Lenten Photo Challenge: Catching Up

Each day's photos for this week's Lenten Photo Challenge actually were taken each day.  They were posted less often, occasionally on Facebook or Twitter.  I'm near-disciplined.  So, here they are:

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Feb. 17: 

SETTLE 

As in . . . Do not settle.

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Feb. 18: 

WORLD

God loves the world. 

Seems to me that's the real point. 

God loves. That much.  

And more.

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Feb. 19: 

WONDER

From the CHICAGO song: 

"Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?"

I wonder . . . 

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Feb. 20: 

EVIL 

As in: The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

[1 Timothy 6:10]

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Feb. 21: 

LOVE

"Love" is everywhere.

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Feb. 22: 

SPIRIT

The setting for a spirit-filled experience on this day.

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Lenten Photos Day 4: Injustice

Every day, I drive by this "Home Depot" on my way to the church office.

Every day, in the parking lot, I see as many as 40 men waiting there. I've been told that they are waiting there for someone to come by and give them some work for the day.  Today was Saturday.  I took this picture when I stopped at next-door Rouse's for a few groceries.  I counted 11 men there at noon.  On a Saturday.

The Home Depot store itself has a huge "Help Wanted" sign posted on its building exterior.

In 2007, Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli received a severance package of $212 million.  Worth it? He "earned" himself a spot on CNBC's list of the  "Worst American CEO's of All Time."

Home Depot's current CEO Frank Blake makes 700 times minimum wage ($10.8 million).

I've also heard that someone in a hoodie has every reason to expect the worst.

Lenten Photos Day 3: See

Some things I see from my office windows

Lenten Photos Day 2: Return

Funny thing:

I took this pic this morning, thinking it might make a good "return" photo.

I remembered that, when I lived in Pennsylvania or Ohio, a vacation week in Louisiana always included a return, with my sis, to one of the Louisiana-based coffee shops called CC's Community Coffee House.

I aimed my phone at the CC's sign, thinking about my return to Louisiana about 5 months ago.  That more permanent move was a return to long-missed familiar things -- crawfish boils, warm weather, Cajun accents, and CC's.  Knowing I would be a "regular" there, I got my very own CC's card.  I keep a few bucks on it, which makes it easy to return there often.

This particular CC's is within walking distance of my New Orleans home.  I returned there this morning for a cup of coffee to take to the office.  I took the pic on my phone as I went in, because I had an inkling that there could be a connection with my CC's habit and today's word: "return." There was the chance, too, that there would not be another better photo op later in the day.

I stepped up to the counter and ordered my usual: A grande, half dark roast, half medium roast, with room for cream. (The 2 dashes of cinnamon don't take any room, so why mention that?)

The young barista seemed rattled, and I wondered what was so hard about my fairly ordinary order.  She said she was afraid that the CC's card reader wasn't working. She told me she wouldn't be able to give me my receipt.

That CC's receipt is my return ticket.  With the receipt, I could return any time that same day to any CC's and present the receipt and the empty cup for a free refill.  It's a nice perk. Still, I said "That's OK. Don't worry about the receipt."

She tried again to get my CC's card to read. No luck.  She didn't want to tell me, so I asked: "It's not charging the coffee to my card either, is it?" She nodded and tried the card again, and again, ever more flustered.  The coffee had been already been poured.  A line was forming behind me.

My move.  I offered to return to my car and get cash for the coffee. Relief poured off her face.

That's how it happened that I got to return to CC's in that same trip.  The photo was just right.

Lenten Photos Day 1: Who Am I?

As part of my Lenten practice this year, I have decided to participate in the Lenten 40 Day Photo Challenge at rethinkchurch.org.  The idea is to take a photo that is about the word or phrase of the day. It is supposed to require paying attention and being intentional, which sounds like a spiritual discipline to me!

Who Am I?

