by Tom Sine
Can Your Church Respond?
This spring, as parents across the country lost their jobs and schools closed their doors, the number of households with children who weren’t getting enough food due to a lack of resources surged. In April, about 41% of mothers with children under 13 reported recent food insecurity, the highest level since at least 2001, according to an analysis of survey data from the Brookings Institution. The nonprofit Feeding America projects reports that some 18 million children could be food insecure in 2020…
Congress took some early steps to address childhood food insecurity during the pandemic, but with need soaring, nutrition advocates say more support is required to address child hunger over the summer and throughout the economic crisis.
‘What we are staring at is extraordinarily high rates of childhood food insecurity now, even with an ongoing policy response,” says Lauren Bauer, an economics fellow at the Brookings Institution who conducted the Brookings analysis. “And looking toward the summer… I anticipate that childhood food insecurity is going to get worse.’”
The same thing is happening now, nutrition advocates say.
‘It’s not as easy to reach kids when you don’t have a captive audience in the cafeteria,’ says Crystal Fitzsimons, who directs the center’s work on child food assistance programs. ‘For example, there’s transportation barriers, families need to know where they can access meals, (and) the hours need to work for families so that they can pick them up.’”
First Day of Kid’s Summer Lunch Program!
Felicia is a 17-year-old with a “can do” attitude who, with her grandmother Ella, organized to host a large number of kids in their community whose families have very limited resources to feed themselves during this pandemic. This is a very welcomed new program hosted by First Methodist Church in Pittsfield, MA.
Share Summer Meals Program in Vancouver, WA has worked out an arrangement with St Joseph’s Catholic Church to use their kitchen as well as enlist some of their members to prepare thousands of grab-n-go meals from June 22 to August 14 to respond to the needs of 20,000 children in Clark County. All children under 18 are welcomed to a grab-n-go meal. They even provide transportation to the kids that need it.
Church Opportunity for Summer 2020
Since many families all over the the US have been counting on school feeding programs, many parents were not prepared for what to do when it ended. It is important to realize there is no certainty of how long the present level of government assistance to those who have lost their jobs will continue.
Fortunately, there are a number of churches and non-profits in many parts of the United States that have stepped in to fill the gap. It is not too late for your church to join this 2020 summer opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of kids where you live.
Join your neighbors all over America and put those under-utilized church kitchens to work with those who are creating Grab-N-Go Meals for kids in your community and see the difference you can make in the lives of kids where you live in these troubled times!
We would love to hear and share your stories. Email us.
PRE-ORDER~ Tom Sine and Dwight Friesen’s book called 2020s Foresight: Three Vital Practices for Thriving in a Decade of Accelerating Change will be released in September 2020 by Fortress Press.
by Christine Sine
Over the last few months I have been experimenting a lot with contemplative prayer and what method suits me best for this present time and circumstance. I am not an expert in contemplative prayer practices, and am not formally trained in its methods but still felt you would appreciate hearing about some of my experiences so I have put together this video of some of my thoughts on contemplation combined with a short contemplative exercise.
An Introduction to Centering Prayer
Like many of us I have felt a strong need for silence in the midst of the chaos around me and have been attracted particularly to centering prayer.
There is much that attracts me to this method of contemplative prayer and its purpose of helping us get in touch with the activity of God in our inner being. It helps us both let go of external circumstances and their turmoil as well as of the interior noise of our thoughts and feelings.
I love its use of a sacred word as an expression of my intent to leave behind external concerns and welcome the divine presence into my inner being. It’s a great tool for directing me towards the interior silence in which God dwells. Thomas Keating’s book Open Mind, Open Heart has been a particularly valuable resource for me and some of the steps I talk about below are adapted from this book.
More than anything centering prayer has directed me toward the inner experience of God’s love deep within me, making me very aware that God is indeed my beloved and I am beloved by God.
God’s Love – The Focus of My Contemplation
This focus on the love of God has become the center of my contemplation over these days in isolation and I find myself hungering more and more for an awareness of the divine love. I am very aware that I am not worthy of being loved by the Eternal God of the universe, but I am also aware that God dwells in my innermost being hidden and invisible yet waiting for me to acknowledge and surrender to. In that surrender I don’t just dedicate myself to a deeper union with God, but I surrender also to the outpouring of God’s love and compassion in service to others.
I hunger for God’s love but God also hungers for relationship with me and with all humankind.
As I read in Psalm 136 a couple of days ago “God’s tender love continues on forever.”
