Dear Friends in Christ -
Even as I type this (at 6:10 in the morning), the snow plow is hard at work shoveling snow in the parking lot. Services for today (8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.) are ON. If you're able, please do come to worship, and as you come, please drive safely!!
With joyful anticipation,
Janet+
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Words of comfort
Dear Friends in Christ -
This Sunday, one of our readings is from a passage in the book of Isaiah that Johannes Olearius turned into a hymn. It's one of my Advent favorites, for a couple of reasons: (1) it speaks of God coming to save us (a promise I rely on!), and (2) the tune we have for it in our hymnal has this great, swingy syncopation. Enjoy!
Faithfully,
Janet+
Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning ’neath their sorrow’s load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.
For the herald’s voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He will no more see nor heed.
She has suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever springing gladness.
Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain:
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign,
For the glory of the Lord
Now o’er the earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
This Sunday, one of our readings is from a passage in the book of Isaiah that Johannes Olearius turned into a hymn. It's one of my Advent favorites, for a couple of reasons: (1) it speaks of God coming to save us (a promise I rely on!), and (2) the tune we have for it in our hymnal has this great, swingy syncopation. Enjoy!
Faithfully,
Janet+
Comfort, comfort ye My people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning ’neath their sorrow’s load;
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.
For the herald’s voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way!
Let the valleys rise to meet Him,
And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved His anger
He will no more see nor heed.
She has suffered many a day,
Now her griefs have passed away,
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever springing gladness.
Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain:
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits His holy reign,
For the glory of the Lord
Now o’er the earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token
That His Word is never broken.
Friday, December 5, 2008
"O come let us adore Him"
Silence is the best response to Mystery. -Kathleen Norris
Dear Friends in Christ -
Christmas songs have started to play on the radio. Mostly, it seems that the ones they're playing now are the secular ones - "Jingle Bells" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" - but the song that keeps popping into my head is "O Come All Ye Faithful."
It's actually the chorus of that song that's echoing in my ears "O come let us adore Him . . ." Those words give me pause because I'm not sure that I know how to "adore Him." I know how to go shopping and buy Christmas presents. I know how to give food to the food bank. I know how to have friends and family over for dinner. But I'm not so good at adoring.
Perhaps that's because there's not a whole lot of silence and stillness in my life. And when I have a few moments of silence and stillness, my first thought is often, "O good - now I can get that other thing done that I've been meaning to do."
One of our parishioners brought her new baby into the office this week. And in the middle of the phone calls and the faxes and the email and the other things, the baby's mother and I just leaned over his little carseat cradle and looked at him. So beautiful. So sweet. So peaceful as he slept there.
As I reflected on those tender moments, I realized that what happened there as we gazed at the baby was just a little taste of what true adoration must be like. Time seemed to expand, and my whole self suddenly seemed more open and joyful.
For you - and for me - I pray for more moments of adoration. Time in front of the fire. Time sipping a cup of tea. Time looking at the lights on the Christmas tree. Time walking in the woods. Time seeing something beautiful. Time to wonder. Time to adore.
Faithfully,
Janet+
Dear Friends in Christ -
Christmas songs have started to play on the radio. Mostly, it seems that the ones they're playing now are the secular ones - "Jingle Bells" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" - but the song that keeps popping into my head is "O Come All Ye Faithful."
It's actually the chorus of that song that's echoing in my ears "O come let us adore Him . . ." Those words give me pause because I'm not sure that I know how to "adore Him." I know how to go shopping and buy Christmas presents. I know how to give food to the food bank. I know how to have friends and family over for dinner. But I'm not so good at adoring.
Perhaps that's because there's not a whole lot of silence and stillness in my life. And when I have a few moments of silence and stillness, my first thought is often, "O good - now I can get that other thing done that I've been meaning to do."
One of our parishioners brought her new baby into the office this week. And in the middle of the phone calls and the faxes and the email and the other things, the baby's mother and I just leaned over his little carseat cradle and looked at him. So beautiful. So sweet. So peaceful as he slept there.
As I reflected on those tender moments, I realized that what happened there as we gazed at the baby was just a little taste of what true adoration must be like. Time seemed to expand, and my whole self suddenly seemed more open and joyful.
For you - and for me - I pray for more moments of adoration. Time in front of the fire. Time sipping a cup of tea. Time looking at the lights on the Christmas tree. Time walking in the woods. Time seeing something beautiful. Time to wonder. Time to adore.
Faithfully,
Janet+
Thursday, December 4, 2008
More on silence
Dear Friends in Christ -
Today's Advent offering . . . another lovely poem.
He's coming!
Faithfully,
Janet+
SILENCE SINGS - by T. Sturge Moore
SO faint, no ear is sure it hears,
So faint and far;
So vast that very near appears
My voice, both here and in each star
Unmeasured leagues do bridge between;
Like that which on a face is seen
Where secrets are;
Sweeping, like veils of lofty balm,
Tresses unbound
O'er desert sand, o'er ocean calm,
I am wherever is not sound;
And, goddess of the truthful face,
My beauty doth instil its grace
That joy abound.