Today I am:

• Starting the day a concerned mom and grandmother 
• An early riser in Baton Rouge; commuter to New Orleans
• Interim Pastor at Central St. Matthew UCC in NOLA
• In need of a hair cut and a massage
• The recipient of ashes twice in one day
• Offering ashes from the (covered) Carrollton Ave. campus front steps during cold rain at noon (pic taken there)
• Singing and praying there, too, with some who came by.
• Enchilada cook at lunch (nothing new there!)
• Relieved about good medical test results for a loved one
• Messaged and encouraged during sermon prep
• Preacher for our NOLA clergy-sponsored service tonight
• Face-to-face with "the Chicago thing" . . . again.
• Peaceful about "the Chicago thing" . . . really
• Reasonably satisfied about the preaching tonight
• Gluten-free in a gluten-filled Communion world (it seems)

Friday Five: Sneaky, Sneaky!

How did you sneak in here?

Karla, Karla, Karla.  So, the deadline for putting up the Friday Five sneaked (snuck?) up on you. It's not like you've been away on a serious (enough) study leave. And then there's that blizzard that's bearing down on you. With all of that, you have still managed to put forth a wonderful Friday Five!  And, you have enticed me to play the RevGalBlogPals Friday Five again after far too long. Thank you for some really sneaky, and great, questions.  Here goes:

1) What is sneaking up on you, and what have you been thinking about?
What is really sneaking up on me is income tax time. I know today is only February 8, but that denial of "time flies" is what makes it so sneaky. But I'm not thinking about that at all! I'm thinking about Mardi Gras and what part(s) of that I get to go to this weekend.  Mardi Gras parade: probably.  Crawfish boil: definitely!

2) What will you have for lunch today?
Well, it's after 2:00 p.m. here, and I still don't know.  I'm seriously considering checking out the Thai place across the street. Sadly, there is no sushi bar on this boat.

3)  If you were to get snowed in for two days, and you need to hunker down, what essentials and treats would you store up?

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa

OK, sorry. It's a balmy, short-sleeved 65 degrees and cloudy here in New Orleans . . . (ahem) . . .

This would be a serious question for me if I still lived in the house I still own in Pennsylvania, because I know the snow is coming. There. Not here.  For the Two-Day Snowed-In Hunker Down, treats and essentials are hard to tell apart:

• Enchiladas!
• a pot of Amy's turkey noodle soup or some chili
• coffee and half & half
• cocoa & mini-marshmallows
• movies, Netflix (if there is electricity) & books and crochet (my new hobby) 
• comforters & pillows & all kinds of flannel
• wind-up radio/flashlight
• candles and flameless light sources

4)  Tell me a story about one awesome thing you have experienced in the last couple of weeks:

Once upon a time, in the last couple of weeks, I took a 9 hour drive that took me from New Orleans to Jacksonville. My wonderful congregation sent me on a serious (enough) study leave.  So, I got on a great big boat and sailed away.  

I hugged dear friends and met new ones, now dear ones. Faces went with online names of women who had become celebrities to me, and I couldn't help being a starry-eyed fan. (I hope they understand.) 

 

We laughed. And laughed. We wrote and wrote. And wrote some more.  Sometimes we wrote less, as few as six words to tell a story of God's good news breaking through the fog.  

Alfredo flirted with us and danced for us.  

We told supper stories. And late night stories.  

And stories fueled by sushi circles, melting cake dinners, and mojito toasts.  

Then we laughed some more.  

Encouraged by sweet generosity, I picked up crochet again.  

I am still swaying to the music. I'm rolling with the waves. I'm looking for sushi.

And I'm thankful. 

So thankful.

5) What is your favorite office supply to splurge on? (now THAT is random, right?)

 Yes, that IS random, dear Karla!  Markers or pens, definitely!

My Serious (Enough) Continuing Education Week

I returned Saturday from RevGalBlogPals Big Event 6.0.  Rachel Hackenberg led us to to play -- and play some more -- with the Living Word "In Her [Our] Own Words."  I came back refreshed and inspired and blessed beyond measure!

Someone asked me to bring back a picture of me having fun on the trip.  Here ya go!

