Here we are on the last day of September! How are you doing?
I’m sitting in a hotel in Budapest Hungary waiting on an official covid tester. On Tuesday when we arrived at our hotel, I decided to do an at-home test since I’d been feeling poorly. I tested positive for covid for the first time in over two years! Not how I’d planned to spend the final days of our anniversary holiday/trip. In Budapest, you must quarantine for at least five days and I need an ‘official test” to prove to the insurance company and travel people that I’m really sick so they will allow us to fly home a different day rather than this morning. In Budapest, when you are sick in a hotel, the tester comes to you! You must pay for the test and there is a fee for the tester to come to you, but they really do want you to quarantine!
Yesterday I was NOT happy about this! Yesterday was spent talking to travel company representatives who didn’t know much, trying to figure out when we could fly back home and what the actual protocols are for getting on a plane after testing positive. Sadly it’s a “free for all” in most countries so lots of people are flying sick! I knew that with my fever and cough I wouldn’t want to fly even if it wasn’t covid! And it makes me sad and angry that people ARE choosing to fly while sick! My brain was foggy and sneezing and coughing didn’t give me much grace for myself or others.
I had to stop and ask the Pilgrimage Question: WHAT ARE THE GIFTS?
There really are so many!
1. TRAVEL AGENT TERRY I am grateful for our travel agent Terry back in the states. She did the real work behind the scenes to help us navigate details with the travel company and since she is 9 hours behind us, answered our texts late at night and early in the morning!
2. GREAT HOTEL I am grateful to our hotel for letting us stay in the same room and for organizing the testing and sending up room service and providing the things we cannot get for ourselves. They have shown hospitality and kindness after two years of pandemic practice!
3. RAIN ! I am grateful that it’s raining and supposed to rain all weekend. The Rain makes it easier to stay in and rest! Not much fun to travel or sightsee in pouring down rain so I have less FOMO ( fear of missing out : ))
4. FEVER BREAKING! My fever broke last night so hopefully I am on the mend. Grateful that I travel with an abundance of advil, tylenol and over the counter meds that have helped greatly!
5. PEACE. Early in the pandemic, I was terrified of getting covid. I have anxiety and depression and the uncertainty of the disease before vaccines and boosters totally shut me down. I was in a very dark place. So I am SO GRATEFUL to be peaceful rather than anxious!
6. FRIENDS WHO PRAY! So grateful for all the friends who are praying for us!
7. TIME…this extended stay is actually the gift of time to REST, time to HEAL. There are no dishes to wash, dogs to walk, or things I have to do like if I was in my own house. I get to stay inside and REST! I get to have time to just BE! I get time to take my own advice and remember that #RESTisHOLY
What are the GIFTS you are grateful for today?
What do you “GET TO DO” rather than “have to” DO today?
Today I GET to REST! Today I get to be with Jesus. Today I get to pray for my friends digging out form the hurricane in Florida. Today I get to love my husband as he coughs and sneezes too!
Today I GET TO REST in the great hands of God who loves me so much, just as I am in my pjs and with my kleenex box by my side!
The gospel reading for this weekend comes from Luke 17″ 5-10 . Check out Father Richard Rohr’s sermon on this scripture. It is an encouraging word for all of us!
LITTLE FAITH might be better than Big Fatih
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. Luke 17:5-6
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LAST CHANCE!!!!
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“Ka-kí-kiskéyihtétan óma, namoya kinwés maka aciyowés pohko óma óta ka-hayayak wasétam askihk, ékwa ka-kakwéy miskétan kiskéyihtamowin, iyinísiwin, kistéyitowin, mina nánisitotatowin kakiya ayisiniwak, ékosi óma kakiya ka-wahkotowak.”
“Realize that we as human beings have been put on this earth for only a short time and that we must use this time to gain wisdom, knowledge, respect and the understanding for all human beings since we are all relatives.”
Cree Proverb
Opening a YouTube discussion for the Canadian National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, Kelly Frank Davis explained the basic philosophy of the good mind she was taught by an elder. ‘The word that comes before all else’ for the Haudensaunee people. This is an acknowledgement of everything in creation with gratitude for all it gives us.
This practice thanks the four families of the earth; the animal kingdom, plant life, mineral life and us “poor pitiful human beings.” Davis explains that the man who taught her the philosophy noted we are pitiful as we cannot survive without those three other families, who do fine without us.
