by Rev Sheila Hamil,
I was reading Luke 5:1-11, in our church’s set reading for today: (020921) when some words jumped out at me. “Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch!”
It took me back to a time when my husband and I were on our first ever, and our only, ‘exotic holiday’, following our retirement. We were both snorkelling on a coral reef in the sunshine, amazed at finding such a wonderful variety of fish beneath the surface of the water, and it was all so exciting, so colourful; a brand new experience for us both.
One morning though, I became adventurous, and I decided to move on out from the reef into deep water! I glided into a brand new world, out in the blue beyond, and I entered a totally surreal environment. At first I was elated. I had the strangest sensation that I was taking off from a cliff in slow motion, out into nothingness, all stretched out and soaring, wonderfully supported by the vast water beneath me.
It was so freeing and exhilarating!
The experience didn’t last very long though, because all of a sudden, I became aware that I had left the warm shallow waters behind me, and was entering a noiseless expanse where I felt a sudden chill on my skin. My entire body had become cold, and I began to feel afraid. After all, what strange creatures were lurking in the shadows? I turned myself round, and immediately headed straight back to where I felt safe and warm, and where everything was familiar once more.
In our reading, ‘the deep’ is where Jesus says his fish are to be found, way out there, not in the shallows; in other words not in the safety of our homes or churches, but in the world outside.
During lockdown we’ve grown accustomed to the comfort and protection of worship at home, by way of Zoom or by streaming in real time, where absolutely nothing is demanded of us. All we’ve had to do is switch on the power, click onto the given link, look in and worship.
Perhaps it’s time to consider going out once more, where it isn’t comfortable, where it doesn’t feel safe, and where bigger challenges lurk menacingly like unknown monsters from the deep. But to be able to become fishers of people, we need to do it together, supporting one another, and in fellowship with others. Jesus calls us not to remain forever in the warm shallows of our own existence, but to get out there where the poor, the needy, the lonely, and the exile are already enveloped in the chill waters. Perhaps we’re being called again to swim alongside them. (But let’s not forget to put our protective masks on though!)
There’s a saying:
‘Ships are safe in the harbour, but that’s not what ships are for!”
The song above ‘Stir into Flame’ was inspired by 2 Timothy Chapter 1:6
More music videos on:-
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLnUh_ZGnZNfUlV8HEyppRIv8FLBtyEY65
Feature photo by SGR on Unsplash
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Book release post for Jeannie Kendall,
Jeannie Kendall explores the value of tears in the Bible and in our lives today in her new book Held in Your Bottle publishing this September with Authentic Media.
There are a myriad of tears shed by various characters in the Bible. What might we learn from them about what it means to be fully human?
Whether we are crying tears of regret, loss, gratitude, or anger, the Bible says that God holds them all in his bottle. We can draw comfort from the fact that no tear goes unseen by him. Jeannie Kendall explores a rich variety of emotions in her new book Held in Your Bottle. Modern-day testimonies are related alongside a retelling of a relevant Bible character’s experience of the same emotion, and then honest and insightful reflections help us understand the issues raised.
‘Our emotions are as God-created as our bodies and minds. As such they are to be celebrated, not feared or suppressed.’
The book’s inspiration came from an unlikely source: Jeannie saw a collection of photos of tears taken under a microscope from Rose-Lynn Fisher that showed that tears cried in various circumstances looked very different. ‘Looking at the extraordinary variety started me thinking about my own journey with tears as well as the wider complexity we share as people.’
The title comes from Psalm 56:8, which in some translations reads that God has collected our tears in a bottle. Jeannie says, ‘It has been my privilege in my previous roles as a counsellor and then minister to be with people who are deeply distressed and I have sometimes quoted the verse to them, as a way of helping them see their tears are not something to be ashamed of, but rather are precious to God.’
Jeannie’s own relationship with tears has by her own admission been ‘ambivalent’ in the past, mainly due to her upbringing, when it was just not the ‘done thing’ to cry. Learning to be more in tune with her emotions brings an authenticity to the book. What Jeannie has come to realise is that tears are both important for our wellbeing and to God. She says ‘Sitting on my emotions has never done me any favours, and I don’t think that is unique to me! I truly believe Jesus was the most truly emotional person who ever lived, because his emotions were as God intended. He cried – sobbed – at times, as I explore in the book. Learning to recognise and express our feelings in an appropriate way and a safe setting, including with tears, is part of God’s salvation – wholeness – and because he loves us so completely our emotions and tears really matter to him, so much so he collects each tear.’