Alfredo's Fan Club: With Karla and Celeste (photo by Holly)

With Kelly at the southernmost point (Key West)

Coconut Flan (Key West)

Amazing women!

Roaming along the streets of Key West

Who could it be? (Not me!)

MLK Day 2013: The Joy of Celebrating

Some things haven't changed

As a teenager in Baton Rouge, LA -- in the mid 1960‘s -- our family was a little out of the church-going habit for awhile.  A friend kept trying to get me to go to her church.  She could talk very enthusiastically about Jesus and salvation and things like that.  My parents weren’t all that big on us going to church. But one day, I got into some serious trouble at home when I tried out a word that my friend used freely -- an “n” word referring to people who, at that time, were not welcome by the people who lived in our all-white neighborhood to go to our all-white school.  Indeed, another friend justified her family's objection to integrated schools because they "knew" that it was a scientific fact that "Negroes are not fully human."

At about the same time, a white Southern Baptist pastor -- a kind and courageous man I would meet a few years later in Dallas TX -- was being ostracized by Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge because his congregation did not want to have as their pastor someone who was involved in the Civil Rights movement.  This pastor wouldn’t be quiet about liberty and justice for all from the pulpit.*

These are business as usual stories. Nothing unusual here. In the 60’s it was dangerous to your job to speak up for racial equality, and it was normal for churches and church people to say that God and the Bible blessed segregation and endorsed white supremacy.  None of this is news.

It is also not news that, in most white communities and white congregations, MLK day is "celebrated" by a few congregations. They have some idea that King was a good man, and that celebrating him somehow relates to faith, so it's is a good idea. I guess they have not been personally inspired by King's message and courageous actions and his inspiring legacy. They have not been justice-deprived or bound by laws and traditions that benefit other people and ask them to wait for their turn.  How can they celebrate King well when they have no idea what there truly is to celebrate?

Yesterday, business as usual came to a blessed end for me.  In the 60th year of my life -- and in the 20th year of my ordination -- I finally got to spend Martin Luther King Sunday yesterday in a congregation truly celebrating the words and work of Dr. King.  A group of people -- black and white -- began our worship service with a spoken prelude of King's prophetic words.  The choir processed in with all of us singing "Lift Every Voice" and it was magnificent.  A young black woman, dressed in colorful cloth, read her chosen excerpt from King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" as part of the children's time, and the little children were silently attentive. In word and song and prayer, we celebrated King, we celebrated Jesus' gift of bread and cup, and we celebrated The Beloved Community.

In the congregation were blacks who marched with King.  Absent yesterday from the congregation were those who had traveled to Washington D.C. to celebrate the second-term inauguration of Barack Obama.

In the congregation were parents who, back in the day, struggled to explain to their children why they couldn't take them to City Park in New Orleans because they wouldn't be allowed to ride the little train.  Yesterday, they could celebrate because, today, their grandchildren are just some of the kids on the train.

In the worshipping community yesterday were gay couples who had given up on church until they found this one. Here, they can be out and proud in our congregation. They can serve here and not be afraid that the sermon will sneak a bite of them.  Now, in some states, they can be legally married. 

And there was me -- their very-blessed interim pastor -- whose American Baptist seminary hadn't minded receiving tuition money from women earning their M.Div. degree there.  However, when she and the other recently-graduated women received only rejection letters from ABC churches, the seminary said that there was nothing they could do about so many congregations who just weren't ready to call female pastors.  

And so there we were. Together.  Celebrating because we had a lot to celebrate.  It's not quite the Promised Land -- not yet.  But it was a really fine and generous glimpse.  Thanks be to God!

[ * Bruce Lowe continued to advocate for equality for all.  That Dallas church where we met, Royal Lane Baptist Church recently honored 97 year old Bruce and his spouse, Anna Marie, for their dedication to creating a place at the table for everyone.]

Sunday Sermon: Hope Shall Bloom

Hope Shall Bloom

Luke 3:7-18; Zephaniah 3:14-20

For Central St. Matthew UCC, New Orleans, LA

I confess: I had a hard time with this one.

