stanza from One Particular Harbor came to mind:
And there's that one particular harbor
Sheltered from the wind
Where the children play on the shore each day
And all are safe within
It brings me deep joy to imagine Saint Anne's as that "one particular harbor" for our youngest Saint Annians; a place where their souls feel both safe and joyful. It is my deep hope that all who come to Saint Anne's feel that way about our space and about our community. My prayer for you this week is that Saint Anne's can be one particular harbor for you, too, no matter who you are.
Our air conditioning unit at my home has been out all summer. Now, before you feel too sorry for me, I need to confess that it is largely our own doing. When it went out in late June, we didn't exactly jump to fix it. First, our family all tolerates heat very well; I personally would rather be warm than cool any day. More significantly, my husband and I are also both pretty convinced that anything can become a DYI project with YouTube and a little time. So we waited.
Strangely, that thing called "time" never materialized, and before we knew it, the first true heat wave of the summer was on us. At that point, repair people were booked, and so we rode it out with fans. After the first heat wave subsided, we kept meaning to get to work on the air conditioner, but our home was comfortable, our weeks were busy, and before we could blink the next heat wave arrived... lather, rinse, repeat.
Finally, this week, with heat indexes above 100 degrees and the humidity sky high, my husband called the person we've worked with on occasion for heating and cooling issues we couldn't resolve. Knowing my husband's propensity for DYI, the repair person offered to walk him through a few possibilities over the phone.
First up: "I assume you've checked the circuit breaker."
The circuit breaker. Uhhh, no. We had checked the cooling unit itself, we'd checked various parts that are known to break most easily, we'd checked on some HVAC things, but it hadn't occurred to us to check the circuit breaker.
My husband went downstairs and with one small FLIP! our air conditioner whirled on again. It felt like a miracle. And completely ridiculous. We've been laughing about it for days.
My prayer for you this week is for miracles to be at your fingertips. My prayer is for solutions to problems to be more simple than you could have imagined. My prayer for you this week is for a sense of humor through it all. There are truly times I believe God laughs with us.
August 18, 2023
I recently attended a non-church meeting where the small group gathered had a difficult decision to make. Anxiety was a bit high as people pulled their chairs around the table. "Let's begin," the convener said, and I immediately bowed my head. Except, oops, it was a non-church meeting and a non-church group of people, and I was the only one at the table who heard, "Let's begin" and instinctively thought we would begin with prayer.
The meeting went well. I missed the prayer.
It is easier to describe what prayer is not. Prayer is not magic. Prayer is not a deal we make with God. Prayer is not a device we can use to manipulate our preferred outcome. What prayer can do, however, is change the heart and mind of the one praying. When we pray, we remind ourselves that we are not alone. We remind ourselves that we do not have control over most outcomes in life. We remind ourselves to focus on what matters, or to live into our best selves, or to find the strength we might need in that moment.
When we pray, we become more aware of the presence of Spirit and more connected to God, and to the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. We become connected to the needs of others and our role in serving those needs. When we pray, we become more.
Prayer is not magic, but it can change us.
The disciples said to Jesus, "Teach us to pray.” My prayer this week is that you find meaning in the learning, the practicing, and in the praying itself. My prayer this week is for your prayers this week.
August 11, 2023
We have been watching my oldest son's dog, Florence (nn Flory), for a few days while my son is out of town. She is a French Bulldog rescue, so not a large dog, and very sweet. She does, however, make her presence very known.
Flory's background is such that she is has some anxiety (a lot of anxiety) around being alone, and she has decided that while she's staying with us, I am going to be her person. So by making her presence known, not wanting to be alone, and choosing me as her person, I mean she wants to be RIGHT BY MY SIDE every minute of the day. And night. And she isn't afraid to howl to let me know when she's wanting more attention. There has been a lot of howling.
It is no small responsibility, to serve as someone's (or somedog's) security blanket. I can't begin to count how many times I've tripped in the kitchen because Flory is standing right behind me. My laptop can no longer rest on my lap, since Flory has claimed that territory. I feel guilty when I leave for church or to go meet someone. And when she needs to do her business early in the morning, guess who she chooses to wake up?
It's also a sweet honor, to be her chosen person this week, and I am doing my best to live up to it; to give her the care and reassurance she needs while her true parents are away. Flory reminds me of the power we each have to either cause others feel alone, or to help them feel loved. To feel ignored or seen. She reminds me that making time for compassion and care makes all the difference. She reminds me that waking up just before the sunrise means being awake for a miracle every morning.
My prayer for you this week is to encounter a situation that inspires use your power for good. To be given the opportunity to take care of the needs of others. To be able to make time for compassion. And to watch a sunrise or two and take in the miracles that are all around us.
August 4, 2023
Were your ears burning?
I have had the great honor and joy of officiating two weddings in the last two weeks. Both were weddings of old and dear friends, and both were out of town, full-weekend events, which meant I had lots of time to meet and chat with many new people. The number one question I was asked, aside from how I knew the wedding couples, was about you. "What is your church like?", people asked me over and over again.
And oh, I told them. I told them how engaged and involved this community is. I told them how we're always looking for more ways to spend more time together. I told them how more often than not, our Vestry meeting contains real, and ongoing laughter. I told them about how kids are welcomed into every aspect of community life, and how welcoming everyone is to newcomers. I told them about our beautiful grounds, including our lawn signs. I told them we do our very best to follow the Way of Love that Jesus taught and modeled, and that there is so much beauty in the trying and fumbling and trying again that sometimes I am overwhelmed with the gift of it all. I told them how proud I am to be in community with you. I told them we have the best potlucks.
My prayer for each of you this week, as we are celebrating the Feast of Saint Anne, is for you to know how valuable and important you are to this community. We don't all think alike about every issue, we don't all vote alike, we don't all see the world through the same lens... and yet the care, compassion, and love between is real. The joy in learning and growing and being together is real. My prayer for you this week is to marvel at the holiness of it all.