Many of you have told me how much you would like to be at our Celtic retreat if you were closer so over the next couple of days I will post the various liturgies from the day. This is the first.
The second morning litany is posted here.
The litany from the afternoon gathering.
Morning Gathering
Welcome and introductions
Welcome song – Holy Holy Holy
Welcoming litany
Creator God, loving God,
source of all life,
Compassionate, caring and generous One.
We gather in this place of your amazing generosity,
Surrounded by your rich abundance and lavish hospitality,
Hospitable and welcoming God,
We give you thanks,
for all you are and all you give to us,
through this visit in your creation.
We are blessed by your wild hospitality all around.
Berry-laden vines surround us,
Wild salad greens flourish underfoot.
Rich soil teeming with microscopic life,
Majestic trees nourished by its goodness,
Lush ferns growing in their shade.
Let us taste the goodness of our Creator,
And drink in the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice.
Let us eat of the fruits of the Spirit,
And partake of God’s overflowing generosity,
Let us join in the banquet feast of God.
In Jesus, you place the gospel at the center.
Together with Brigid, Columba, Patrick and Hilda,
you draw all of life into the sacred circle of your redeeming love,
through which all creation is related.
Jesus, you welcome all creation to your banquet feast.
Let us remember we sit at table with the oppressed and the marginalized,
And learn to share your generous and compassionate ways.
Nourished by faith, hope and love,
Let us welcome all who hunger and thirst,
Let us taste of the fruit of your spirit together.
Instructions for preparing the Altar
Let us gather items that speak of God’s generosity and wild hospitality.
Let us prepare the altar together together.
At this point we go out to collect material from the land to decorate the altar.
Celtic retreat – the altar
Sending prayer
God who created from nothing all that we see around us,
And wove together all plants and animals in intricately connected ecosystems,
Restore us, refresh us, renew us, create a generous spirit within us.
As we gather from your bounty to build your altar,
May we build together in a spirit of caring, unity, and hospitality.
Let us taste the goodness of our Creator,
And drink in the wonder of Christ’s sacrifice.
Let us eat of the fruits of the Spirit,
And partake of God’s overflowing generosity,
Let us join in the banquet feast of God.
Song – Go in the wilderness
Go out to collect items for decorating the altar
Children gather afterwards with Ann & Cory for the children’s program.
Song – Brigid’s Feast (composed by our worship leaders Matt and Sundee Frazier.)
God bless the poor. God bless the sick.
And bless our human race.
God bless our food. God bless our drink.
All homes, oh God, embrace.
Today’s post is another in the series Hospitality Opening Doorways to the Kingdom, which will once again be out them for a while. It is from April Yamasaki. April is a pastor, writer, and blogger. Her most recent books are Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal (Herald Press, 2013) and Ordinary Time with Jesus (CSS Publishing, 2014). She blogs on faith and writing at aprilyamasaki.com.
As a church, we’ve experimented with nurturing hospitality in a number of different ways:
- from all-church potlucks to youth progressive dinners;
- after-worship coffee times in summer and getting-to-know-you suppers hosted in homes;
- ESL (English-as-a-second-language) garden parties and weekday morning Chai ‘n’ Chat.
One of our latest experiments is a monthly Guess Who’s Coming to Sunday Lunch potluck. There’s a core group of about fifteen of us who take responsibility to invite others, bring food, do set up, clean up, and compost. We’re intentional about being aware of newcomers and inviting them to join us, plus the worship leader for that Sunday offers a general invitation for any guests.
Not everyone in the core group is there every time, but we’re often joined by others in the congregation who bring a dish to share. With our focus on newcomers, our Guess Who Lunch might be anywhere from 20 to 50 people–from babes-in-arms to seniors, both newcomers and hosts. We do it as a true potluck without coordinating who’s bringing what ahead of time, but somehow there’s always enough food, enough people to help clean up, wonderful conversation, the sharing of our lives as we share a meal together.
Since we have after-church coffee during the summer months, our next Guess Who Lunch won’t be until fall, but I’m already looking forward to it!
Below is one of my favourite dishes to share. It works as a main dish or on the side, can be eaten hot or cold, it’s both vegan and gluten-free, quick to put together and cooks up beautifully in the church kitchen while I’m preaching, can be served as is or with the extras listed at the end of the recipe. I pray it will spark some of you own ideas and hospitality.
Southwestern Beans and Corn
Put all the ingredients in a crock pot, stir well, cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours (low 7 to 8 hours).
