Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Lent Devotional: Holy Saturday, April 23
Sandwiched between death and life, agony and ecstasy.
All is silent. The world seems paused. Love at rest?
Could this be the day, Holy Saturday, where we live the most?
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
All is silent. The world seems paused. Love at rest?
Could this be the day, Holy Saturday, where we live the most?
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Lent Devotional: Good Friday, April 22
Dark...chilling...earth shattering...overpowering loneliness...lost...heart broken...swirling sorrow...deep grief...Suffering Servant Love...what wondrous love IS this?
(Reflection by Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
(Reflection by Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Lent Devotional: Maundy Thursday, April 21
Their last night together, Jesus gathered his disciples:
faithful, brave, sacrificing, scared, thoughtless, denying, betraying,
his friends.
They shared a meal, and then he gave them the message one last time:
he washed their feet, saying, "Do this - serve one another like I serve you.
Love one another as I love you."
The disciples ate in silence while he spoke to them,
chewing, listening, minds wandering, wondering.
And then he walked out to the garden.
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
faithful, brave, sacrificing, scared, thoughtless, denying, betraying,
his friends.
They shared a meal, and then he gave them the message one last time:
he washed their feet, saying, "Do this - serve one another like I serve you.
Love one another as I love you."
The disciples ate in silence while he spoke to them,
chewing, listening, minds wandering, wondering.
And then he walked out to the garden.
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 20
Sympathy sends a care card to a person in need... but it doesn't enter the brokenness or feel the pain. Compassion enters into the world of the destitute to suffer with the other...our neighbor... our brother and sister... this is Christ-like love - for Christ is the great example (shows us the way) of entering into the life, and pain, of creation.
We cannot love with our eyes closed.
(Reflection by Rev. Andrew Kukla)
We cannot love with our eyes closed.
(Reflection by Rev. Andrew Kukla)
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 19
I found out this morning that our down the street neighbors separated over the weekend. "Long time coming," I was told.
"Tried to work it out," our mutual friend said.
In the other direction down the street, a husband was involuntarily put in rehab for 20 + years of alcoholism.
Where have I been?
In both cases all on the outside looked OK, normal, smiles.
Inside those houses must have been a world of hurt.
Little ecosystems of coping and pain and indecision and grief.
Both families have children and pets and payments.
Everyone in our neighborhood owes more than our houses are worth these days.
Neither family has a faith community of which they are a part.
In fact, I might be the only clergy person either knows.
For both families, I am peripheral.
A nice neighbor.
A friendly face.
I'll write them a note.
And maybe give them a pretty tea pot.
Sometimes in this not fair world, things are not only not Happily Ever After,
they aren't even 'Til Death Do Us Part.
They are Until Life Rips Us Asunder.
This is holy week.
(Reflection by Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini)
"Tried to work it out," our mutual friend said.
In the other direction down the street, a husband was involuntarily put in rehab for 20 + years of alcoholism.
Where have I been?
In both cases all on the outside looked OK, normal, smiles.
Inside those houses must have been a world of hurt.
Little ecosystems of coping and pain and indecision and grief.
Both families have children and pets and payments.
Everyone in our neighborhood owes more than our houses are worth these days.
Neither family has a faith community of which they are a part.
In fact, I might be the only clergy person either knows.
For both families, I am peripheral.
A nice neighbor.
A friendly face.
I'll write them a note.
And maybe give them a pretty tea pot.
Sometimes in this not fair world, things are not only not Happily Ever After,
they aren't even 'Til Death Do Us Part.
They are Until Life Rips Us Asunder.
This is holy week.
(Reflection by Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini)
Lent Devotional: April 18
When love comes to town...
assumptions about who's in and who's out are challenged...
new stories about grace abound...
challenges are issued to live love daily...
When love comes to town...
As you begin the week, enjoy this version of a song by U2 and B.B. King entitled "When Love comes to Town" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1kQER770M - that invites us to dream the change that happens when love comes to town.
(Reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
assumptions about who's in and who's out are challenged...
new stories about grace abound...
challenges are issued to live love daily...
When love comes to town...
As you begin the week, enjoy this version of a song by U2 and B.B. King entitled "When Love comes to Town" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th1kQER770M - that invites us to dream the change that happens when love comes to town.
(Reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Lent Faith Stories: Betsy Lyons
A word from Betsy Lyons:
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well…” 1 Thessalonians 2:8
When I think about discipleship, the first thing that always comes to mind is sharing. Because when you really look at it, discipleship is simply the act of sharing with another person. Sharing not only the story of Jesus, but opening up ourselves and inviting others to be a part of our faith journey.
Jesus’ ministry plan has always seemed so incredible to me. Today, when we think about a successful ministry or church, we tend to think in terms of attendance or membership. Bigger churches are more successful because they have more people, right? Well it would depend on your definition of successful. Jesus’ ministry was not about gathering as many followers as he could. He chose to focus on discipling twelve young men. Jesus shared his life with his disciples. He lived with them, taught them, questioned them, encouraged them, ate and drank with them and worked alongside them.
Jesus intentionally shared his life with his disciples in order to teach them how to live like he did. And that is how he wants us to continue his ministry. Not by competing to see how many people we can convert, but by helping others grow into true followers of Christ.
I have been so blessed to see that kind of discipleship at Palms. I grew up here at Palms and the youth group played a huge role in my faith journey. It was there that I began to understand what a relationship with Christ meant and how I could live out my faith every day. Without my youth leaders discipling and sharing their lives with me, I know I would be in a much different place today.
As I grew more in my faith and left for college, I realized that while so many people had discipled me, I had never really taken the next step and discipled others. Jesus did not share with his disciples so they could keep it all to themselves. He commanded them to share what he had taught. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Palms has been vital in helping me take this next step in discipleship. Two years ago, we began to develop our college ministry and lead mission trips for college students. It has been amazing to see God work through this ministry and provide opportunities for fellowship and growth for college students. I have also recently begun to work as a leader with the youth group. I now get to share my life with our youth, just like so many of my youth leaders did with me.
Our faith and our lives are meant to be shared and it has been a joy to do so. I am so thankful for the opportunities God has given me to take part in discipleship at Palms. Sharing my life with others has helped me to grow even more in my own faith. I encourage you to take the next step in discipleship and think about who God is calling you to share your life with!
Betsy Lyons
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well…” 1 Thessalonians 2:8
When I think about discipleship, the first thing that always comes to mind is sharing. Because when you really look at it, discipleship is simply the act of sharing with another person. Sharing not only the story of Jesus, but opening up ourselves and inviting others to be a part of our faith journey.
Jesus’ ministry plan has always seemed so incredible to me. Today, when we think about a successful ministry or church, we tend to think in terms of attendance or membership. Bigger churches are more successful because they have more people, right? Well it would depend on your definition of successful. Jesus’ ministry was not about gathering as many followers as he could. He chose to focus on discipling twelve young men. Jesus shared his life with his disciples. He lived with them, taught them, questioned them, encouraged them, ate and drank with them and worked alongside them.
Jesus intentionally shared his life with his disciples in order to teach them how to live like he did. And that is how he wants us to continue his ministry. Not by competing to see how many people we can convert, but by helping others grow into true followers of Christ.
I have been so blessed to see that kind of discipleship at Palms. I grew up here at Palms and the youth group played a huge role in my faith journey. It was there that I began to understand what a relationship with Christ meant and how I could live out my faith every day. Without my youth leaders discipling and sharing their lives with me, I know I would be in a much different place today.
As I grew more in my faith and left for college, I realized that while so many people had discipled me, I had never really taken the next step and discipled others. Jesus did not share with his disciples so they could keep it all to themselves. He commanded them to share what he had taught. “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Palms has been vital in helping me take this next step in discipleship. Two years ago, we began to develop our college ministry and lead mission trips for college students. It has been amazing to see God work through this ministry and provide opportunities for fellowship and growth for college students. I have also recently begun to work as a leader with the youth group. I now get to share my life with our youth, just like so many of my youth leaders did with me.
