Announcements for OSLC July 26, 2017
OSLC Announcements July 26, 2017
Theology Pub & Kids Night In this week! Sign up for FFH! Plus many more service opportunities!
Announcements July 26 2017Theology Pub & Kids Night In this week! Sign up for FFH! Plus many more service opportunities!
Announcements July 26 2017In knitting, the way the thread holds together and the tension one uses to knit the yarn matters because the space that is in between the stitches also matters. Space matters in knitting because the amount of space or the ‘holes’ that show through create a certain look depending on whether it is very little space, tightly knit, or flowing and loosely knit. In the overall big picture neither method is better than the other, it just depends on what it is you are knitting and is the purpose to create warmth or a solid pattern or to create space in the stitches for a more lacey, intricate look or a cooler feeling garment.
Space matters in all kinds of ways in our life together and as individuals too. How much space one needs may depend on personality, or task or culture or spirit. It may depend on what the hoped for outcome of an experience is or where one has found themselves on the path of life or encounter with God. We used the word space to mean so many different things–space for our stuff, space for our bodies, personal comfort level of being touched, and space to think or feel or contemplate or be in the presence of God.
Over the past 5 weeks we have experienced all kinds of space issues and situations-some sacred and some not so much. Our suitcases for example are ones that we can carry on our back and can get into the overhead compartment of an airplane if needed. So all we brought will fit into that one bag. At first we thought no way, we are gone 5 weeks in climates that changed from a high of 50 degrees to a high of 98! But we soon discovered we had actually brought too much and began to ditch things! Also, our space together as a family shrunk to about a quarter of it’s normal size. Going from a house where everyone has their own room and a yard and a porch and a bathroom to places where are much closer together, including one stay where we were all in one room together, has it’s ‘knit together’ blessings and challenges!
We also discovered that culturally different places and people see space differently. In Iceland there is space everywhere-parks, streets are wide, people sit near one another but not too close in restaurants and cafes and buses. In Paris and Rome, space is limited–in a café it is one person right next to the other whether you know each other nor, on the metro you must push to claim your space and only take as much as your body fills!
It is interesting to me how the physical space I have can have such an effect on the mental and emotional space I have as well. Tight spaces made it difficult for me to be present and as soon as I had even just a little more space I could experience the moment more fully. We went to many places that are deemed ‘sacred’. From little country churches in Iceland to Norte Dame and Vatican City. From the mountain top of a sacred hill in the north of Iceland to the community of Taine, to a little meditative field in Assisi. All these spaces sacred in some way–either in the past or also in the present. I would not say that each of these spaces ‘felt’ sacred to me although all were appreciated for one element or another. Yet all were spaces where we took a moment to be in that space, to be present to the history or spirituality or community that it was reaching from the past into the present future. Being in these kinds of sacred spaces was a new way of honoring who we were and are from the depths of history and creating new meaning for our life together going forward. These spaces brought new understanding to what I consider sacred and also how I honor the sacred space and spirituality of others. They are spaces that opened our eyes not just to a different time or place but to a new understanding of self and the connection of communal spaces and experiences.
Psalm 139 speaks of the spaces, the promises, and the presence of God in our innermost being, our creation, our thoughts and all our spaces in between: O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! I try to count them—they are more than the sand; I come to the end—I am still with you. O that you would kill the wicked, O God, and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—those who speak of you maliciously, and lift themselves up against you for evil! Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Parts of this psalm I can read and feel wow–there is no space between me and God and that can feel crowded and it can feel freeing at the same time. I can hear the writer asking for God’s promise to continue, to be in all the spaces whether they are large or small, grand monuments or a quiet breeze. All these spaces and times are sacred from the moment of our creation. And so I discovered again a truth that has been revealed before and will be over and over–sacred space is sometimes a church or a history or a tradition and sometimes it is the shade of a tree or a conversation or the gift of your teenager falling asleep with their head on your shoulder on a train. God is revealed in many, many ways. God is in the tightly knit spaces and in the big flowing holes of life too. God is in our past, a part of the spaces that were before us and in between us and God is reaching into the present future creating new spaces knit together with the old.