I had a sermon -- it was about the hoops we jump through instead of living out hope -- but then, 20 little children were killed in their school, along with six of their teachers and administrators on Friday, so Thursday’s sermon idea is not going to preach today.

I don’t claim to know, but I wonder how news of a mass shooting in a school affects this congregation.

Many of you are teachers, retired teachers, administrators, associated with children and youth in learning situations. 

And then, there’s Katrina, a devastation that happened about the time that those 20 precious children at Sandy Hook were born. Are you thinking:  We know the names and ages of each of these children and we know that there were 20 of them.  It is unknown how many people lost their lives in Katrina, so who knows how many were children?  Dozens? Hundreds?

You all know all too well the despair of a tragedy unfolding that cannot be contained or stopped no matter how loud the screams. 

You know that those who initially get hit -- who make the news the first day -- the first week -- they are just the first ones affected -- the circle of pain and sorrow spreads out from there, in ever-widening circles.  

You know that when someone says that things will never be the same after this, that is true.  

You know the despair and grief that is PARTICULAR to tragedies that could have been prevented, if only ... someone ... had ... done what could have been done.

So, as your pastor at this time, I wonder how you are doing?  Not only how are you doing with this week’s news, but how are you doing seven years since tragedy came to New Orleans.

It’s OK to admit that it’s not all OK.  It’s OK to say that it’s not fixed -- that restoration is not complete -- whether of buildings or people or relationships.

You might imagine the road ahead for the parents of the children who were killed. A child’s death is a heavy heavy stress on the parents’ marriage.  What about the grief of siblings and classmates?

At what point will this CT community be most tempted to give up?  When will it be most difficult for them to know “God with us” and to make sense of how a loving God can co-exist with life-robbing evil and hearts breaking?  You all might have some idea of how this will go.

You may also have an idea of where hope is when things looks scariest.

Fred Rogers:

"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."

You know all about the helpers.  You are the helpers.  You host and feed the helpers.  Helpers show us hope, blooming.  

“What then should WE do?” today . . . 

It’s an old story It’s the story that prepares the way for “God With Us.”  In a certain desert, when John the Baptist finally got his curiosity-seeking “congregation” to see a picture of how messed up their world is, and how messed up they are -- when they finally saw the futility of their usual approaches and strategies -- when they were ready to repent -- change their minds -- change their direction -- finally take some kind of ACTION, it all came down to one question:

“What then should we do?” now . . . 

The answer (a lot like Mr. Rogers):

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” ¹²Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” ¹⁴Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

“What then should we do?” 

Simply put (you know this! You do this!): Do acts of justice and compassion and kindness. We don’t ask “What would Jesus do?” because, from this side of the manger, we know what Jesus DID.  And where the Jesus way becomes our way, hope shall bloom. 

Each of us has something we can do in response to this tragedy. For someone, it might be sending a card to that school or to our UCC church in Newtown. For someone else, it might be writing letters to Congress.  Someone else might make a new or renewed commitment to a local school or to neighborhood children. 

Whatever else we do, we simply must -- finally -- address the big picture.  “We must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.”  That was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King -- in 1963 -- after the killing of four innocent young girls in a church bombing.  Almost 50 years ago, a prophet of our time called it, named it, showed us where hope COULD bloom:  “We must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers.”

It will go on.  An average of 8 children and teenagers are killed by gunfire in the U.S. every day.  Who will they be today?  Who will they be tomorrow?

It’s time to get serious about all the conditions

that make the U.S. the leading nation -- by far -- in gun violence.

If we can’t agree on how to control access to guns,

can we find common ground in providing better access to mental health care?

Twenty little children didn’t come home on Friday to play outside, to watch cartoons on Saturday, to go to Sunday School today.  Six adult teachers and administrators lost their lives.  

See what we have become. Hear the cries of mothers everywhere, grieving for children we have lost and for children we don’t want to lose to a world gone mad.  

