Pentecost is almost with us. Sunday we will be at church decked out in our best red outfits ready to celebrating the coming of the Spirit – described in scripture in so many wonderful terms – Spirit of truth, advocate, comforter, sustainer, and closely linked with the coming of peace and the outpouring of love. For many the Spirit is the feminine side of God. For others it is the equipper, and strengthener, the eternal abiding presence of God.
More than anything, for me, the Spirit is the equipper for service, the One who sends us out into the world to be God’s representatives of love and peace, of justice and reconciliation. It bothers me that so much of our celebration is confined to inside the church. This is a celebration that should be taken out into the world which is what I have tried to reflect in this prayer.
Here is another recipe that I make frequently at this season when there are more peas and bok choy in the garden than we can possibly eat is this adaptation of Phad Thai. I made this a couple of days ago for our good friends, Paul and Liz Sparks – their enthusiasm for the recipe inspired me to post it here.
I love to experiment – not just with spiritual practices but also with recipes. Just as there is no failure in the garden, there is no failure in the kitchen either, just learning experiences. Have some fun, experiment for yourself, create new recipes adopted to your tastes and to what your garden produces.
INGREDIENTS:
– 3 tablespoons Thai Sweet Chili sauce
– 1/2 cup Soy sauce
– 1./2 cup old fashioned peanut butter
– 1 package flat rice noodles , (1 lb package)
– 1/8 cup sesame or peanut oil
– 1 medium onion
– 1/2 cup bean sprouts
– 2 cloves garlic
– 1 pound bok choy
– 1 pound tofu
– 1/2 pound snow peas
– 1/2 pound broccoli florets
– 1 medium red bell (capsicum) peppers, chopped
– 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
– 1 cup peanuts or cashews
– 6 green onion
– 1 cup Shitake Mushrooms, optional
METHOD:
1. For Sauce: Combine chili sauce, soy sauce, apple cider and peanut butter. Stir until uniform and set aside
2. Noodles: Put noodles in a large pot of boiling water. Turn off heat and soak for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, drain, rinse in cold water until cool. Cut with scissors several times to create smaller pieces.
3. Vegetables: Heat oil add onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add greens, mushrooms and snow peas, stir fry 2 minutes, add tofu and stir fry an additional 2 minutes.
4. Add noodles and peanut butter mixture to the vegetables. Stir for 2 minutes.
5. Garnishes: Serve with bean sprouts, green onions, and nuts as garnishes. For those that like it hot have more sweet chili sauce and hot chili flakes available.
SERVINGS: 10
SOURCE: Christine Sine
I thought I would take a light break from all the serious stuff I have been posting and turn to a couple of new recipes I have been experimenting with. (Stay tuned for my version of pad Thai tomorrow)
A couple of days ago I posted on Facebook that I had just made pear and raspberry bread, an Australian favourite that I have been trying to replicate here in the U.S. but until now without a great deal of success. I have experimented with numerous recipes but this is the first that really tastes as good as what I get in all the coffee shops in Australia. Why American coffee shops have not discovered this really has me puzzled. This is a great alternative to banana bread and a great way to use up pears at the end of their storage life.
I adapted the recipe from one I found at Bestrecipes.com.au, but made a lot of changes and combined suggestions from a couple of other recipes I found. Hope you like it as much as I do. Enjoy. I suggest 2/3 – 1 cup sugar because I know that my American friends like things sweeter than Australians tend to make them. I used 2/3 but some of you will definitely want more.
Pear & Raspberry Bread
INGREDIENTS:
– 2 cup whole grain or wheat flour
– 2 cup all purpose flour
– 2 teaspoon baking powder
– 2 teaspoon baking soda
– 2/3 to 1 cup brown sugar
– 2 egg
– 1 cup canola oil
– 1 cup milk
– 4 pears, very ripe fresh or frozen, peeled and chopped
– 1 1/2 cup raspberries, do not thaw if using frozen
– 2 teaspoons vanilla
– 2 teaspoons cinnamon
METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 180 C or 350 F
2. Use a blender to puree half of the pears about 1 cup. Chop remaining pears into small pieces (about 1cm²).
3. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon. Stir in sugar and nuts
4. beat eggs and oil together. Add to mixture, stir in milk, pureed pears and vanilla, add pear pieces and raspberries and gently sir into mixture until just combined
5. Divide mixture and bake in 2 greased loaf tins for about 50-60 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer poked in the centre comes out clean. Leave in tin to cool
SERVINGS: 24
Another great suggestion I came across is to cut each loaf into 12 pieces, freeze and then you can defrost just the number of pieces you want at a time – stops you feeling you have to consume the whole loaf at once, though that is very tempting.