The philosophy is used to open gatherings and meetings to raise minds to a divine place of gratitude and appreciation and optimism, giving thanks for the sunshine and the waters flowing, for the birds singing, for the animals who provide sustenance for us. Davis has heard this opening last up to 90 minutes. After each thank you, the speaker will say “now our minds are one.” Listeners are meant to focus only on gratitude and what the person giving the message is sharing. This state of “the good mind” is considered the most powerful mindset a person can have to get down to the business at hand.
May we learn this focus. It will help us understand the depth of hurt done to our aboriginal peoples and the way to truth and reconciliation.
September 30th has been known as Orange Shirt Day in Canada since 1973, in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to our aboriginal children’s sense of self-esteem and well-being, and as an affirmation of the Orange Shirt Society’s commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters. In 2021 Canada celebrated the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation on September 30. This year’s theme is Remembering the Children.
A young girl stood facing the large, gray stone building. Phyllis was wearing her new bright and silky orange shirt laced up the front. She had gone to Robinson’s Department store to buy the shirt, with her grandmother, for the first day of school. They had never had much money, but Granny had managed to purchase the beautiful shirt for Phyllis’ first day at St Joseph Mission School just outside of Williams Lake, British Columbia in 1973. She was so very excited.
Quickly excitement gave way to horror as the teachers at the school stripped little Phyllis and took away all her clothes, including the beloved orange shirt. She would never see or wear the shirt again. The six-year-old did not understand why they would not give the shirt back to her. It was hers!
From that day to this, the color orange always reminds her of that loss and how her feelings didn’t matter. How no one cared and she felt like she had no value. All the children were crying that day, and no one cared.
Phyllis Webstad is Northern Secwpemc (Shuswap) from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Indian Band). She comes from mixed Secwepemc and Irish/French heritage, was born in Dog Creek, Manitoba, and lives in Williams Lake, BC. Today, Phyllis is married, has one son, a stepson and five grandchildren. She is the Founder and Ambassador of the Orange Shirt Society and tours the country telling her story and raising awareness about the impacts of the residential school system. She has now published two books, the “Orange Shirt Story” and “Phyllis’s Orange Shirt” for younger children.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was officially launched in Canada, June 2, 2008, as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement which came into effect in September 2007. This Commission was charged with raising awareness of the plight of those who had been dragged from their homes and at the ages of five-17 and were forced by law, for 100 years, to attend residential schools. Former residents slowly released their stories of not being allowed to speak their native languages under threat of physical harm and abuse. They were not allowed their own names and in many cases were assigned numbers instead. Many tales of food shortages and escape attempts began to surface. The children we beaten and tales of sexual abuse and being cruelly restrained horrified those who were writing down their stories.
On May 27th, 2021, the world learned that unmarked graves containing the bodies of 215 individuals, some as young as three, had been discovered on the grounds of the former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. The stories of physical, emotional and sexual abuse were now mainstream news.
Ancaster Village Church is the church I am proud to call home, here in the Hamilton region of Ontario. This land is located on the lands promised to the Six Nations of the Grand River, the largest Indian reserve in Canada with 12,757 people.
Each Sunday we acknowledge that we meet on Treaty 3 (1792) lands of the Haudenosaunee Six Nations People. We are learning what it means to be good stewards of these shared lands. And we are committed to reconciliation. Each week one of the 94 calls to action, which came out of the TRC’s work, is read aloud. These cover all areas of life, and the rights afforded each Canadian citizen. I read number four as we began this practice at church. “We call upon all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.”
Jordan River Anderson, a young boy from Norway House Cree Nation in Manitoba, was born with complex medical needs. He received special treatment in a Winnipeg hospital for over two years. When doctors finally cleared him to return home to his reserve, disputes erupted over which level of government would pay for the in-home care—federal or provincial—and Jordan was forced to spend more than two more years in the Winnipeg hospital, where he died at five years of age, in 2005, without ever having seen his home.
And so, we pray. For the children, known and unknown, present and past, who have suffered the legacy of so many atrocities.
We pray for truth. We pray for reconciliation. We pray for forgiveness. We pray for justice. We pray we too may practice this philosophy of the good mind, the renewal of our minds as outlined in Romans 12:2, to transform our thinking and to make us pliable in the hands of the Great Potter who called us to love all peoples and suffer the little children to come to him.