Their cries remind us that God loved THIS VERY WORLD so much to send his own child into this world.  The mother who placed him in the manger also saw him die on the cross.

Christmas Eve is not the end of the story, but neither does the story end with “the massacre of the innocents.”  We are Easter people.  “In the end neither Herod, or Pilate, or even the Devil himself was able to stop God’s plan. We are not helpless before the powers of this world. No matter what power evil and sadness has in the world – and -- [know this] -- it’s a temporary and dying power – it cannot stop God’s goodness, and love, and forgiveness, and redemption ... [God’s realm -- our home -- is where hope blooms, where joy is born, where love grows, where peace is waged] whatever sorrows or loneliness or memories or illness befall us, during this season or any season. Whatever your circumstance at Christmas, Christ was born for you.”  

Amen.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

• Grateful for the concluding words I was looking for, the last two paragraphs were adapted from and quoted from Pastor Joelle Coville-Hanson, a UCC pastor and one of my RevGalBlogPals from Ridgeway Iowa.  
• This sermon was also strongly influenced by sermons by Amy Peden Haynie (about what we can do) and Rev Dr Mom (the MLK quote), also two of my RevGal sisters.
• I got to host, and be nourished by, two RevGal 11th Hour Preacher Parties that kept us going this weekend, one on Friday and one on Saturday.  Thanks to all of you!

Putting the Christ in Christmas, if you please

Adapted slightly from my church newsletter article archives of December 2010, wherein I offered the following modest proposal:  

QUIT talking about putting the Christ back into Christmas! (please????)

Yes, that's coming from this pastor, duly ordained as a minister of the gospel, Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and -- before you ask -- I do love Christmas.  I love the Christmas carols, the wonderful smells, the delicious food, the colorful lights, the family gatherings, the decorated church and homes, the Advent wreath, the Bible story, and I love celebrating the birthday of Jesus.  So, it's not that I have one thing against Christ or Christmas!  I'm asking you to quit fighting a "war on Christmas" and see the season in a new way:

• Be logical:  Christmas (the word) always has Christ (the first syllable) in it.  You can't take the Christ out of Christmas, even if you try!
• Be historically informed:  If it irritates or offends you to see Christmas spelled as Xmas, please know that X is not our letter X.  X is really χ, the Greek letter "chi" (pronounced KIE, rhymes with "pie") which is the first letter of the Greek word "Christos" meaning "anointed".  χ began to be used as a shorthand way to write Christ's name in 16th century Europe by monks and scholars who knew the Greek origins of using χ.  Xmas does keep the Christ in Christmas and is not a sign of disrespect.  Remember that no one ever called Jesus Christ by his English name anyway!
• Be polite:  When a server or a salesperson or a checkout helper says "Happy Holidays" it is not our cue to teach them a lesson by replying, with force, "Merry Christmas!" I heard a great quote recently:  "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit and wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad."  As Christians, what we proclaim is not Christmas; what we proclaim is Jesus Christ. They'll know we are Christians by our love, not because we put them in their place.  If you do have people you must teach, then:
• Be accurate:  The season we Christians celebrate before December 24/25 is not Christmas, but Advent.  If we are going to teach Christian Christmas tradition, then we would teach that Christian Christmas ("Merry Christmas!") begins on Dec. 25, or when the Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve.  Or . . . go ahead and be merry, not accurate!
• Be open:  People celebrate a variety of holidays during this season.  Some people celebrate more than one.  We like to go ahead and celebrate Christmas (early!), so why not be open to the many celebrations (plural) of the season:  Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the day the boss gave you a half day off for the Christmas party, your Christmas vacation days from work.  Expand!  Jesus did.  "Happy holidays" spreads the joy!
• Be doers of the word and not hearers (or talkers) only (see James 1:22 & Matthew 7:24-27):  Let's keep Christmas holy in the things we do.  Attend worship regularly.  Make celebrations more about love than things.  Spend more time than money on loved ones.  Make a gift to the mitten tree at church. Dust off your Bible and bring it to church.  Come back to Sunday School again.  Put the Christ back into everyday life, not just back into Christmas.
• Lighten up!  Share the spirit of the season, which is full of fantastic things that Jesus himself did not ordain specifically.  Enjoy the holidays, as many holly-jolly-holidays as you are offered or can take for yourself. 