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The day of Pentecost is May 24th this year and it is rapidly approaching. Each year I like to post a new list of resources for special days in the lectionary like this. Enjoy and share it with your friends
This is the day when we celebrate:.
- The coming of the Holy Spirit and the infilling of Jesus’ disciples with the power to go out and change the world
- The great multi cultural gathering that we catch a glimpse of as we watch the spirit fall and suddenly everyone is able to understand each other – not all speaking the same language but able to understand each other in their own languages. Acts 2:11.
- Pentecost is traditionally the time that many churches pray for the peace of our world in which at times there seems to be so little cross cultural understanding.
So what kinds of resources do we need? First I think we need to provide our congregations with resources that help them see Jesus from other cultural perspectives. In a visual society like ours art is one very powerful way to do this. Liturgy is another powerful tool because as we read the words aloud they resonate deep within our souls and take root.
So to get yourself in the mood watch this wonderful video from Africa – it immediately took me back to some of the wonderful worship services I attended in Ghana, Togo and Cote d’Ivore when I worked on the Mercy Ship Anastasis
I have written several pentecost prayers in the past but the following litany is probably my favourite:
God, the light of your Spirit has fallen upon us,
The seal of your ownership is on us,
You have placed the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Like tongues of fire it has renewed and restored.
In our rising and our sleeping,
In our working and our playing,
In our joys and in our sorrows,
Your Spirit’s brightness has dispelled the darkness,
In our loving and caring,
In our touching and our listening,
In our thoughts and in our actions,
God’s Spirit has brought life out of death.
Read the entire prayer here: A Prayer for Pentecost:
Living In Between Ascension and Pentecost
I have also been uploading Pentecost images on Facebook and Pinterest.
Paul Neeley at Global Christian Worship has an excellent array of articles, liturgies and songs for pentecost.
Pentecost: True Spiritual Unity and Fellowship in The Holy Spirit
10 Global Pictures & Prayers for Pentecost
Pictures & Prayers of Pentecost
‘Pentecost’ by Shadow Play Puppets
African Pentekoste by Frombach & Lantz
Gina Tuck – ‘Hymn to the Holy Spirit
Pentecost Songs: An Entire Album! from Cardiphonia
Another of his links was to this beautiful song by Keith and Kristyn Getty but I loved it so much I wanted to incorporate it in the list.
From Australia & New Zealand
The Billabong has a great list of ideas for Pentecost.
Laughing Bird Liturgical Resources
From Bosco Peters in New Zealand
Matt Stone at Glocal Christianity still has the best collection of art from different cultural contexts.
A great pentecost liturgy/reflection from Steve Taylor – a kiwi who now lives in Australia.
From South Africa
Sacredise.com always produces wonderful resources
From U.K
Jonny Baker always provides great resources in his worship tricks. You check out the general list for pentecost here.
I particularly like this link to a great Pentecost meditation by Mark Berry.
And I love these pentecost prayers and this liturgy with a Celtic flavour by John Birch
Proost is a great U.K site for worship resources. Here is the link to Pentecost resources
And if you are looking for some fun food ideas for the day check these out.
From Canada
Re-worship always provides excellent resources and this Pentecost list is no exception
From U.S.
The Text This Week has some of the most comprehensive resource lists around. Their pentecost list is well worth visiting.
Proost resources are now also available in the U.S. Here is the link to Pentecost resources
From Lent and Beyond is an Episcopal site with more great resources. I was particularly appreciative of their link to this site for celebrating Pentecost with kids.