I have read that God’s first language is silence but for me silence is more a pathway that enables me to understand God’s language. For me, God’s first language is love. I expressed that in a poem I wrote several years ago that has become something of a mantra for me:
Love is God’s language
Let us learn to speak it fluently.
Love is God’s culture
Let us learn to live it joyfully.
Love is God’s nature
Let us learn to practice it faithfully.
So now I thought I would introduce you to the process that I have found helpful over the last couple of months to enter into that love and go deeper each day into the presence of the Eternal One.
Practicing Contemplative Prayer.
First, let me walk you through the process I use and then we can practice it. I should mention that at the point when I asked people to relax and get comfortable our dog lay down on the floor, gave a big sigh and went to sleep – what we call “doggie meditation”.
- Find a quiet place with minimal distractions. The idea of contemplative prayer is to focus on God and the more we are distracted by the world around us the harder that becomes. If you can’t find a quiet pace or find it difficult (as most of us do) to block out the outside noise, consider wearing a pair of headphones.
- Sit comfortably and relaxedly in your space. Sitting comfortably decreases the discomforts of our bodies, another distracting element. So find the most comfortable chair in your house, or do what I did and invest in cushion that makes your chair more comfortable. You may also like to hold something like a small hand cross, a heart shaped stone, or prayer beads. For many of us holding something like this helps us maintain our focus. I will use my favorite heart shaped stone today as my focus object. Alternatively, you might like to light a candle.
- Close your eyes. We tend to focus on what we see. Closing our eyes reinforces our intent to leave behind the exterior world and its distractions to focus on the invisible but very present God of the universe. This is why a guided meditation can be so helpful – it means that you can sit with your eyes closed during the whole process.
- Acknowledge the reality we are immersed in, yet rarely think about – God’s presence is everywhere – around us, in us, embracing and holding us. It is present in every moment and available at all times. When I close my eyes and focus on this thought, it become very real and enveloping.
- Scripture reading – I will read a short scripture to ground our time of silence in the God who is love.
- Read a prayer – If you are like me, I need lots of help focusing so I will read a prayer I have written especially to calm my spirit and focus my inner being more deliberately on God. Reading it aloud is, for me, a very centering exercise. Listening to it resonate throughout my body and especially in my mind helps to calm my soul.
- Pause in the presence of this reality silently, savoring the presence of God for a couple of minutes. At this point, I will strike a resonant sound on my singing bowl. And we will hold 2 minutes of silence. It is good to mark an intentional silence like this with a sound at the beginning and end to make your spirit aware of the boundaries. At the end of the silence I will sound the singing bowl again,
- In this place of reverence and quiet I will read another prayer and a scripture as we end, then close in silence.
Let’s begin.
Sit comfortably in your quiet place, relaxed and comfortable.
Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths in and out to calm your spirit.
Acknowledge God’s presence in you, around you and radiating out from you.
Welcome the Holy One into the inner place of your being.
Psalm 97:10-12 The Passion Translation
Listen you lovers of God! Hate evil,
for God can keep you from wrong and protect you from the power of wickedness
For he sows seeds of light within his lovers,
And seeds of joy burst forth for the lovers of God!
So be glad and continue to give him thanks,
For God’s holiness is seen in everything he does.
Prayer
I sit in the place of quiet
Breathing in, breathing out
I close my eyes to distraction
I close my ears to the world’s noise.
I center myself on God today.
I sink into the presence of the Eternal One.
Divine love in me,
Holy love around me,
Omnipotent love embracing me,
Holding me,
Penetrating the depths of my being.
Divine love,
The center of my life,
The goal of my journey,
The power of my transformation.
Divine love,
Changing me and making me whole.
Pause in the presence of this reality silently savoring the wonder of God for a 2 minute silence.
Contempative experiment
Psalm 136: 1-5 (The Passion Translation)
Let everyone thank God, for he is good, and he is easy to please!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
Give thanks to God, our King over all gods!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
Give thanks to the Lord over all lords!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
Give thanks to the only miracle working God!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
Give thanks to the Creator who made the heavens with wisdom!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
Closing prayer
God we thank you that your tender love continues on forever,
Love is your language,
Let us learn to speak it fluently.
Love is your culture,
Let us learn to live it joyfully.
Love is your nature,
Let us learn to practice it faithfully.
Amen
Each week I post the Taize style service from my home church St Andrews Episcopal here in Seattle. Last week I also posted a service of Lament which was streamed on Facebook by The Many and it made me realize how much people are craving this kind of service. Both these services are created weekly, so with the gracious permission of both these groups I will continue to post both of these on a Saturday afternoon for you to enjoy on Sunday or in fact at any time during the week.