I look forward to Christmas Eve at our church (or yours!) as we celebrate Christmas together!

What I Know With 10 Days to Go

Ruby, resting up for the big adventure!

September 30 is my last Sunday serving as Interim Senior Pastor of my current congregation.  For the first time in 19 years of clergy life, I am leaving a ministry setting without knowing where the next ministry setting will be, or if there will be a "next ministry setting" at all.

"What are you going to do?" I get asked this a lot.  "Where will you go?"  I don't have many answers to "What's next?"

I do know that I am moving.  My house is for sale.  I have given away lots of stuff.  I still have too much stuff. This I do know!

I do know that this interim ministry is ending as it needs to  and when it had to.  The work was hard and good. And hard.  A lot.  The congregation worked very hard, and is still working.  Hindsight is helping us all to see how far we have come. We are finding some hope in that.

I do know that on October 1, I will pack up the cat and some stuff in my smallish car and drive to Baton Rouge and be there for awhile, or longer.  It has been 25 years since I've lived in my native Texas or in my adopted Louisiana. That adds up to 25 years in Ohio and Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia, Dayton, Bradford County (PA), and the Lehigh Valley (PA).  The kids were 2, 8, and 9 when we moved. We were married back then, too.  One seminary education, seven congregations, and a few serious "life-quakes" later, it's just me and a cat named Ruby taking on this new adventure.

I do know that there is a chance I will be in a ministry setting somewhere in the area.  I am in "that dance" right now with a couple of places.  I will be fine if one of them works out.  Even excited.  I'm not burned out. Just done.  Here.

I am counting on having other options, one of which could be a return to my first career as a medical technologist.  Another wild card dream job or two are also swirling around in the mix.

That's all I know about what happens on, and after, October 1.

Ten days -- and two Sundays -- to GO.  I'm going. Yep. I really am.

Friday Five: 'Tis a Gift to Be Simple

Photo by my niece, Laura Nichols, the day I let her use my camera!

Today's RevGalBlogPals Friday Five is courtesy of kathrynzj who is coming off of a week of vacation and is interested in streamlining her life. She invites us to respond to this question:

What are 5 things you do or things you have bought that have made your life simpler or easier?

That's EASY!

1)  Kindle Touch -- Let me count the ways!

• Easier to hold than a traditional book and easier on the eyes.
• Less space to keep books. 
• Lots of free and very very inexpensive books to have and others to borrow.
• Can carry around a Bible (or more) and even simple liturgies for home Communions or hospital crises.
• For sermons, it's the best -- simple & sleek!  (Ditto about funerals and weddings)  I like the leather case that my sister gave me. 

2) Google Drive (formerly Google Docs) -- I am trying to get all of my documents into two backup places and this is one of them. (The other is an external hard drive that I back up once a week.)  In Google Drive, I get 5 GB for free and I haven't used all of that.  After that, it will be $2.50 a month, which I think will still be worth the peace of mind.

3) Zen Habits blog -- Inspiration for gentleness and simplicity. Simplify and Savor Life or 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life would be good places to find ideas for today's topic.

4) Be More With Less blog -- More good ideas and challenges for simplifying and downsizing. I think it would be great to try 50 Days with 100 Things.

5) Gluten Free (and now almost) Grain Free Eating: At first glance, this might sound more complicated and more trouble than it's worth. Aside from the health benefits (for me -- your mileage may vary), there are simplicity benefits. Think about it:  there are whole sections of the grocery store that I no longer need to mess with.  Searching a menu is easier.  I am "limited" to making choices of among things that are less processed and have fewer ingredients, which itself is probably healthier.   The Joy of Limitations may not appeal to everyone, but my INFP personality finds my life a whole lot simpler when I live within certain limitations.

