Calendar

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Gifts of the Darkwood: The Gift of Getting Lost – Mar 11, 2018

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As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and behold the face of God?
My tears have been my food day and night,
while people say to me continually,
“Where is your God?” – Psalm 42 (NRSV)

The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. – 1 Samuel 3 (NRSV)

The path of life is rarely clear or straight-forward. We find ourselves lost in a Dark Wood, unclear which direction to go, perhaps having strayed from the path we thought we were on. It is at these times that the gift of getting lost is that we begin to pay more attention than we usually do. Perhaps we are looking for blatant signs when the subtle nudges of Spirit are already right there. Our Lent journey invites us to get quiet and open wide our senses.

Bread, Bath and Beyond: Beyond the Fear – Feb 11, 2018

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Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Mark 9:2-9

The saying goes, “feel the fear and do it anyway.” These common men, who just a mere few years earlier were getting up every day and simply praying for a good catch of fish, stand on the top of a mountain and see their leader joined by dead, yet famous, ancestors of the faith. They already have begun to realize the Jesus is something of a legend, but this seals it, and they are terrified. They felt the fear and left their professions anyway to follow Jesus. And now perhaps they can see that this is not your ordinary life they’re mixed up in. Do you feel like there are extraordinary things you could do if only you could move beyond the fear?

This last service in our series offers a ritual moment to offer our lives and efforts in co-creating God’s Reign with extraordinary courage.