Contemplate with St Andrews
Contemplative service with music in the style of Taize from St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Seattle.
Carrie Grace Littauer, prayer leader, and music by Kester Limner and Andy Myers.
Permission to web stream or podcast music in this service is granted under One License number A-710-756.
“Christ Be With Me” text from the Lorica, or the Prayer of St. Patrick. Song by Ruth Cunningham, used with permission. All rights reserved.
www.ruthcunningham.com
www.youtube.com/ruthreid/ Instagram:
@ruthreid11 www.saintandrewsseattle.org
Lament with The Many
As many of us continue to struggle with our pain and the pain of others, we feel the call to lament. The Many, an indie, intentionally diverse music collective from Chicago singing music of faith and doubt, hope and lament sing new songs made for reflection, for protest, for healing and worship. Together, this unique group of musicians, songwriters, poets, activists, uneasy prophets and unsaintly saints, remind us over and over again that we aren’t alone, that God so loves every one of us, and we all belong here.
Every Wednesday, they are making space for people to grieve losses and name the sorrows we’re all walking through with this pandemic, as well as find community and possibly even some things to be grateful for. I though that for this week’s contemplative service that you might enjoy this service This service, which was posted on June 17th is an example of the good work that they do. Enjoy.
This week, we come together again to lament the losses we continue to experience in our lives and in our world because of the pandemic and because of racial inequity and injustice. And tonight, in honor of Pride month, we will be offering some extra space and time to pray for our LGBTQIA+ siblings who so often have not been loved for who they are. We’re also very happy to be joined by Rev. Shaun Whitehead, Chaplain at St. Lawrence University and to be premiering a new lyric video for our song “These Bodies.”
Learn more about The Many: Website – https://www.themanyarehere.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/themanyarehere
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter – @themanyarehere
Church Resources website – https://www.pluralguild.com
Get music by The Many: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZpUGMG
iTunes/Apple Music: https://apple.co/3cR0AKC
Website: https://pluralguild.com/music or https://themanyarehere.com/music
by Lisa DeRosa with music by Sheila Hamil (used with permission)
In honor of their martyrdom in Rome, the liturgical calendar includes the Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul for June 29th. Loyola Press has a wonderful, concrete article that explains further about Peter, Paul and their ministries. We are grateful to them for their contributions in the Bible and their dedication to follow God despite the suffering they endured.
In times of uncertainty, anxiety and fear, I often turn to Philippians 4:6 (NIV) which says:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
It grounds me to remember that there is power in prayer, that I can be thankful in all situations (Paul refers to this in 1 Thess 5:18) and that God hears my requests! What joy is found in that fact alone, the God of all creation cares to listen to my requests. I am thankful that Paul has recorded this and many other scriptures for meditating on.
Peter has an interesting relationship with Jesus. He is the one who Jesus invited to follow him, even to the point of walking on water. Matthew 14:22-36 (NIV) has the full story, but I have provided verses 25-33 below:
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
This story helps me to realize that my faith is just the same. I see the invitation, I attempt to follow, get scared, Jesus tells me not to be afraid but just fix my eyes on him. Sounds simple… but I know that in times of uncertainty, my mind runs straight to doubt. I grow weary and focus more on the storm, the wind, the waves, not Jesus, whose eyes are waiting to meet my gaze. He has the power to calm the storms and raging seas around me and even the fear and weariness in my heart and mind. I am thankful for this example in Peter’s life.
To celebrate them, Sheila Hamil has graciously shared these videos below with us to commemorate these saints. We hope you enjoy them as much as we have!
“If I Have Not Love” (1 Corinthians 13)
“Feed My Lambs”
For more videos by Sheila Hamil, check out her YouTube channel.
By Lilly Lewin
Body Prayer…this is my current favorite practice. It is helping me stay sane in this crazy season.
We are all carrying many heavy things today…things weighing us down.
Fears
Frustrations
People we cannot fix or control
Relationships that aren’t where we wish
Losses
Grief
Anger
Despair
Exhaustion
These are heavy things…
What else are you carrying?
We need to let God hold and carry these things for us.
Cup your hands in front of you and imagine all the heavy things you’re holding in your hands…
Feel the weight.
Imagine each of these things…visualize the words or the images of all the burdens weighing you down today.
Now picture Jesus across from you.
Reach across and place all these things in the hands of Jesus.