Jeannie Kendall hopes that readers will find new ways to look at the Bible stories, learn more about their emotional lives, but above all, find out more about how much God understands and loves each one of us.
Held in Your Bottle will enable you to look at the Bible in a fresh way and help you better accept and understand your emotional life.
Bio for Jeannie Kendall
JEANNIE KENDALL is a Baptist minister, who has served in two churches and has extensive experience working within a pastoral and counselling setting. She is a former Spurgeon’s College president and currently teaches on the Pastoral Supervision course.
Held in Your Bottle: Exploring the Value of Tears in the Bible and in Our Lives Today by Jeannie Kendall was published on 10th September by Authentic Media, 9781788931717, £9.99, PB.
Join us on September 29th at 9am PST for the Facebook Live session with Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin. The recording will be available on YouTube later today if you cannot join live.
by Christine Sine,
I am so enjoying getting ready for our upcoming retreat Gearing Up For a Season of Gratitude. What a wonderful preparation for my upcoming season of gratitude. As many of you know, ever since the year I celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada at the beginning of October, and American Thanksgiving at the end of November, I designate October and November as my gratitude months and I feel it should become a permanent season on the liturgical calendar. This year, I feel I need the season more than ever. The ongoing challenge of COVID, the impact of Hurricane Ida, the horrors of Afghanistan, and the struggles with racism and economic inequality weigh heavily on all of us. The practice of gratitude, interwoven with wonder, is one of the tools we all need to cope with the exhaustion and looming burnout that besets us.
Diana Butler Bass’s book, Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks continues to inspire me. As I mentioned in last week’s Meditation Monday, she helped me realize that one reason it is difficult for us to establish gratitude practices that stick is that we do not fully understand what gratitude is. She explains that gratitude involves both emotion and ethics (moral principles). We feel grateful when we see something beautiful or receive unexpected gifts from someone – that is definitely emotion. Writing a thank you note to show we appreciate the gift is a choice, an ethical decision that comes from our belief that thank you notes matter.
Most of us, she points out, have a distorted view of gratitude emphasizing only one aspect, usually relegating it to feel good emotions that come and go in our lives. It is this confusion that makes it so difficult for us to choose to practice gratitude as a way of life. When we get depressed or anxious or stressed, we are less likely to feel gratitude as an emotion.
Gratitude is not only the emotional response to random experiences, but even in the darkest times of life, gratitude waits to be seen, recognized and acted upon more thoughtfully and with a sense of purpose. Gratitude is a feeling, but it is also more than that. And it is much more than a spiritual technique to achieve peace of mind or prosperity. Gratitude is a habit of awareness that reshapes our self-understanding and the moral choices we make the world.” (Grateful, 60)
Don’t you love that? Gratitude is a habit of awareness that reshapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. In other words, we can choose to be grateful people and establish practices that develop it into a lifelong habit. In the process, we become happier, healthier, and less stressed people. Gratitude as a way of life is, I think, an essential tool to help us overcome burnout.
Many of us, myself included, tried keeping gratitude journals that lasted a week and then got discarded. To be honest, making a list of things I am grateful for just did not seem to resonate with me, but I knew I needed something as well as my awe and wonder walks to help anchor me through this challenging season. Years ago, I read that there are three simple steps to make a routine into a lifelong practice: “Keep it simple, make it meaningful, stick to it”. Still good advice that certainly stood me in good stead as I developed my new practice.
Hopefully, my gratitude practice will help you too:
Gratitude Practice:
When I wake up in the morning I make a cup of tea and sit quietly in my sacred space for a few minutes enjoying the early morning sounds and sights. I close my eyes, take a few deep breaths in and out, and recite what became my morning mantra:
Thank you God for the gift of life
A wondrous gift so freely given.
I continue to sit quietly with eyes closed, breathing slowly in and out, receiving that gift, and allowing the wonder of it to sink down deep into my soul. Sometimes a list of gratitudes flows out – thankfulness for breath, sight, a warm house, thankfulness for a loving husband, a silly dog, and food on the table each day. Some days the list seems endless. On others, nothing comes to mind and I sit content in the presence of God knowing that if nothing else, the gift of life provides me with the opportunity to appreciate the glory of God and the wonder of the world in which I live.
When I sense my time of quiet contemplation is over, I open my eyes ready for the day. Then, if I feel prompted, I jot down what I felt thankful for that morning and end with the words:
Thank you God for you.