What are the physical spaces that have been or remain sacred spaces for you? What are moments that you have experienced as sacred? How do you create mental and emotional and spiritual spaces throughout your day? Where would you like to feel more closely knit and where do you want to have more open space?
Food Truck Sunday is THIS Sunday! Help us with our School Supply Drive!
Announcements July 19 2017 (1)Join us for Food Truck Sunday, Bible in 52 Weeks this Sunday, FFH Updates and more!
Announcements July 12 2017In the 5th grade I wrote a paper about Iceland which was when I first had the desire to visit this place. I can still remember the encylopedia page (yes, it was totally ‘old school’ huge, heavy book with thick glossy pages and bright pictures) with the photos of people on bikes, the big steepled church and farmlands of sheep. I do not entirely remember why I fell so in love with the idea of Iceland, maybe it was just because it was the first time I had researched something I knew nothing about, however, I do know that the idea of living so far north, being with others who knew endless days of sun and endless days of darkness, and thus in my mind must see life differently was fascinating.
I set out on this trip to Iceland with the idea that I would find out more about this “Lutheran Country” (the state church is Lutheran) and what that meant. I had these key questions in mind: What does Lutheran identity look like in this place? What does religious identity look like in this place? It is interesting to look now at the questions I posed and laugh a little and not knowing what I did not know. They may not be the questions I would ask now, but they remain good ones with which to start. What I found out about Iceland is some of the answers to these questions but more so about the majesty of creation and God’s infinite creative process. What I also know is that one blog post cannot sum up my reflections and that there will be more insight to come as the days and weeks and months progress. And this is a good place to start.
There is much in Iceland that is of Lutheran history–the majestic cathedral in the center of the town, the small white country churches found in every remote area that look exactly alike, the historical elements of the people voting and choosing to adopt this religion. Also, in theological terms, Iceland is a very open and welcoming place, which is a part of our identity in the ELCA. For instance, there are signs that state LGBTQ people are welcome, restrooms say ‘whichever’ on the door instead of designating a gender, and the Pride parade is attended by over 100,000 people while the population of Iceland is just around 300,000.
The history of Iceland is such that the real roots of religion come from long standing Norse mythology traditions. We hiked a hill that is seen as a sacred site and has been for centuries–but first it was a hill to be climbed to worship Thor and now it is attributed to Jesus, but still carries some of the tradition with it because as the story goes, if you climb the hill in silence without looking back, you can make three wishes at the top–none of the wishes can cause harm to anyone and must be positive in nature. So we went ahead and paid our 4 Icelandic kroner and hiked the hill in silence. The view was spectacular and the wind was strong enough to hold us up if we leaned back. While I am not sure that I would classify this as a deep spiritual experience (ok, I am sure that I wouldn’t), it was a connecting moment as we climbed in silence, politely nodding to those one their way down who dared to try to speak to us (must not have read the sign!). Seeing the view in each direction of the land and see around us, the little church in the distance, the boats and roads and mountains and holding our little knit square was a moment of being small in the vastness of God, but not being small alone, yet rather together. Also, being connected to a story–the story of the people there, the story of the mountain, the story of Thor and Jesus and all the threads that tied together to come to that moment is what being knit together is about. It is connecting with those we know well and love and with the mystery of God’s creation and with people who have different stories yet the same oneness.
This ‘oneness’ connection in Iceland is where I will land on answering the questions posed at the beginning. This country has a deep spiritual history from worshipping the Norse gods, to holding sagas–big meetings–where a vote was taken to be Christians and with that came Lutheranism, to the immense amounts of space and beauty of so many places (black sand beaches, waterfalls the original Geyser, volcanoes to just name a few). There were very few people in worship on Sunday and the space echoed with the words and the prayers and yet there was a richness to the deeper connections in this country. While no hymns were sung in the street and the only place we saw signs of ‘Lutheranism’ was in the church buildings, we did experience a place that holds the promise of God’s grace in connection with all of creation and humanity, which at it’s core is very Lutheran.