Residential schools were designed to force aboriginal children into Christianity. They already knew its tenets more deeply than those who sought to convert them. They learned them at the knees of their parents and grandparents, who taught them respect for all things on the traplines, while tending to the earth and gazing at the moon.
We apologize as we pray: Father, forgive those who thought they knew better.
We all need the Wholeness of God…this resource includes reflections and activities for coping and thriving during the COVID-19 challenges in search of shalom as well as hope for restoration during and after this period of social distancing.
photos and writings by June Friesen. Scripture from the New International Version. Editor’s Note: We are wrapping up our hospitality theme Embracing the Wild Hospitality of God and moving into our NEW theme, Gratitude As Guests Of The World in October – which starts Saturday – and November. Enjoy this reflection as a bridge!
During the past few weeks as we have been challenged to think about hospitality, I have thought over and over about how my husband and I have shared our home with many people. I at first wanted to say, young people and then began to realize that the youngest was a little girl 3 months old who came to live with our family as a foster baby until she was adopted just before her first birthday and the oldest was someone in their retirement years who needed a safe space to stay for a while. As I think of the Scriptures and passages that talk about receiving people with a hospitable attitude I wonder – if Jesus were here today how would He respond to the needs of different ages at different times in their lives.
When I went to the Scriptures, I began to see examples of people of all ages being welcomed. Jesus welcomed the children and he welcomed the sinners. In the Old Testament, God encouraged the Israelites to welcome the foreigners/those in need – one example is Boaz who welcomed Ruth, a foreigner to glean in his fields.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
I think of Rahab, a foreigner who welcomed the Israelite spies into her home so they could escape.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
In the New Testament we are encouraged to welcome all people into the community of believers – to be hospitable to all races/nationalities of people.
I would like to share a couple of examples out of the many in our lives where we have opened our home to someone.
One night, we received a phone call from a teenager we knew quite well who had just been put out on the street. She needed a place to live. We had a very humble dwelling but we could make room. We were able to help her have a stable place, finish high school and go on to college. We are still in touch with her today and she has blessed many people in her life worldwide.
More than once I have had someone come to my door asking if I would care for their child. I remember asking one lady, “Why did you come to my house?” She said when I walked by your home the past year, on my way to work I noticed you had two little boys and you were often outside in the back yard with them. You appeared so caring and gentle – that is why I came. We never know who is watching us.
13 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
One night about 8 p.m. the doorbell rang. I went to the door and two men in white robes were standing there. We lived in the parsonage by the church so that is why they came to us. They had no luggage, not even a backpack. They ask if we had a place they could sleep and pointed to the garage. It was not really a garage but a storage shed. We invited them in and they washed up quickly and quietly. My husband and I went out and actually put two mats on the floor space for them to lay down. They wanted nothing more and when we got up in the morning they were gone, the door to the building they stayed in was locked. To this day we wonder if indeed we ‘entertained angels unaware.’
To be hospitable for me means to be willing to share whatever I have with whoever God brings into my life that may be in need. It may not be that I can always give a person exactly what they want but if I have access to what they need maybe I can at least offer that to them. One may say, “what if they do not accept what I offer?” God does not judge a person on what the action or reaction of the person in need may be – He will judge us on our attitude and response. Another thought that comes to my mind – “What if the person asks something of me I do not know if I can do or give?” Let me give you another example. The phone rang and my husband answers. A man who lived in our city who worked with foreign students needed a home for three weeks for a Japanese Man who had just arrived in our community and could not get into the college dorm for three weeks. Would you be willing to take him in? He would also like to have help learning the English language better. We have two boys 4 and 7 – hmmmm…. But we said yes. What is this man going to eat I wondered? And probably had many more questions. And how would we communicate? Let me tell you one thing I learned rather quickly – children have patience to teach – and they grew to love this young man. After he moved to the dorm, he would still come by to visit and a couple of times he arrived at the door with a bag of groceries from the Japanese market, “I am so hungry for Japanese food, can you please cook for me?” And I would do my best and we would enjoy a meal together. Seven years later I had the opportunity to travel to Tokyo, Japan to stay with a family there for three weeks. Since we had been corresponding, I told him I would be there and he came to see me.
Yes, being hospitable or showing hospitality comes in so many different ways, to so many different kinds of situations and for some of us we may not even think of it being a godly action/characteristic. But as I reflect over the many, many experiences I have had over my life whether it is being the one extending hospitality or the one receiving it – it most often is a far greater blessing to all involved than we think or maybe one could say that we could even imagine.