Today's Advent offering . . . another lovely poem.
He's coming!
Faithfully,
Janet+
SILENCE SINGS - by T. Sturge Moore
SO faint, no ear is sure it hears,
So faint and far;
So vast that very near appears
My voice, both here and in each star
Unmeasured leagues do bridge between;
Like that which on a face is seen
Where secrets are;
Sweeping, like veils of lofty balm,
Tresses unbound
O'er desert sand, o'er ocean calm,
I am wherever is not sound;
And, goddess of the truthful face,
My beauty doth instil its grace
That joy abound.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Invitation to prayer
Dear Friends in Christ -
May this bit of T.S. Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" serve as an invitation, drawing you to prayer.
Faithfully,
Janet+
If you came by this way,
Taking any route, starting from anywhere,
At any time or season,
It would always be the same: you
would have to put off
Sense and motion. You are not to
verify, instruct yourself, or
inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to
kneel where prayer has been valid.
And prayer is more than an order
of words, the conscious occupation
of the praying mind, or the sound
of the voice praying . . .
Of timeless moments. So, where the
light fails on a winters afternoon,
in a secluded chapel . . .
With the drawing of this Love and
the choice of this Calling
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
May this bit of T.S. Eliot's poem "Little Gidding" serve as an invitation, drawing you to prayer.
Faithfully,
Janet+
If you came by this way,
Taking any route, starting from anywhere,
At any time or season,
It would always be the same: you
would have to put off
Sense and motion. You are not to
verify, instruct yourself, or
inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to
kneel where prayer has been valid.
And prayer is more than an order
of words, the conscious occupation
of the praying mind, or the sound
of the voice praying . . .
Of timeless moments. So, where the
light fails on a winters afternoon,
in a secluded chapel . . .
With the drawing of this Love and
the choice of this Calling
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Valley of Silence
A gift for you on this third day of Advent: a poem about silence
Faithfully waiting with you for His coming,
Janet+
The Valley of Silence
by Fiona MacLeod
In the secret Valley of Silence
No breath doth fall;
No wind stirs in the branches;
No bird doth call:
As on a white wall
A breathless lizard is still,
So silence lies on the valley
Breathlessly still.
In the dusk-grown heart of the valley
An altar rises white:
No rapt priest bends in awe
Before its silent light:
But sometimes a flight
Of breathless words of prayer
White-wing'd enclose the altar,
Eddies of prayer.
Faithfully waiting with you for His coming,
Janet+
The Valley of Silence
by Fiona MacLeod
In the secret Valley of Silence
No breath doth fall;
No wind stirs in the branches;
No bird doth call:
As on a white wall
A breathless lizard is still,
So silence lies on the valley
Breathlessly still.
In the dusk-grown heart of the valley
An altar rises white:
No rapt priest bends in awe
Before its silent light:
But sometimes a flight
Of breathless words of prayer
White-wing'd enclose the altar,
Eddies of prayer.
Monday, December 1, 2008
World AIDS Day
Dear Friends in Christ -
Today is the day we remember all those who are suffering from AIDS - all those who have died, all those who are ill, and all those who have lost a loved one to this dreaded disease.
Remembering is about more than just feeling sad or even saying a prayer (as powerful as that is!). The word remember means, literally, to bring together again. And the only way that we can rightly re-member in the face of the global AIDS crisis is to DO something to help defeat this disease.
Today, if you can, do something to help . . .
+ Wear a red ribbon
+ Go to www.worldaidscampaign.org and get educated about what's being done to defeat the disease
+ Write to our leaders (President, congressional representatives) and remind them that the theme of this year's 20th-anniversary-of-World-AIDS-Day Campaign is "Leadership". Ask them to tell you what they're doing to help fight this disease around the world.
+ Donate to World Vision or another organization that is helping kids who have been orphaned by AIDS.
May God bless you richly for caring for those who are hungry, sick, widowed and orphaned by this disease.
Faithfully,
Janet+
Today is the day we remember all those who are suffering from AIDS - all those who have died, all those who are ill, and all those who have lost a loved one to this dreaded disease.
Remembering is about more than just feeling sad or even saying a prayer (as powerful as that is!). The word remember means, literally, to bring together again. And the only way that we can rightly re-member in the face of the global AIDS crisis is to DO something to help defeat this disease.
Today, if you can, do something to help . . .
+ Wear a red ribbon
+ Go to www.worldaidscampaign.org and get educated about what's being done to defeat the disease
+ Write to our leaders (President, congressional representatives) and remind them that the theme of this year's 20th-anniversary-of-World-AIDS-Day Campaign is "Leadership". Ask them to tell you what they're doing to help fight this disease around the world.
+ Donate to World Vision or another organization that is helping kids who have been orphaned by AIDS.
May God bless you richly for caring for those who are hungry, sick, widowed and orphaned by this disease.
Faithfully,
Janet+
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