A simple mantra like this does a lot to shift our thoughts from negative to positive. When we begin the day with gratitude, not only does our stress lift, but we are able to see the silver lining in clouds throughout the day. So I hope you will try this practice or something similar to begin your day and ward off the burnout that is hanging over us. Notice in this prayer that I wrote as a response a couple of days ago that my gratitude that welled up was not for what I have but rather for God and God’s wonderful image within me.
Thank you God for the gift of life,
A wondrous gift so freely given,
A gift of breath, and sight and movement.
Of light, and awe and beauty.
Thank you God for the gift of love,
For the joy of waking each morning
To the delight of new opportunity.
Thank you for the gift to see the world
More fully and deeply as you do
To become more aware of what is
And be grateful for what is now
To notice the unnoticed, unappreciated, disregarded.
To encourage what pushes forward not what holds me back,
To respond to the inner voice of the Spirit
Unveiling the goodness of God in my life and in our world.
Register and pay to join us for this virtual retreat experience with Christine Sine and Lilly Lewin on September 25, 2021 from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm PST. Check out our new sliding scale payment options. For more details, click on the image below.
A contemplative service with music in the spirit of Taize from St Andrews Episcopal Church Seattle. Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, with music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to podcast/stream the music in this service obtained from One License with license #A-710-756 with additional notes below:
“L’ajuda Em Vindra (I Lift up my Eyes to the Hills)” and “Surrexit Christus” are songs from the ecumenical Taize community in France. Copyright and all rights reserved by GIA/Les Presses de Taizé.
“On Christ the Solid Rock” is a Christian hymn in the public domain. Arrangement and additional verse by Kester Limner shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY).
“Were You There (When They Crucified My Lord)” is a traditional Black American Spiritual. Folk arrangement by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons license, attribution (CC-BY).
“Kyrie for September 12, 2021” – text and music by Kester Limner, shared under the Creative Commons License, Attribution (CC-BY).
Thank you for praying with us!
www.saintandrewsseattle.org
by Diane Woodrow,
The 11th September 2001 is a day that everyone over about 25 can say where they were and how those around them reacted. Yes, it was a day that changed the world. Iconic? That depends on how you use the word. From the destruction of the Twin Towers and the other plane attacks, terrorism came to America. From that one day, major government decisions were put in place which has led to the culmination of millions of Afghans now needing to be housed in safer parts of the world.
Terrorism was not a new thing. Many countries had endured it for centuries. Here in the UK, we had learned to live with the uncertainties of bombings by the IRA in our city centres. But I think it was the cunningness, the planning, the audacity, determination, tenacity, single focus, and utter belief in their cause that shocked so many. These men learned to pilot those specific planes with that specific airline so that on their maiden flight they took not only their own lives but the lives of many, many others.
For Christians, we talk of living for a higher purpose but, especially in the West, how often do we? We may get reprimanded for praying in our schools, hospitals, etc, which we moan about, put a post on social media, but are very rarely willing to, or even asked to, die for. Suddenly on 11th September 2001, we were confronted by a group of radical people who not only talked that talk but walked it too. Here were a people group who would literally stop at nothing, including the loss of their own lives, to achieve what they saw as a higher goal.
Twenty years on, we are still reeling from it. Still feeling the effects of it. I believe it is because of the Western government’s decisions back in September 2001 which has led to the collective need in the West to help the refugees from Afghanistan. A need unlike anything that has been felt for those fleeing African countries, South American countries, Middle Eastern countries. Very much like when the Twin Towers were hit people were shocked at the numbers who died but more died in poverty across the world, from AIDS-related illnesses, from abuse, on that one day than in the Twin Towers attack, and yet the focus was on the terrorists rather than the things that we could help with.
Over these last 18 months, we have had to face another unseen enemy – the coronavirus. We are not sure where it is or how it moves. We neither see it nor feel it until it is too late. Also, as with many issues in the rest of the world, if it doesn’t affect us and those we are close to then we want to pretend it does not exist and to be able to carry on as normal and let “them” deal with it. We only react then when it touches one of those we love when it hits home. This was the same twenty years ago. Terror attacks across the world did get a mention in the media but not for a prolonged period and did not have the same gut reaction as the Twin Towers. They were acts that happened “over there” not on our doorstep. We would only really hear of events if there was a Western person, someone of our nationality, affected by it. So like we are now with Covid-19.