BONUS: Something I wish I could manage better:  Right now I am trying to manage getting ready to move.  I am ready to downsize and I know what I want/need to get rid of. The challenge:  how to get rid of what I am ready to let go of.  Sell? (How?) Donate? (To whom?) I wish I could do it better and (please) a whole lot faster.

Friday Five: What To Take Edition

RevGal Sally writes this for today's Friday Five:  "We are packing to move, boxes are everywhere, stuff has been taken to charity shops, more needs to go to the tip. Once again I am asking myself where all this stuff has come from, once again I'm thinking that I should really reduce and simplify.

So bearing in mind you are allowed the Bible, a bed + linen, a functioning kitchen, and a comfy chair, clothes within reason ( no dragging last centuries wardrobe in case), and probably essential today a lap-top OR computer  choose one from each of the following as your luxuries:

1. A book
2. A piece of music (albums/ sets allowed)
3. Piece of electronic/ tech equipment
4. luxury item of clothing
5. One item of your choice- it can be as normal or as weird as you like"


* * * * * * * * 
Well, guess what?!  I, too, am donating and selling things in anticipation of a possible (probable?) move, and I am also asking myself where this stuff came from, and -- yes -- attempting to simplify.  You'd think simplifying would be simple, but no.  


So, from Sally's list, here's are the luxuries I would choose:


1. BOOK:  The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron


2. PIECE OF MUSIC:  Loreena McKennitt Book of Secrets


3. PIECE OF ELECTRONIC/TECH EQUIPMENT:  My Kindle Touch (which would open up #1 & #2)


4. LUXURY ITEM OF CLOTHING: Plaid Flannel Robe (hey, that, plus the rest it implies is luxury to me!)


5.  ITEM OF CHOICE:  Absolutely, it would be CANDLES!

Friday Five: Dream, Girls!

Jan at Yearning for God has been studying Carl Jung and dreams with a group of friends. She invites us to play today's RevGalBlogPals Friday Five by asking some dreamy questions:


Everyone dreams: Do you remember your dreams? How often?
Yes, I almost always remember my dreams. I dream in color and sound and am aware of feelings in the dreams.

Did you or do you have a recurring dream? Share it, if you'd like.
Over my lifetime, I've had four memorable recurring dreams, sequentially through my life, it seems.  My earliest dream memory was a vivid abandonment recurring dream. The second was an ominous prophetic recurring dream. The third was a FairyTale-esque recurring dream. This one pretty much stopped at the time of the end of a 23 year marriage, 15 years ago.  However, I did have one of these fairly recently.

Have you ever had recurring themes or images in dreams? Examples?
This involves my most recent of the four recurring dreams.  I have been having these since the time that there was not to be another actual pregnancy or baby in real life, and I have it even now.  One variation involves discovering I am pregnant -- in my dream I can feel the baby movement in me -- and being totally amazed and delighted by this.  Another variation involves a baby -- always an infant girl.  She is mine -- biologically, or at least to take care of  -- and sometimes, in the dream, that is challenging, but most often it is peaceful and happy. 

Do you day dream? About what?
Yes. Most often I daydream about what miracles might be possible.

What are your dreams/hopes/goals for the future?
More pleasure, more play, more health and energy, more creativity and enjoying the gifts in each day.  I hear that sounding pretty vague with a tinge of Pollyanna.  But, at the end (I hope and pray it's the end) of a way-too-long period of drama and angst and trying too hard at things that bore little or no fruit  -- and blaming myself far too much -- I'm ready for more JOY!  

Friday Five: Rambling Randomness

Today's RevGalBlogPal Friday Five is from revkjarla who offers us this Friday Five in honor of spontaneous thinking!
So...


1.  What religion/faith besides yours captures your curiousity and why? 
Neo-paganism, I think, because it's earthy, celebrative, and diverse. 

2.  What is the first or most memorable pop song you ever learned as a kid? 
Oh gee, I grew up in the early 60's so my life played out to all the Beatles songs. But the first one I remember was a real oldie from the 50's:  "Que Sera, Sera" by Doris Day.