Christine Longhurst at re:Worship also lists hymns, readings, prayers and liturgies for the season.
And a great Pentecost liturgy from Work of the People
Another good list is Resources from the Calvin Institute
A beautiful Pentecost poem from Outside the Box
And for a short meditation I enjoyed this video by Franklyn Shaefer
Or if you are looking for an introduction to the season for kids this is hard to beat
Or this from Busted Halo
Many of you have already heard that our beautiful building, at the site of the Mustard Seed Village on Camano Island, has been violated by vandals. All the windows and doors have been smashed to smithereens. We are devastated. We have had vandalism before but usually nuisance interference. This is the first time it has been malicious and deliberately destructive.
Compared to the earthquake devastation in Nepal where some of my friends are now working, and to the tornado destruction in Van, Texas where I once lived, this seems minor. However, as you can imagine we are devastated and angry, initially wanting to lash out and demand retribtion. Yet as we prayed we realized that this is not God’s path for us. Our current emphasis as an organization is reconciliation and as the chair of our Board J.Paul Fridenmaker asked, the important questions for us are: What does a gospel reconciler do? and How do we approach reconciliation when the abusers are unseen?
Our inspiration for this year’s Celtic retreat August 7-9th is St Columba of Iona, known as a great diplomat and reconciler. One of his beautiful prayers that has endured through the centuries is posted above.
It reminds me that the place we too need to begin is with silence and listening, seeking to discern what God is saying to us in the midst of our heartache.
What is your response.
I ask you to sit and listen with me this morning. Sit quietly and take some deep breaths in and out. Ask yourself: What does a gospel reconciler do? and How do we approach reconciliation when the abusers are unseen?
Future Mustard Seed Village Aerial View
Loa Tzu: “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings…”
One of my Facebook friends posted this quote last week and it really caught my attention as I began my own process of discernment. I am sensing that we need to be open to the painful miracle of a new beginning.
The rest of the MSA team and Board have also begun the discernment process. Team member Forrest Inslee reflects:
I am convinced that, instead of the physical building being the first step, we need to establish the presence of people on the land. We need to plant the seeds of community. I think that this is an exciting and very achievable prospect. (Read more of Forrest’s thoughts here)
As part of the Mustard Seed community, we invite you to discern with us. Please take time to sit in silence and listen to God with us.
What is Your Response
Watch the video below from our last Celtic retreat and ask yourself: How do we establish the presence of people on the land and plant seeds of community?
We look forward to hearing from you as we discern and move forward together.
Help us rebuild
if you feel prompted to contribute to the costs of rebuilding we would really appreciate your support.
Today’s post is in response to the Godspace invitation Let’s Get Creative With Our Prayers. It is contributed by Emma Morgan at Eastern Hills Community Church in Sydney Australia. I am anxious to give it a go.
A way of prayer that all ages have enjoyed in our church community is engraving tin foil crosses.The materials are cheap, the process simple and the result very beautiful.
You may like to do this as a prayerful reflection on a reading, blessing or hymn.
We made these crosses for our doorways after sharing in some celtic house blessings. Once finished, we held them as we prayed peace and welcome on the places we live.
You can find those blessings here:
Materials:
Tin foil / Aluminium disposable baking tray.
Scissors.
Knitting needle or chopstick with pointed end.
A soft but firm-based surface. This works particularly well on carpet or on a towel over a table. For a large group we used the cardboard lids that came with our trays.
Optional: Relaxing music.
Preparation:
Cut out the shape of a cross from the flat base of the tin foil baking tray. You can fold the edges over to make a seam if you wish.
Method:
Listen to some relaxing music and be open to God’s presence as you engrave patterns or pictures into the foil. Lines, dots, cross-hatching and pictures all work well in the soft metal. You can work on the front and from the back – creating a relief effect.
Optional: Puncture a hole in the top for hanging.
We were inspired by ideas here
Today’s prayer was inspired by my continued reflections on Matthew 11:29,30 and the theme of my Monday Meditation Is It Worth The Weight. I would encourage you too to continue to reflect on the unforced rhythms of God’s grace. Allow God to speak to you and let me know what God says.
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