To me with these two unseen things – terrorists who are willing to die for their cause and the coronavirus that keeps morphing so it can live – we have learned so little about ourselves. We are still only focused on what changes the lives of those we love and those we care for.
I remember one of the things said by the media after 9/11 was that the planes were aimed at the Twin Towers because they represented Western economy. I think God was trying to tell us all something then about our greed and fears, and how we view our resources, what we in the West saw as “enough”. I think with this pandemic, God has once again highlighted our global economy and how much is lacking in our care for others – something the group involved with the 9/11 atrocity felt a dramatic need to highlight. It has been the less developed nations that have lost most during this pandemic and yet it has been in the West that people have bemoaned many things we have got used to seeing a right not a privilege.
The questions arise again and again – are we willing to change? Are we willing to love all people whether they hurt us or not? Godspace’s focus at the moment is about the “new season.” Are we willing to move into a new season in how we view the world and realise how connected we are? My spending decisions affect someone in the Taliban as much as it affects someone in London, New York, the Philippines, etc.
So my prayers today, 11th September 2021, are that as we remember the loss of life at Ground Zero, and in the other attacks, we remember the immense bravery of the emergency services that day and the days following, the lives and livelihoods lost by so many connected with 9/11. I will also pray that we remember the loss of life – and livelihoods – of those from Covid-19, and also the immense bravery of the health services and other emergency services and support workers around the world over this time. I also pray that all of us, including myself, realise how much is “enough” and let go of our fears of sharing our “more than enough” with others – whether that be time, money, resources, but most especially our love and understanding. As one of my Youthshedz young people said, we cannot meet shame with shame. We cannot meet fear with fear and as Jesus said we cannot meet violence with violence.
So I pray we will let go of our fear of others and our fears of not having enough and share and share and share. And that with our sharing we can bring peace to a hurting world.
[There are many more blogs on this site that can signpost how to share and support those we do not have as much as we do]
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I get inspired to pray by what I see sitting around in my kitchen….the apples were leftover from our thinplaceNASHVILLE Rosh Hashana celebration.
#kitchenstilllifeprayer
Last night, I walked the dog while wearing a sweatshirt.
It’s been cool and less humid in the mornings… glimpses of fall.
Glimpses that give me hope.
Last night, Rosh Hashanah ended.
The birth of a new year!
Another sign of hope!
Apples and Honey tasted.
Prayers to receive the sweetness of the New Year and the New Season!
Blessings of Fall!
Yet, in the shadows, not far away
lurks the pandemic.
Still here. Still raging.
Still stressful and exhausting.
It’s not easy to exist in two worlds at once. When people suffer because others are afraid.
Yet… there is hope.
Apples and Honey.
Sweetness…
even in these days of uncertainty.
Hope …
even when we do not understand the ways of others.
Lord, give us ears to hear and eyes to see! Help us to see as you see… with eyes of compassion. Help us love as you love, even those we disagree with. Help us to believe and have hope! Help us receive this new season and this fresh start. Amen
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish high holiday, also known as the Feast of Trumpets (Leviticus 23: 23-35 and Nehemiah 8:10-11) This is the Jewish New Year celebrating the sovereignty, faithfulness, and presence of God.
Rosh Hashanah is a time to confess our sins and start with a clean slate. We get a fresh start. A time to remember and look forward to the New Season with hope!
And if you are like me, we can all use a FRESH START!
What do you look forward to in this NEW SEASON? With God, your family, friends, work, etc.
Talk to Jesus about where you are and what you are dreaming about for this NEW season.
apples and honey
PRAYER PRACTICE: One of the traditions of Rosh Hashanah is eating apples and honey as a symbol of the newness and sweetness of the new year. Gather an apple and some honey. Slice up the apple and dip it in the honey and talk to Jesus about the things you’d like to see in your NEW YEAR, in this new season! You can do this as a family, with your housemates, small group, or entire church community.
As you eat your apples and dip them in the honey… if doing this as a group prayer practice, you can have everyone pause and pray/consider between bites of apple.
What Sweetness do you want Jesus to pour into your life?
What new flavor do you need in this new season ahead? Ask Jesus to show you.
What do you need Jesus to make BRAND NEW for you? Talk to him about this.
Each time you eat an apple this week or use honey in your tea or on your toast, use this as a reminder to practice gratitude and be grateful for all the sweet things God is doing in your life. Ask Jesus to remind you of the sweetness of his love and give you hope as you taste the sweetness of the apple and/or honey.