Our faith and our lives are meant to be shared and it has been a joy to do so. I am so thankful for the opportunities God has given me to take part in discipleship at Palms. Sharing my life with others has helped me to grow even more in my own faith. I encourage you to take the next step in discipleship and think about who God is calling you to share your life with!
Betsy Lyons
Lent Devotional: April 16
He loves the flowers that come every spring.
Sometimes, his mind drifts to a game he played as a kid, a petal at a time:
"She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me..."
For some reason, the flowers always seemed to have an odd number of petals.
(Reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Sometimes, his mind drifts to a game he played as a kid, a petal at a time:
"She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me..."
For some reason, the flowers always seemed to have an odd number of petals.
(Reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Lent Devotional: April 15
She was hungry. Surrounded by playmates and attentive adults no one knew. Love was watching. Now she is fed body and soul.
(Reflection by Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
(Reflection by Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 14
I lay in bed wondering how best to love my neighbor...
...and struggling because I'm filled to overflowing with anger.
Righteous anger?
Maybe...
...but I need to let it go all the same.
Right or wrong doesn't matter... without love we all lose.
(Reflection by Rev. Andrew Kukla)
...and struggling because I'm filled to overflowing with anger.
Righteous anger?
Maybe...
...but I need to let it go all the same.
Right or wrong doesn't matter... without love we all lose.
(Reflection by Rev. Andrew Kukla)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 13
Love actually is all around.
Sometimes I want to point it out,
to say aloud to anyone listening, "That's love!":
the driver who let me turn right onto 3rd Street
the woman who works at the gas station who called me Sweetie
my neighbor who pulled our trash can up to our garage after garbage day
Andrew unlocking my office at least once daily when I lock my keys inside
the letter carrier who shut the lid to our mailbox on a rainy day
a call from my mom just to say hello
It's love! All around!
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
Sometimes I want to point it out,
to say aloud to anyone listening, "That's love!":
the driver who let me turn right onto 3rd Street
the woman who works at the gas station who called me Sweetie
my neighbor who pulled our trash can up to our garage after garbage day
Andrew unlocking my office at least once daily when I lock my keys inside
the letter carrier who shut the lid to our mailbox on a rainy day
a call from my mom just to say hello
It's love! All around!
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 12
He walked on the beach and thought a new thought of love. When I walk on the beach I think "are the kids going to sunburn, can I find any sharks teeth, that dog should be on a leash, etc. etc. etc." I want to be more like him. God, make me more like him.
(a reflection by Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini)
(a reflection by Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini)
Lent Devotional: April 11
"The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." (1 John 4:21)
It's not more complicated than that.
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
It's not more complicated than that.
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Lent Devotional: April 9
Words can say too much. Words can say too little.
Words heal. Words wound. Words hide. Words reveal.
I guess you could say love is a word, but I wonder...
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Words heal. Words wound. Words hide. Words reveal.
I guess you could say love is a word, but I wonder...
(a reflection by Dr. Tom Walker)
Lent Devotional: April 8
I thought love was forever. I never expected love lost. What I learned from the pain was I am grateful to have loved.
(Reflection from Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
(Reflection from Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 7
I lost my wallet once... What a mess.
No ID, no credit card, no driver's license... lost my insurance information and my Costco membership card, all my various rewards cards too... couldn't even check out a library book.
It was like I lost everything...
...Everything????
(Reflection from Rev. Andrew Kukla)
No ID, no credit card, no driver's license... lost my insurance information and my Costco membership card, all my various rewards cards too... couldn't even check out a library book.
It was like I lost everything...
...Everything????
(Reflection from Rev. Andrew Kukla)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 6
We eat breakfast together each Wednesday before school.