Give these things into the hands of Jesus to hold and carry for you today.
And know that Jesus will hold them and be in charge of them, you don’t have to carry them anymore.
Let Jesus hold these for you!
You don’t have to take them back!
Let’s Pray…
Thank you Jesus for holding all these heavy things for me today! Thank you that you understand their weight and my worry. Thank you that you will hold them and care for them, and we are free to let them all go! Help me not to take them back. Fill me with your peace and hope today and help me to know that hold me too in the palm of your hand! AMEN
©lillylewin and freerangeworship.com
by Carol Dixon
(The above photo is of the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, Alnwick, Northumberland, Photo: © George Taylor, Used by permission)
A recent discovery of the prayer below reminded me of how different the future became in a way I could never have imagined as a young person growing up in a divided community and separated churches.
When I was young, my friend (also called Carol) went to the school just along the road from my school. Even though they were only a few doors along from each other, it was difficult for us to meet up as I went to the Duchess’s Grammar School for Girls, which was loosely affiliated to the Church of England whereas her school was a Roman Catholic Convent School run by the Sisters of Mercy and in the late 1950s & early 60s it was not the done thing to meet up with someone from a different denomination. Since my music teacher taught at the Convent School and my piano exams were held there, it wasn’t such a mysterious place to me and I didn’t feel the same kind of apprehension and uncertainty as some of my schoolfellows on entering the building for the exam because my friend went there especially as she had assured this Presbyterian that the statues were ‘nothing to worry about’.
Statue of Mary, Alnwick Convent, Photo: © George Taylor Used by permission)
photo credit: Theoliane under SA 3.0 on Wikipedia.com
Some years later when our children were young we visited the Abbaye de Ste. Sauveur le Vicomte which I knew from my friend was the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy. We approached the large door and rang the bell and I explained in halting French that we came from Alnwick in Northumberland and the nun immediately recognised the name of the town where their teaching order was based in the UK. Even though we weren’t Catholics we received a wonderfully warm welcome and one of the nuns scurried off to find a very ancient Irish sister who was delighted to have the opportunity of speaking to English people (in a broad Irish accent!) On returning home I was able to share the story with my friend Carol and other Christians at the Ecumenical prayer group to which we both belonged – something which would have been impossible 20 years earlier when we were at school. How much things had changed in two decades and we rejoiced at the freedom we now had to share our faith together across many different denominations.
When I found a wonderful prayer below written by one of the Sisters of Mercy it reminded me of how the divisions of the past have healed and it really spoke to me in our current situation when we don’t know what the future will bring.
A Prayer For Uncertain Times
God of infinite mercy, hear our prayer!
In this time of bewilderment and fear, we ask you to give us the courage to take care of one another as Jesus did. For those who are ill, especially those who are frightened and alone, for those who cannot access healthcare, for those who are homeless and lost, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our sadness and grief, we ask you to give us words to comfort one another. For those who are dying, and for those who have already died from this virus, for those who tend them and for those with no one to tend them, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our own anxiety we ask you to give us the courage to support one another as you would. For those who are unexpectedly unemployed, for employers who share what they can, for our government and financial institutions and those who lead them, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our struggle to ensure a healthy future for all who live on this planet, we ask you to give us the hope that surpasses our current understanding. For healthcare workers, spiritual leaders and our faith communities, for artists and poets, for prophets and teachers, hear our prayer!
In the midst of our growing awareness that all life on Earth is connected, we ask for the heart to respect and cherish all life. That all peoples recognize that we are all your children, hear our prayer!
We trust in you and your power working in us. Please hear and answer our prayers.
Amen!
Amen!
— Sister Cynthia Serjak —
In times of uncertainty it is good to remember Paul’s words from I Corinthians 2: 9
‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind can imagine what God has in store for those who love him’. I find it very reassuring to know that although we don’t know what the future may bring, we can be confident that we are secure in the loving hands of our God, as Marty Haugh ‘s hymn reminds us.
by Tom Sine
Church of the Apostles in Seattle on June 14th designed to Awaken * Confront * Transform
Christine and I viewed this very moving Zoom interracial worship experience unlike anything we had ever experienced. The powerful music was drawn from rich African sources. Here is a brief sampling of some of the elements of this worship service led by Rev Ivar Hillesland and Pastor Katherine GrayBuck.
Ivar invites you to attend the Zoom Worship Experience at Church of the Apostles at 5 pm (PST).
What is offered below is a sampling of the material in this service to give you a taste of a much more interracial worship than we had experienced before. Regrettably, all we are sharing here are some segments of the worship service.