To learn more about Rosh Hashanah watch this…
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
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post and photos below by Sue Duby,
In the dripping humidity and heat of Arkansas summers, any chance for an enjoyable walk requires an alarm-clock-setting wake-up. Usually, a stiff nudge from Chuck, a loud groan from me, a bleary-eyed grab for tennis shoes, and a shuffle down the driveway, pave the way.
Around the corner, while we still struggle to fully focus our eyes, a gentle voice cuts the air… “Good Morning!”. It’s sweet Miss Lilly; our 80-something neighbor. In her favorite porch chair, coffee in hand, eyes twinkling, a smile that says, “I’m so very happy to see you!”. Always on the alert for whoever might pass by. We’ve adopted her as our neighborhood greeter, cheerleader, and historian. She knows everyone’s names, who just joined our tribe, what landscape projects need attention and which neighbors need help. All with a heart of grace.
Her life challenges us. Her joy is contagious. She smiles when sharing her secret.
“Every day is an adventure. So much to discover!”. Her curiosity never wanes. Discovery of new wonder is always just a breath away. We want to be like her when we grow up!
I quietly whispered to Him, “I want to be more curious like Lilly”. His creative ways to answer requests and teach new lessons surpass anything I could ever imagine myself. This time, with spiders and bagworms.
One night, heading to the hot tub before bed, the moonlight saved me from a full face plant into a massive spider web. I first noticed a yellow spider, anchored to a silk strand, blowing gently in the breeze. I grabbed a flashlight to investigate (a baby step in curiosity). Stunned, I discovered a two-foot circular masterpiece! Intricately woven, a few circle strands yet to be set, a few moths already captured and the spider scurrying to finish his work while bugs filled the airspace around him.
I yelled to Chuck, “Come see this!”. As I moved the flashlight, we gasped… a second equally masterful web (and spider) hung just a few feet away.
The next morning, no trace of either web could be found. We spent the next few nights cautiously entering the night with flashlight in hand. Curiosity yes, but honestly, protection from being tangled in a big web! For three evenings, the first spider returned. Starting his web all over again at night, only to have it vanish by morning.
Curiosity took hold. I scoured YouTube for spider videos. They complete webs from start to finish in 30-60 minutes and only after dark. Spiders are able to distinguish between a breeze on their web and a bug landing for dinner. They spin two kinds of silk… one for tough main strands and another with glue to help capture prey. Whoever knew???
Just a week later, our second lesson in curiosity unfolded. Taking his daily “assess the landscape” walk, Chuck discovered the entire back half of a favorite screening tree gone… no green needles, just brown sticks from top to bottom. Peering a bit closer, he found some strange “looks like baby pinecones” hanging from all the remaining branches. He picked one, gently squeezed (pinecones don’t squeeze!) and out popped a slimy worm. He rushed inside. “We have a problem!! I need your help!”.
A quick internet search identified our foe… bagworms. Chuck’s curiosity led him to some wild facts. Bagworms spin a cocoon-like bag using their silk and needles from the trees (for camouflage). One female can lay over 500 eggs. That news sent us on a crazy four-day rampage, picking bagworm cocoons off four trees. Over 400 later (really!!), we sighed, hoping next year’s season will reward our efforts.
Both adventures felt like God-scripted lessons. With principles to grab beyond the wild world of nature and bugs.
Curiosity is a choice. Many days, life passes by with lists of tasks, routine duties, and a “same old thing” mode. Yet each day, His invitation is there… waiting… offered to us. Whether bugs, people, places, books, landscapes… it all whispers “Be Curious!”.
Children seem to naturally fill their days with curiosity, discovery, and wonder. The crawdads in the creek. The lizard’s lost tail growing back on its own. The magic of bubbles popping in the air. The splash of a rain puddle. As we grow, curiosity wanes and takes a bit more effort.
When we choose curiosity, it awakens something deeper inside. It stirs us to long to discover more. And that discovery leads us to wonder. And wonder leads us right to Him… the creator of everything that made us curious in the first place. He planned the journey well, knowing us. The “want to know” (curiosity), the fun adventure (discovery), and the awe of His creativity and handprint on everything around us (wonder). May our curiosity never cease. May discovery always beckon. May our wonder in Him captivate us, always. Even in our own backyard.
- “Who among the gods is like you, Lord? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11 NIV
- “He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.” Job 5:9 NIV
- “The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.” Psalm 65:8 NIV
- “… to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:4 NIV
Feature photo of cobweb by Kathie Hempel
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