We don't read the Bible;
we don't have a devotional;
we don't even pray.
We sit together:
some sleepy, some talkative,
some worried about homework or a quiz.
We share conversation, toast, and rides to school.
It's communion, although we don't call it that.
God's perfect love on a plain old Wednesday.
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
We don't read the Bible;
we don't have a devotional;
we don't even pray.
We sit together:
some sleepy, some talkative,
some worried about homework or a quiz.
We share conversation, toast, and rides to school.
It's communion, although we don't call it that.
God's perfect love on a plain old Wednesday.
(Reflection by Rev. Katie Day)
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Lent Devotional: April 4
Dear Elder Son,
Both of you sons missed the mark when it comes to your father's love.
And we do, too - calling this story the Parable of the Prodigal Son & His Brother, when really it's all about the father.
Love wins.
Not greed, not fear, not retribution, not punishment, not jealousy.
Love wins.
So, did you ever go into the party?
Were you able to let go of your fear that you'd missed out on something you deserved, or your anger that your brother's sins would go unpunished?
As if any one of God's own children could do or say something
that would make God love them any less or any more,
that would make them cease to be God's child.
Because there is enough love for you both.
There is enough love for the whole world.
(from "Love Wins," a sermon by Rev. Katie Day on Luke 15: 11-32)
Both of you sons missed the mark when it comes to your father's love.
And we do, too - calling this story the Parable of the Prodigal Son & His Brother, when really it's all about the father.
Love wins.
Not greed, not fear, not retribution, not punishment, not jealousy.
Love wins.
So, did you ever go into the party?
Were you able to let go of your fear that you'd missed out on something you deserved, or your anger that your brother's sins would go unpunished?
As if any one of God's own children could do or say something
that would make God love them any less or any more,
that would make them cease to be God's child.
Because there is enough love for you both.
There is enough love for the whole world.
(from "Love Wins," a sermon by Rev. Katie Day on Luke 15: 11-32)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Lent Faith Stories: Kevin Day
A word from Kevin Day:
I strive in my teaching to mold thoughtful, articulate, creative problem-solvers who engage moral dilemmas, open historical questions, pressing global concerns, three-paragraph essays, and their classmates with the patience, generosity, and care they themselves deserve. Each day I call out my students from their weariness, indifference, anxiety, and (sometimes) open disdain of history to stand with me where old stories and current events intersect, awaiting our answers.
Or so I hope.
I like to think I embolden a few of my students to think for themselves - and to want to think for themselves, even when it isn't assigned. But after these four and a half years of teaching, I place myself before my own essential questions and wonder if I possess the wisdom (or the courage) to live out the authentic answers I expect of my students.
Can history teach me to be more...?
What's the story behind my story?
What is school for?
These essential questions invite my ninth grade World History students to think historically with me - the most faithful response to my seminary professors' invitation to think theologically with them. I remember the afternoon in Greek school when I realized that my time at Columbia Theological Seminary would not be the Finishing School for Preachers I had hoped. I would come to discover something far more transformative and dangerous there: A safe place to thrash out my sense of call alongside professors who, each in their own way, preached an implicit gospel in their lesson plans. Along the way, each one emboldened my search for answers beyond churchy jargon and borrowed words. Each one insisted my classmates and I dwell upon primary sources with technical skill and theological integrity. And each one taught in a way that honored good questions, making of their classrooms places of sacred waiting.
Is geography our destiny or our decision?
What in the world are we coming to?
What is school for?
My seventh grade World Geography students calculate their carbon footprint and imagine more sustainable cities, classrooms and schools (and, this year, practice creating one). We perceive and redefine our connectedness with female migrant factory workers in China, Darfur refugees, out-casted dalits in India, and Arab street vendors rallying for a voice in their own government. At each turn, I pray our exploration of the world renders it both larger and smaller than we first imagined, and invites us to participate in a future that remains open to our involvement and invention.