It is my prayer today that as you read this you may be challenged to see places where you have shown hospitality or have received hospitality and you were unaware. Let us also be challenged to have an open spirit to new experiences. It makes me think of the verses in Hebrews 13:1-2 “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
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by Elaine Breckenridge. Featured photo and below of a restaurant sign in Galway, Ireland, 2016
A few years ago, I had the fortune to go on a pilgrimage to Ireland. One day we spent the morning walking in The Burren, a wild landscape located in County Clare. It was beautiful and also very wet and windy. Afterwards, we piled into our small tour bus and headed to Galway for lunch. As I was getting off the bus, I caught a glimpse of myself in the driver’s rear-view mirror. My appearance was a disaster! It was if every strand of hair on my head was growing in a different direction. As we walked and grew near the restaurant, I said to my traveling companion, “I don’t like to be seen looking like this in public. I hope there is a restroom near the front door so I can fix my hair.” And then, turning the corner, here is what came into view:
“You look fine.” Immediately I relaxed. I was not alone! The sign was a warm gesture which said to me, “You are welcome just the way you are. Come on in.” I entered the restaurant without a care in the world. It was a moment of hospitality that I will always remember. Hospitality, for me, is being welcomed in such a way that I feel accepted and comfortable. That is certainly what happened when I saw that sign. And speaking of signs, that particular sign points to the reality of the hospitality of God.
The God whom I know is one who assures me, personally, that I am accepted and acceptable. I say “personally” because I do not simply believe this as a point of doctrine (I do, in fact) but because it is something that I experience in prayer. In prayer, I am often aware of how deeply I am loved by God. God is not only creator, host and guest, but God also serves us as a companion. God is longing to be in a life-giving relationship with all of us. This was made quite apparent in the Incarnation. God put on flesh in the person of Jesus to make the point that God is with us. God journeys with us as we journey through life. We are never alone because in life, in death, God is always with us.
A writer, Paula D’Arcy once said, “God comes to us disguised as our life.” (Rohr, Richard, Everything Belongs) We can expand that by saying that God’s hospitality, also comes to us disguised as our life. God is always reaching out to us and often welcomes us in surprising ways. I am remembering one time in particular.
Both of my adult sons have left the Christian Church. They have not left Christ and though they do not say creeds on Sunday mornings, they actively exercise their baptismal vows: following Christ, serving others, respecting the dignity of every human being, caring for creation.
Still, when my youngest son made his move to join an Eastern spiritual ashram that follows the path of yoga and a lineage of yogi masters, called Ananda, I was unsure. I decided to meet these people who would be shepherding my then eighteen-year-old son.
Ananda’s Blue Lotus Temple, Bothell, Washington
I met with two of their ministers. They invited me into their temple. We took our seats in chairs configured in a small circle. One of them asked, “As a way of getting to know one another, I wonder if we might meditate together?” I was surprised, but willing to accept the invitation. They offered no prayers, gave no instruction except to say that a ringing of a small singing bowl would begin and end our time of silence. We sat in silence for at least twenty minutes.
I was surprised by the experience of the gentle silence which enabled me to practice my form of Christian contemplative prayer –almost immediately. I felt held by their practice without being led into their practice. I dropped into my heart center by saying the Jesus Prayer. God was right there welcoming me, encouraging me, comforting me. The message was clear, I had no reason to fear for my son’s soul.
It was an extraordinary experience of hospitality. I felt welcomed by people who were not cross-carrying Christians but who follow the witness and celebrate the life of Jesus. They are on a spiritual path which produces the fruits of peace, love and joy. They shared those fruits with me and gave me the space to have my own experience of prayer that day. It was a beautiful moment to be welcomed into a circle of prayer led by people outside my faith tradition. God embraced and blessed us all in that circle. I was reminded by what Henry Nouwen wrote,
“Hospitality means primarily the creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend. It is not to change people but to offer them space where change can take place. Hospitality is not a subtle invitation to adore the lifestyle of the host, but the gift of a chance for the guest to find their own.”