Iceland holds a spirit of adventure, of appreciating the spaces and the places around you, of living each day with the light you have when you have it. It would be cold and rainy and overcast all day and then the sun would shine brightly at 10pm and the children would come out to play–this is embracing light and living into it whenever and however you can! Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew–You are a light for the world, a city on a hill and in John we are told that Jesus is that word and that light come to dwell with us. This is what make deeper connections between the land and sky and people; living into the gifts of the moment and remaining in the promise so that when darkness is present or overcast the light continues to sustain you and breath with you and in you.
So here are some new questions–What does this look like in your life? How do you catch the light and embrace its moments and then allow it to be sustaining gift? Where do you look for the spaces of God breathing in and out and in between? What hills have you climbed while not looking back, allowing the moment and the space to embrace you?
Congregational Meeting this Sunday! FOCOLU Pool Day Tomorrow!
Announcements July 5 2017It is a little surreal to be sitting in Paris, reflecting on Iceland and reflecting on Ecuador experiences! Yet, when I started this blog, it was with the intention of bringing together words of hope and promise while connecting different experiences… and so this connecting of different places in the world seems to fit in. As it takes me time to absorb and reflect, this post will focus on Ecuador and the other pieces will get knit together throughout the time I spend traveling and reflecting back home this summer.
When we first arrived in Ecuador, I was awestruck by so many things–the new (to me) smell (somehow I always notice smell when stepping out of an airport), the driving (crazy!!! Lines are suggestions apparently…!), the houses built right into the side of a mountain, and the mountains that looked nothing like the ones I have known my whole life in Colorado. I was also impressed with our little community thus far–making this trek across the globe, for one the first time in an airplane, for many the first time leaving their home country, and smiling ready to see where the bus driver, who would soon be our friend, would take us for our first night of sleep. As we spent our week working alongside Marco and his family to build Rescate-a community center in Cajabama that will house needed services like dental, health, and childcare as part of it’s mission to serve those in need in the local community and to reach out to the many villages on the outskirts, we were connected not by common experience or culture or even language but by a love that transcends language and personality and reaches together through the call of the Holy Spirit.
On the Sunday we were in Ecuador, I was invited to preach at the worship service in San Miguel. Pastor Manual (Marco’s father) invited me and I, a bit surprised and certainly unsure of my ability, agreed. They teased me saying the sermon is usually an hour.. which I do no think that is a joke… but I said an hour was a bit out of my realm and they of course said, “no problem.” That is one of the parts of this culture that I adore and one of the parts that seems even the most foreign. “No problem” and “In God’s time or God willing” are common phrases. They are not trite, they are true. The people have the same kind of hopes and dreams buried in their souls but their view of life is much longer and much more expansive. It is connected beyond themselves, beyond their own time in this world. For example, one village we visited has been working on building a church. Not only do they want a place to worship, but they also want a place to gather, to have time together in fellowship, food and music. The walls are built. The windows beautifully frame the views of the patchwork mountains and the gorgeous sky. The floor is there and we gathered to play with beads and sidewalk chalk and pipe cleaners and balls. There is no roof, only plastic chairs, and doorways without doors. We asked how long they had been working on this building–‘something like 2 years’ and how long would it take to finish and they said, “Oh, God willing it wil be finished.” (Just imagine our church contractor giving us that kind of a time frame!) Part of our service was to bring and and unload more cinder blocks for the building, so as God provides, things are built (the blocks took so long getting there and there was so much joy in the celebrating together in music and food that we did not actually get to unload them, but they were delivered!).
So with the spirit of God willing and no problem, I prepared a sermon for the next day and gave it with youth from our FoCoLu team reading the scripture in Spanish and Marco translating the words that I wanted to say. Here is the text from the sermon I gave. The words were true that day in the complete spirit of what we were experiencing and as I read them today they are still true not only in Ecuador, but in all the places and in all the sounds and all the languages I am hearing along the way.