4 cups cooked red kidney beans
2 cups frozen corn
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 green bell pepper (1-inch pieces)
2 tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp garlic powder
Extras:
Additions to crock pot:
– 1 large onion and 1 clove garlic sautéed in 1 tbsp olive oil (instead of the garlic powder)
– For extra kick: 1-2 jalapeno peppers, diced
Serve with:
– black olives
– sour cream or plain yogurt
– tortilla chips or bread
Some of you may remember that last week I published two posts Visions in an Empty Glass and We Were Created For Change that flowed out of a profound moment with God that I experienced a couple of weeks ago as I gazed at the empty communion chalice. I continue to meditate on those images and God is still speaking to me from them
The chalice that inspired me was handblown glass and today I contemplated the whole process of glass blowing which involves inflating molten glass into a bubble (or parison), with the aid of a blowpipe. Skilled workers are capable of shaping almost any vessel forms by rotating the pipe, swinging it and controlling the temperature of the piece while they blow.
All of us are like handblown glass, shaped by God into vessels of beauty I thought. All of us are molded uniquely, no two the same. All of us are special, lovingly crafted. Some of us are molded as goblets ready to be filled with living water that others can drink from. Others are like windows – transparent and allowing the glory of God to shine through. Others are like lenses, focusing and magnifying the beauty of God. They break the light of God into rainbows. Blown glass comes in all the colours of the rainbow. It comes in all shapes and sizes. It has many uses from purely functional to decorative.
And then of course there is crystal. Compared to glass, fine crystal may be thinner or more decorative because the lead content lowers the working temperature of the glass, making it easier to sculpt. Normally, glass has to be fired to high temperatures with only a short window of time to blow or mold it. The presence of lead lowers the temperature and extends the working time, allowing crystal to be more ornately decorated compared to glass. However, while the presence of lead helps in sculpting it to the desired shape, it also makes the crystal more fragile, breakable, and prone to scratches. I love to run my finger around a fine crystal goblet and listen to the music that resonates through it. Like some people I know, it sings of God’s wonder and majesty.
What kind of vessel has God shaped you to be?
Over the weekend I spoke at the Word Made Flesh Staff gathering in Oregon. It was wonderful to finally get to meet people that I have respected and corresponded with from afar for many years.
Sarah Lance, works with Sari Bari in Kolkata. This is a small business that offers freedom to women who are trapped in the sex trade by providing employment in a safe, loving environment, where women are trained as artisans. The women create beautiful, sustainable, handmade products, while making their lives new. I first “met” her when we highlighted small entrepreneurial endeavours in our MSA monthly newsletter several years ago. And have admired her and the work she is involved in from a distance ever since.
David Bayne works in Argentina where Word Made Flesh is called to serve and discover Jesus among vulnerable children and young adults living in poverty. Through mutual friendships based on love and trust, he and his co workers accompany these excluded young people in experiencing and knowing Jesus and a fuller life in God. Intentional hospitality is essential to their ministry creating a space for intimacy with God and neighbor.
What really humbled me was find out how many of the Word Made Flesh staff use my liturgies and prayers on a regular basis. Sarah told me – sometimes your prayers say exactly what I want to but have not words for. David has translated several of my liturgies into Spanish and often contributes to the blog series I host.
Meeting people like this and sharing their lives even for a few brief moments reminds me of why I do what I do. I sometimes struggle because of my own lack of involvement with impoverished communities but know that God has called me to something different for this season of my life. It is a privilege to help provide resources for those who are on the front lines, God’s good and faith servants who struggle daily to live out the extremely challenging life that God has called them to.
I came home with a set of beads made in Sierra Leone by Nallah and Sammy. They are made from recycled paper – beautiful, colourful and intricately put together, a wonderful reminder for me to pray for my friends and the important work they do.
I heartily endorse the important work of Word Made Flesh and ask that you also consider praying for them and if possible becoming part of their support team.
Mum with her “kids”
It is a year ago since my mother died and I made that painful journey down to sit at side during her last illness.
That was the hardest trip I have ever made, grieving the whole way for the mother I knew and not sure if she would still be alive when I got there. Walking into her hospital room and seeing her face light up with delight made it well worth the rigours of the journey. Waiting beside her bed for the inevitable, watching her slowly fade away. The images of that hospital room are indelibly etched on my mind.
Not long before Mum died we had celebrated her 90th birthday for which I put together a photo album of memories. That book has been a wonderful bless to me. As I look through its pages I am taken beyond the pain she suffered in her last days to images of love and laughter and joy. I am reminded that the pain of loss only hurts so much because we love and have been loved deeply.
I was never more aware of the love of God surrounding all of us and holding us in the eternal presence than then. My mother and all those who loved her are in God’s care. And in the midst of that comfort I catch a glimpse of the depths of God’s incredible love. God’s heart aches not just for the grief we suffer when loved ones die but for every hurting and suffering person in our world.
As we grow in our ability to love God that too makes us vulnerable to hurt and pain within ourselves and within others. Hopefully it makes us respond with compassion rather than indifference, with caring rather than anger and rejection. In in that response we find healing and the ability to love even more deeply. Listen to how John Birch expresses it in this beautiful prayer
John Birch posted this beautiful prayer which has been a great comfort to me as I travel.