In his book, One River, Many Wells, Matthew Fox, writes that “All spiritual traditions can learn from each other and offer something fresh from their experiences and teachings.” (P. 436) I believe that is true and I have made a study of many of the religions of the world. However, this was the first time I had sat in a circle with non-Christians and experienced God-with-us. As the psalmist wrote, “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7, NRSV)
Accepting God’s hospitality means surrendering to what we are being offered in any given moment. By surrendering to that present with an open mind, an open heart and an open body, we experience the hospitality of God. The German 13th century theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart said “All paths lead to God, for God is on them all equally for the person who knows.” (Fox, p. 11)
The breadth and depth of that statement and God’s hospitality can be experienced by going to and from the heart experience. For it is there that we cultivate God’s wild hospitality within us, meant to be shared with the world. And with that sharing, all of humanity will someday know shalom, God’s peace and wholeness.
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Prayer is a vast territory, with room for silence and shouting, for creativity and repetition, for original and received prayers, for imagination and reason….. Prayer forms us. And different ways of prayer aid us just as different types of paint, canvas, color and light aid a painter (Tish Harrison Warren: Prayer in the Night For Those who Work or Watch or Weep, 16)
Last week I talked about welcoming the morning darkness which seems so pervasive as the long nights of winter approach. However it is not just the long dark of the morning that needs to be welcomed. It is even more important to welcome the darkness of the night and all the fears and anxieties it so often brings with it. We need practices that help us embrace the challenges of life and all the feelings of vulnerability and inadequacy that frequently beset us.
As you know, I love creative prayer practices and I love writing my own prayers, but there are times when we feel overwhelmed and the creative juices just don’t flow. At these times, repetitive prayers, like the prayer offices that have sustained much of the church since the 3rd century, sustain me. So last week I started practicing compline, firmly believing that God speaks to us in the dark and through the prayers we inherit from those who have gone before us.
I grabbed my copy of the Celtic Daily Prayer, which has a fantastic selection of compline prayers, one for each day of the week, and started to read. This is a wonderfully enriching practice with which to end the day and I find it enables me to set aside my anxieties and embrace the vulnerabilities that so easily disturb my sleep. A few days later, I was gifted a copy of Prayer in the Night, by Trish Harrison Warren, a book framed around the practice of compline. In this insightful book, she explores her own season of doubt and loss as a result of two miscarriages and wends her way through themes of human vulnerability, suffering and God’s seeming absence. She comments that:
“Mysteriously, God does not take away our vulnerability. He enters into it. Jesus left a place where there is no night to enter into our darkness. He met with blisters, and indigestion, with fractured relationships and the death of friends, with an oppressive empire, the indignity of poverty and the terror of violence….. To look at Jesus is to know that our Creator has felt pain, has known trouble, and is well acquainted with sorrow. (Prayer in the Night 29)
Then she goes on to explain how the prayers and practices of the church, especially Compline, helped her hold onto her beliefs and kept her in the way of Jesus.
Like Tish, I find that ancient prayers compiled into the practices of morning and evening prayer and Compline can be some of the most stabilizing practices during hard times. I love knowing that the prayers I pray are the same ones that Christians have prayed throughout the history of Christianity. I love knowing that millions of people of faith before me found strength and courage through these prayers, and believe that many more after me will pray and be strengthened by the same prayers.
What I have never done however is use the prayers like a form of Lectio Divina, meditating on phrases, allowing them to speak to me of deeper meanings and aspects of God. Tish uses the compline from The Book of Common Prayer, and focuses the first section of her book on the prayer “Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch or seep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep.” She points out that Jesus often responded to darkness by working, watching and weeping and that we can join with him in doing the same. Compline provides an opportunity to join our own weeping souls with the tears and agony of all who weep – past, present and future. For me there is great comfort in that thought. I do not weep alone. I do not suffer alone and always, through entering into prayers like this I never stand alone, no matter how dark the night may seem.
I particularly love Tish’s comments on the last phrase of the compline “And all for your love’s sake” She explains:
If this Compline prayer walks us slowly through a long, dark night, this last line – ‘and all for your sake. Amen- is the glint of sun rising in the East. The unshakeable reality of love breaks across the shadows of vulnerability and death, and we see that this prayer can only be prayed if there is a God who loves us. We weep because we can lament to one who cares about our sorrow. We watch because we believe that Love will not abandon us. We work because God is restoring the world in love. We can sleep because God governs the cosmos out of love. (Prayer in the Night 164)
All prayer is an expression of our faith in the enduring nature of God’s love, and the practice not only of Compline but of other traditional repetitive prayers is something that grounds us firmly in that trust. It is something that helps us through both the day and the night. It is the same in the traditional liturgical form of service which I did not grow up with but now cherish. Learning about the origins and meaning of prayers in a Eucharistic service was illuminating and inspiring for me. The voice of God is often loudest in the prayers we inherit from our forebears. I heartily recommend that as an additional exercise for the season of darkness that you read through these posts – Instructed Eucharist 1 and Instructed Eucharist 2 – and immerse yourself in the richness of the heritage we are privileged to enjoy. You may also enjoy this downloadable booklet from Kate Kennington Steer – a haiku and art reflection for the prayer offices of the day.