I remain grateful for John Philip Newell's gentle invitation to ask myself these very questions - particularly that third one. I am coming to see that the next mile of my journey as a teacher will force me to put myself out there as a voice for curricular innovation at my school. I find myself, as fearfully and imperfectly as any of Jesus' first disciples, daring to venture along a different road than the one my seminary professors walked with me. I am "back at school", so to speak, but without another adult in the room for whose validation to angle other than... mine.
And, for now, my daily seems to be to submit myself to be remade by my own questions, whether or not anyone ever knows what will become of it. Or, me.
I strive in my teaching to mold thoughtful, articulate, creative problem-solvers who engage moral dilemmas, open historical questions, pressing global concerns, three-paragraph essays, and their classmates with the patience, generosity, and care they themselves deserve. Each day I call out my students from their weariness, indifference, anxiety, and (sometimes) open disdain of history to stand with me where old stories and current events intersect, awaiting our answers.
Or so I hope.
I like to think I embolden a few of my students to think for themselves - and to want to think for themselves, even when it isn't assigned. But after these four and a half years of teaching, I place myself before my own essential questions and wonder if I possess the wisdom (or the courage) to live out the authentic answers I expect of my students.
Can history teach me to be more...?
What's the story behind my story?
What is school for?
These essential questions invite my ninth grade World History students to think historically with me - the most faithful response to my seminary professors' invitation to think theologically with them. I remember the afternoon in Greek school when I realized that my time at Columbia Theological Seminary would not be the Finishing School for Preachers I had hoped. I would come to discover something far more transformative and dangerous there: A safe place to thrash out my sense of call alongside professors who, each in their own way, preached an implicit gospel in their lesson plans. Along the way, each one emboldened my search for answers beyond churchy jargon and borrowed words. Each one insisted my classmates and I dwell upon primary sources with technical skill and theological integrity. And each one taught in a way that honored good questions, making of their classrooms places of sacred waiting.
Is geography our destiny or our decision?
What in the world are we coming to?
What is school for?
My seventh grade World Geography students calculate their carbon footprint and imagine more sustainable cities, classrooms and schools (and, this year, practice creating one). We perceive and redefine our connectedness with female migrant factory workers in China, Darfur refugees, out-casted dalits in India, and Arab street vendors rallying for a voice in their own government. At each turn, I pray our exploration of the world renders it both larger and smaller than we first imagined, and invites us to participate in a future that remains open to our involvement and invention.
I remain grateful for John Philip Newell's gentle invitation to ask myself these very questions - particularly that third one. I am coming to see that the next mile of my journey as a teacher will force me to put myself out there as a voice for curricular innovation at my school. I find myself, as fearfully and imperfectly as any of Jesus' first disciples, daring to venture along a different road than the one my seminary professors walked with me. I am "back at school", so to speak, but without another adult in the room for whose validation to angle other than... mine.
And, for now, my daily seems to be to submit myself to be remade by my own questions, whether or not anyone ever knows what will become of it. Or, me.
Lent Devotional: April 2
Part of fly-fishing is the rhythm of the cast. The more you practice casting, the smoother the rhythm, the better the cast and the fishing.
Perfect love casts out fear.
(Reflection from Dr. Tom Walker)
Perfect love casts out fear.
(Reflection from Dr. Tom Walker)
Lent Devotional: April 1
Sunday he stood on the steps at the beginning of the Time with the Younger Church. He was waving as big as he could to someone...I said, "Oh, how wonderful, you are waving to a friend." He nodded yes saying, "Mr. Jim, do you know him?" "I do." Then, he walked down the steps, stood in front of me, his deep brown eyes looked directly into mine, and he said in a voice filled with wisdom and depthfulness beyond his years - a voice I know came from the mouth of God -- "I love him." As he spoke the word "love" I could hear the first sounds of creation, the first word spoken from the mouth of God...and it was very, very good.
(Reflection from Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
(Reflection from Rev. Carol DiGiusto)
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