Tag: ordinary life
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“The Theatre of God’s Glory”
The Holy Spirit is ceaselessly at work – in and through our ordinary lives – to make us whole, individually and as the whole people of God
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“Not Attached to Normal”
we are called to live our normal lives as people who are prepared to lay them aside at a moment’s notice
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Rhythms
The first Sunday in Advent almost always falls on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We observed the day by driving home from Ohio. Thinking about how things change. Or, don’t. I was waiting for this advent song to come on the radio, but it never did: It’s not that long a drive. Keep awake. Image: “Winter…
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Joy
Other people. All together in one place. “Like real church.” If it weren’t Lent, we would shout Alleluia! We do, anyway. 1When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the…
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Repetition, or Perseverance
Repetition is the only form of permanence that Nature can achieve. George Santayana (according to the internet) It’s time for the annual report. Our little congregation belongs to a national denominational organization, which keeps records and compiles statistics and asks us to contribute to those. The denomination also requires us to be established as a…
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A Present from a Friend, or The Keep Going Song
Got this by text this morning: Here’s something an old friend shared with me that made me smile and weep at the same time. Me, too. The Bengsons have a YouTube channel here.
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Real Presence
These days, worship in the sanctuary of our tiny rural church feels almost as solitary as worship in the living room in front of the computer tuned to Facebook Live. Half the pews taped off; everyone spread out; everyone in a mask; individually-wrapped communion elements, like the silverware at a 50’s coffee shop, “sanitized for…
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Minutes
Presbyterians are famous, or infamous, for doing everything by committee. Committees meet. Meetings need minutes. Minutes need writing up. Someone needs to do that.
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The Intersection of Abundance and Next to Nothing
When you think you have nothing to offer, remember … nothing is Jesus’s favorite thing to work with. Rev. Cindy Cushman, 08.02.2020 God’s “economy of abundance” was a favorite theme of one of our historic pastors. Sunday had me noticing some of the peculiarities of that economy. Maybe not a coincidence that the gospel text…
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Reframing
Maybe not everyone gets stuck seeing things just one way, but many of us do. Because of that, hearing from other people, comparing readings, seeing texts and situations “through other eyes,” unlocks new meanings. I might have a hard time imagining your perspective, and you may have a hard time imagining mine, but if we…
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Fourth Sunday in Advent
It is almost Christmas – Jesus’s birthday, as we tell the pre-schoolers in the Sunday school class after fellowship time. We are all excited for Christmas. And we have two new students today, who have come with relatives … another one of the gifts of Christmas. The story today is that Mary and Joseph couldn’t…
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Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of those extraordinary ordinary days at church. A beautiful, clear, sunny day in late fall. The sun hitting that stained glass window at just the right angle to cast a rose-colored shadow on the wall across from the choir loft. I’ve never seen that before. Some people we’d expected to see weren’t there [“You…
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Third Sunday of Easter
The day-to-day reality of participating in church could give you emotional and cognitive whiplash, if you let it. Like this morning: we spent an hour or so talking about the kind of deep theological topics that people debate in seminary and in theology texts – justification by faith, redemption, atonement, grace, which faith is it,…
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Easter Sunday
This morning started out foggy and damp, but ended up brilliantly sunny and warm. There were a dozen or so colored eggs in the landscaping by the front door of the church that hadn’t been there the last time – surprise! This gave the front of the church a bright, festive look. About a third…
Matters of Interpretation 