Reading Prayer in the Night, sent me looking for other Compline prayers to add to my supply. This last prayer comes from the compline in the New Zealand Prayer Book. As I read through it today I felt enfolded in the loving presence of God. I hope you do too.
Lord,
It is night.
The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not be done;
Let it be.
The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our lives rest in you.
The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day.
new joys,
new possibilities.
In your name we pray.
Amen.
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by Tom Sine, originally posted on his site New Changemakers here
Most church leaders have been rudely awakened – during the ongoing Covid Crisis – to a rapid decline in church attendance, giving, and volunteering. One of the most concerning metrics is the declining attendance of Gen Y & Z which Pew Research has predicted for over a decade.
With all this very concerning bad news I want to trumpet some very encouraging good news about Gen Next. Gen Y & Z are the Good News Generations. Gen Y Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996. Gen Z Zoomers were born after 1996. According to Pew Research: ”Gen Z looks a lot like Millennials on Key social and political issues.”
Part of the reason for this is Gen Y & Z are the first digital generations and they are also more richly multicultural. As a consequence, these two generations are not only more aware of issues of environmental, racial, and economic justice. Most importantly a greater percentage of these two generations want to use their lives to make a difference in society than older generations.
The tragedy is that church leaders aren’t aware that Gen Y & Z are the Good News Generations. Nor are many church leaders considering a new approach to these two generations. Few are considering enabling them to use their lives to create neighborhood empowerment projects … before persuading them to become members of their churches first.
Tisha Shank, a Clapham Associate Member wrote, “We have been critical witnesses of institutional low points, including The Great Recession of 2008, multiple unjust police shootings, massive sex abuse scandals in Protestant and Catholic church leadership, rampant school shootings, overwhelmed medical facilities during the height of COVID in 2020, and the growth of increasingly divisive media and political cycles. These experiences have not only shaped our distrust of institutions, but it has shaped our formation overall, including our spiritual formation. This leads us to another key attribute of my generation: religious disaffiliation.” – Gen Z: A Generation Reconstructing – The Clapham Group
This perspective leads a number of Gen Y & Z to to disconnect from churches. However, it also motivates a number of Gen Y & Z to join those doing profound neighborhood change-making from creating community gardens to job training. For example, one black church in a community with high unemployment offered courses in the construction trades which made a real difference for those just getting started.
Is your church ready to Empower Gen Y & Z to create community empowerment projects in the turbulent 2020s without joining your church first?
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Editor’s Note: The following reflection has been excerpted from Meditation Monday – Learning Hospitality from Psalm 23. The accompanying recipes are from Happy St Nicholas Day and Breathe In The Fragrance Of God – Making Apple Cider As Spiritual Practice. We hope you enjoy this series of seasonal hospitality reflections and recipes!
As American Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas approach, our world seems more divided than ever and many families are finding it hard to gather without becoming embroiled in heated political discussions. Some have even ditched family gatherings as a result. It seems like a good time to turn to the Bible for some advice on how to do hospitality and to give thanks at this season.
Hospitality in ancient Palestine was more than a courtesy extended to friends and travellers. It was the means that villages used to determine if strangers were friends or enemies, a threat or an asset to the community. Extending hospitality by providing food, water and shelter was a way to temporarily adopt strangers into the community and hopefully convert a potential threat into a friendly alliance. Sometimes oil was poured over the head of the stranger as a sign of welcome.
It is probable that it was these customs that David referred to in Psalm 23:
You prepare a feast for me
in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
My cup overflows with blessings. (Psalm 23:5)
In this verse David is probably not talking about God preparing a banquet for us to eat while our enemies sit around with empty stomaches drooling over the lavish food we are enjoying. This is a verse that speaks of the ancient practice of hospitality, an invitation to sit down and enjoy a meal with strangers and those we perceive as a threat, an encouragement to seek for understanding and reconciliation rather than division and hatred.