Scripture- Pentecost Acts 2:1-17
Thank you for your welcome. Thank you for your allowing us to come to your beautiful country Ecuador and here to your beautiful church and home village. I have only been here a few days, but I, as well as my friends who came with me, are in awe all the time of the beautiful things we see and hear in your country. Back in our home town today they are celebrating Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit and so that is why we read to you from Acts, because today here in Ecuador we can celebrate Pentecost too.
I love to hear you speak. I do not know all the words but when I hear you talk, I can hear God. Let me tell you why. When I was a little girl, I would listen a lot–a surprise I know because now I am a pastor and I talk a lot! (Yes they actually laughed!) I especially loved to listen to voices, all kinds of voices. I would imitate them–I would try to sing like famous people like Madonna (they laughed here too, so guess they know Madonna!) I would also try to sound like my grandmother who had an accent from the south United States which was very different. I wanted to travel the world and hear all the different languages, all the sounds. And my favorite story from the Bible was this one that you just heard from Acts. The story of the Holy Spirit coming and what did the Holy Spirit bring? Diversity–many languages, many people, many colors, many kinds of beauty. And not only did the Holy Spirit bring diversity, but she also blessed it and made all the sounds of the languages a gift from God.
You might remember also the story from Genesis about the Tower of Babel? A different kind of story where the people were made to speak different languages, as a kind of punishment. But here, through the resurrection of Jesus, God comes again and shows that the different languages and different people are all loved and all a part of the blessing of God. Here in Acts, many languages, it is a gift! There wasn’t one common language–they could all speak and understand in their own language! Wouldn’t that be wonderful today?? (Many nods and and smiles and amens here) There wasn’t one language, but there was a common understanding.
See we have many ways of talking, there are thousands of languages all over the world. Many, many ways to say Hello, for example.
English–Hello, Spanish–Hola, French– Bon Jour, German–Guttentag, Hawaiian, Aloha
And! In all these languages there is only one way to say Alleluia! Now Alleluia is a Hebrew word which means Praise or Worship God. But all alleuia means praise God through the globe today! In our own home of Ft. Collins, Colorado in the United States of America and here in San Miguel Ecuador! This word Alleluia unites us no matter where we are what language we speak.
Alleluia! God’s gift of love is for you and for me!
Alleuia! Jesus has brought us this love!
Alleluia! The Holy Spirit surrounds us and fills us and moves us to love others in the name of Jesus.
Some of my friends with me from the United States know your language. Some of my friends have learned a few words while here. All of my friends and myself have wanted to be able to talk speak with you better so that we can know you and share to together how we are sisters and brothers in Christ. Today we all hear this promise from God. We have a common language of faith, a common language of the Holy Spirit, a common language of love. Each person here is created by God and in the image of God. Each person here, and not with us today, is a beautiful gift to our community and world. We live in different lands and wake up to different sights, and hear different sounds when we go to sleep–but we are on in God’s love, one in Christ, one in the promise of the Holy Spirit with us. Alleluia! Amen!
Hello July! Congregational Meeting, Summer Camps, and more!
Announcements June 28 2017Last Summer Picnic until August tonight! Plus more fun summer events coming up!
Announcements June 21 2017Habitat Ground Blessing & Celebration, Food Drive, Picnic & Movie tonight!!
Announcements June 14 2017Summer Picnics start tonight! VBS Next Week! Return from Ecuador this weekend!
Announcements June 7 2017We hope you enjoy reading the stories of Faith in Action in our congregational ministries. Current event and news will continue to sent via email each week, posted to the website, and be in the yellow announcement sheets in worship each week.
You are invited to share YOUR stories of faith in action–from where you volunteer in the community, to how you grow in faith in your home and families, to what you see happening in this congregation and in the world. Send them in for the next edition by August 15, 2017 to office@our-saviours.org
Summer Signal