We would welcome your feedback to this small offering of this Zoom Worship Service. We will share them with Rev Ivar and Katherine.
Opening Song: A Change Is Gonna Come
Sam Cooke, Everton Bonner, John Christopher Taylor
I was born by the river in a little tent
Oh, just like a river, I’ve been running ever since
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change’s gonna come, oh, yes, it will
It’s been too hard living, but I’m afraid to die
‘Cause I don’t know what’s up there above the sky
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change’s gonna come, oh, yes, it will
And I go to the movies, and I go downtown
Somebody keep telling me, don’t hang around
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change’s gonna come, oh, yes, it will
Then I go to my brother
I’d say brother, help me, please
But he winds up knockin’ me
Back down on my knees
There been times that I thought I wouldn’t last for long
Now I think I’m able to carry on
It’s been a long, a long time coming
But I know a change’s gonna come, oh, yes, it will
Welcome
Theme Confront – (from A.C.T. Now to End Racism campaign)
Why we are commemorating 5th anniversary of Emanuel 9
The act of listening through singing the music of other cultures with humility
Reminder about white guilt
A Confessional Litany and Lament Commemorating
Nine Who Were Slain at Mother Emanuel AME Church, June 17, 2015
From ELCA resources for Commemoration of Emanuel 9
They were doing
what we are called to
as they engaged in bible study.
It was Wednesday night—
a stranger walked in,
and these people welcomed him and prayed together:
the Rev. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Cynthia Marie Graham Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lee Lance, the Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders, the Rev. Daniel Lee Simmons, the Rev. Myra Singleton Quarles Thompson, and the honorable state senator and pastor of the church, the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney.
This stranger wanted to ignite a “race war,”
he said, after he shot and killed them,
denying them the very humanity he claimed for himself,
claiming rights and privileges associated with “whiteness.”
Now we are grieved, once again in pain,
burning and anguished, lamenting the horror of evil unleashed.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Sorrow and heartache have come to us.
Death and mourning have visited us.
We feel far from you, O God, and distant from one another.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Evil besets us in our land.
We acknowledge that our nation is socialized in ways that promote and normalize
Colonialization. We cry out against the horrors and agonies of racism.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
The privileged of our nation have benefited from practices that dehumanize indigenous peoples.
We have claimed as “discovery” lands that were not ours. These lands have been stolen and the nations, that were the original occupants of these lands, slain.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Tribalism has led to the denial of your presence, O God.
Present generations,
the children whose ancestors were kidnapped and sold into slavery,
those forced to labor not on their own behalf,
still suffer and struggle to live in freedom
while the children of colonizers,
live out of “white privilege,”
denying the fullness of your presence in all people.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Assaults born of greed and murder continue propping up
white privilege that is institutionalized in our church and nation,
preventing us from recognizing
the twin evils of racism and nationalism
still perpetuated among us.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
Open our eyes, O God, open our hearts.
Open our ears, O God, open our minds.
Help us to behold one another as you behold us.
Help us to be more firmly rooted
in the practices of the gospel—so that, when we pray,
the way we live will make real the dream of your beloved community
within and among us.
And so we cry out,
Have mercy, O God, have mercy on us.
With the help of your mercy and grace,
lead us to think, believe, and change.
May your gospel’s transforming power
by the working of the Holy Spirit
be present in us, in our churches,
in our nation and all the nations of the earth.
May it be so. And the people said, “Amen.”
Amen.
Opening Song: I Want Jesus To Walk With Me
African American Spiritual
Led by Matt Quarterman
I want Jesus to walk with me;
I want Jesus to walk with me;
all along my pilgrim journey,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
In my trials, Lord, walk with me;
in my trials, Lord, walk with me;
when my heart is almost breaking,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
When I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me;
when I’m in trouble, Lord, walk with me;
when my head is bowed in sorrow,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
Collect
Let us pray.
O Holy One, Friend of the enslaved and oppressed,
You did not enter our world in an ethereal, beautiful Body
To give a few tidbits of wisdom.
You were incarnated as an enfleshed, exhausted,
And eventually executed human being.
Teach us, Liberator of your Faithful,
To take the side of the oppressed, as you did.
Point us to the example of Moses, of your prophets, of Christ,
Who with boldness and truth
proclaimed that the lives of the exploited matter. Amen.
From A booklet of uncommon prayer, collects for the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
For the full service, click here.
Used with Permission from Rev Ivar Hillesland
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