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We live in a world of great division where there is much necessity for all of us to sit down over a meal with those we disagree with and see as a threat. As you think about this what comes to mind? What situations are you currently facing that might be defused by sitting around the table during the thanksgiving or Advent season and sharing a meal? Where have you seen God prepare a feast that has brought enemies together and overcome fears and disagreements? How could you prepare a meal “in the presence of your enemies” and offer open hospitality to those you disagree with?
In Jesus’ day this kind of hospitality was considered more than a commandment. It was a sacred obligation, filled with the joy of serving both others and God. Those that did not extend hospitality to orphans, widows and the homeless could be rejected. Like early monastics and Celtic Christians, Jews believed that sometimes in welcoming strangers they welcomed angels into their midst.
Jesus repeatedly demonstrated his joy in offering hospitality as he fed the crowds, sat down with tax collectors and shared a passover meal with his disciples. Even after his death he came back to share meals as a way to communicate his message of salvation and hope.
As I thought about this today, the picture that came to me was of Jesus seating and eating that last meal with Judas. Then I saw him get down and wash Judas’s feet. He must have realized that Judas was about to betray him, but he still reached out in embrace not division. I wonder if he hoped that through this gracious act of hospitality towards him Judas would change his mind.
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As we move towards Thanksgiving (at least here in the U.S.) Advent and Christmas think about the people you disagree with, want to exclude or think are about to betray you. How could you reach out with radical hospitality to them at this season? Sit with your eyes closed and listen to this version of Psalm 23. What names come to mind? Perhaps it is someone like Mary, an unwed mother who could have been thrown out by her family. Or someone like the shepherds, despised by the society around them yet welcomed to the manger. Or the wise men, foreigners like immigrants, refugees and those of other religions. What are the first steps you need to make to reach out in a spirit of hospitality and reconciliation? How could you embrace the radical journey of hospitality?
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St Nicholas Soup
2 ounces butter or margarine
2 leeks or onions
4 medium-sized carrots
3 turnips
4 potatoes
half a medium-sized head white cabbage
1 teaspoon salt or more, according to taste
4 quarts water (editor’s note: you may want to use less water)
croutons (see recipe below)
1/3 cup minced chervil, chopped
Wash and peel the vegetables. Slice them into small pieces. Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add the vegetables and salt and stir a few times. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the water and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot, and allow the soup to cook slowly for about 30 to 40 minutes. Stir from time to time. When the soup is done, blend all of it in a blender until it becomes creamy and even. Serve hot, adding some croutons to each bowl and sprinkling some chervil on top. 6–8 servings.
Croutons:
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 slices French bread (or Italian, or any other of your choice), sliced in cubes
dash each of dried thyme and dried parsley
Pour the oil into a pot, add the garlic, bread cubes, and herbs. and sauté them over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir and turn constantly. Remove the croutons and keep them in a lightly warm oven until you are ready to use them. Croutons are especially useful as garnish in thick, creamy soups
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Apple Cider Recipe
There are many recipes online for home made apple cider, but many of them are too sweet for my taste. They also tend to use a much lower apple to water ratio and I find that using more apples gives a much tastier flavour and you don’t need to add honey or sugar. I like the slow cooker method because you don’t have to stand over it and stir it, another big plus for busy people.
Fill your slow cooker about 1/2 inch below the top with apples – about 15 medium size apples for a 6 quart pot.
Add water until the apples are just covered.
Add 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves and other optional spices 1 teaspoon nutmeg and allspice
Turn cooker on low for 8 hours (perfect for overnight so that you wake up to a wonderfully fragrant house).
Mash apples with a potato masher.
Cook for another 2 hours.
Allow to cool (easier to handle).
Filter through cheese cloth, squeezing all the juice out of the cloth.
Bottle (can) – makes about 3 1/2 quarts.
It will remain good for 24 hours on the counter, 1 week in the fridge or process in a canning pot. I stored my first batch in the fridge and reheated the mixture as I make 2 batches to fill my canner. Fill 7 quart jars, screw on lids and place in canner. Cover about 1 inch above lids with water. Boil for 20 minutes. Cool and check the seals before you store. I like to keep my jars out on the counter for 24 hours to make sure they really have sealed before I store them away.
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