3.  If God were a color.....(finish this sentence creatively) ... there would have been an "only begotten" gay child!  

4.  If you were going to make a sandwich right now for lunch, and you magically had all the items you need for it, what would that sandwich be?  
A gluten free wrap with Chipotle-esque ingredients: grilled meat, black beans, seasoned rice, multiple salsas, avocado, cheese and sour cream. I'll have some Sangria with that!


5.  How are you doing?  Really, how are you? 
Considering everything -- and by "everything" I mean multitudes of unbloggable church-related stuff -- I'm doing very well, thank you very much.  In the midst of feeling confused and sad and impotent, I also am very excited about a future that has not been revealed.  And I have a massage appointment today!


Bonus:  What are you enjoying/loving right now? 

I'm going with a "general" right now instead of a "right this very minute" right now:
Sunny days, pictures and videos of my grandson, good food and a little wine with good friends on a regular basis, and getting back to sewing some stuff.

Friday Five: The Ups, The Downs, and The Cutely

For todays' RevGalBlogPal Friday Five, Sally prompts us to quickly answer these five questions:

What has encouraged you?
Relating to congregational life: A group of people are now having honest and open and reasonably respectful conversations about difficult things.

What has challenged you?
Relating to that same congregational life: The conversations, while honest and open and respectful, are steeped in "logical" misinformation and inability to see around the next corner. Helping to facilitate these conversations and feed them digestible information is challenging. Perhaps most challenging is that it feels important (even essential) to celebrate progress, but that is not in the local culture DNA, where they seem to be stuck in lament and criticism mode.

What has inspired you?
The people who "GET" me!  And they let me know that they get me. And they play along.  That literally has breathed life into me this week.

What has made you smile?
The above video from Amy's blog:  I have smiled every time I watch Daniel, the wonderful grandchild, saying "Happy Birthday, Papa" for his dad's birthday this week.  He also said "Bye Bye YaYa" to me on the phone the other day just as cutely.  Yes, "cutely" is a word, and he's the poster kid!  My own (now grown) kids still show up with the "cutely" on a regular basis.  They are each good for a smile!

What has brought a lump to your throat or a tear to your eye in a good way?
Last week's Confirmation Sunday, definitely.  God's still speaking voice and still-calling Spirit blesses and surprises our best, and worst, attempts at being the church.

Sunday Sermon: See the Light

See the Light of God Revealed
John 20:19-31; 1 John 1:1-2:2
April 15, 2012

Our gospel today gives us a picture of a church.
It’s a church which had no fancy organ, or even an old upright piano.
No choir. No pastor, even.
In fact, it’s a picture of a most miserable little gathering – how could they even take upon itself the name, “church.” We see the disciples of Jesus, gathered after his resurrection. Here, is the church at its worst — “scarred, disheartened, and defensive.”[Tom Long]
How can these fearful followers even be expected to keep on FOLLOWING a Jesus who had disappeared – not just dead but dead and gone – gone from their sight.

If only they could see him . . .

Seeing is believing -- right?

We just celebrated “He is risen!” last Sunday.  Just like those disciples -- we have been told that Jesus is alive!  Mary Magdalene went and told us, just as she “went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord.  She also told them what he had said to her.”  The disciples that Upper Room mourned that Jesus was dead and gone; we celebrate that he is risen indeed!

How can they believe in a risen Christ they haven’t seen?  
How can we?

And then there’s Thomas -- we know him as “Doubting Thomas” – we might more accurately call him “Honest Thomas” – he told the truth about his desire to see Jesus – and he told the truth about what it would take for him to believe – nothing less than seeing the nail scars in Jesus’ hands and touching them himself.  

If only Thomas could see Jesus for himself . . .

Thomas wasn’t the only disciple who needed proof – ALL of the disciples were stuck in disbelief until they could see Jesus for themselves.   Thomas was the only one who admitted his need for proof – Thomas was the only one saying what is obvious to us – seeing is believing.