True healing is more
than restoration
of flesh and blood,
or knitting of bone to bone.
True healing is wholeness,
where body, soul and spirit unite.
True healing is peace,
the knowledge of God’s presence,
a hope that knows no end.
True healing cries ‘Father,
not my will but yours.’
True healing knows love
perfectly,
a love that casts out fear.
True healing overcomes,
endures,
for eternity.
Last week as you know, we started a kickstarter campaign. A whole 30 days of knuckle biting vulnerability.
One of my friends who has recently completed her own campaign commented
Are you freaking out yet? It was the worst emotional roller coaster of my life. The whole middle of the campaign, that is between the first day or two and the last day or two, can drag on forever and you’ll feel like you’ll never make it and it’s agonizing. And this may feel like the longest 30 days of your life. But putting yourself out there in such a public way to be funded is surprisingly personal and really affects you.
She is right. This is a very vulnerable and personal thing to do, particularly here on the blog. We are now down to 23 days to go and I am already feeling discouraged because we are only 12% towards our goal.
So I am asking you: Want to join MSA on Kickstarter to help us offer E-courses?
Enough said? Go here:
Alright, maybe a few of you need a little more. Read on!
So, you know all the things that you love about MSA, the inspiring content, the collaborative creativity, the diverse community, and the deep spiritual formation? That’s what we want to offer through a series of online courses that will connect us in conversation, study, practice and global community. The first one will start this October, Reimagining How We Prayer, based on the popular book Return to Our Senses, but that is just the beginning. Seminar and workshops reaches 10, 20, 50 people in one location, e-courses reach across the globe and draw thousands of people from England to Australia into the MSA community and MSA ethos. People can work through the course at their own pace, taking time to reflect and renew their spirits. This, we believe will strengthen their faith and transform their spiritual life.
We want to bring the same type of collaborative exploration we do in our writing and speaking to a much wider community of Mustard Seed Associates – and this is how you can help us do that.
Many of you have told me how much you would appreciate having a course like this available. But we need your help to make it happen.
Here are four ways you can help:
1. Check out our Kickstarter site and watch the video
2. Consider making a small donation and help get us to our goal! A donation of $75 means you get to be one of the first to participate in our new course.
3. Share the link with others on facebook, twitter, or your favorite
4. Say a prayer for a successful campaign and keep watching as we cross the finish line, Lord willing!
Don’t Delay – Collaborate Today!
good samaritan – van gogh
This weekend I have been thinking a lot about the love of God. I am getting ready to do a spiritual retreat with a group of doctors this morning and then tomorrow head down to Portland to speak at the Word Made Flesh Conference. In both cases I had intended to focus on prayer but God keeps bringing me back to the need focus instead on “learn to love me more.” Trust and faith are products of love I realize. Trust and faith do not occur spontaneously, nor do they come with focusing on our need to trust and have faith. Trust and faith come by learning to love the God who is trustworthy in all circumstances.
A few weeks ago someone left a comment on one of my posts with a quote from St. Teresa of Avila, “Remember: if you want to make progress on the path and ascend to the places you have longed for, the important thing is not to think much but to love much, and so to do whatever best awakens you to love.” This too resonated in my soul
Prayer is not about getting down on our knees to talk to God. Nor is it about praying for the needs of the world. It is about falling in love and staying in love with God as we converse with and interact with the One who fills every fibre of our being. (see prayer by Father Arrupe)
What awakens us to the love of God which formed us, transforms us, sustains us and empowers us? What awakens us to the love of God so that we crave that intimate place of communion with the lover of our souls. Not just when we sit down in a place of retreat where we intercede for others but moment by moment of every day in the ordinary routines and activities of life?
This is the question that I think is at the heart of the gospels. Jesus whole life is about learning to love the God who is love. That is why James calls “love of God and love of neighbour” the royal law. That is why Jesus spent so much time drawing aside to quiet places to pray. That is why the disciples longed to learn how to pray as Jesus prayed, not in a distant hands off relationship but in an intimate loving interaction that permeated his life and ministry. Learning to love someone means spending time in their presence, becoming familiar with their voice, gazing into their face. It means loving to stand in awe of what they have made, touching, tasting and relishing their love expressed through such creativity.
It also means learning to love what they love. To enter into a loving relationship with God means to desire what God loves – justice and mercy and compassion. It means that our hearts ache with the things that tear God’s heart apart – sin and disease and injustice. Form the fullness of our experience of God’s love we are able to love others. The outpouring of God’s love into the lives of others is I believe one of the most profound expressions of prayer that there can be.
Let me leave you with this beautiful quote from Elaine Heath’s book The Mystical Way of Evangelism to meditate on.
When we come home to the love of God everything changes, beginning with how we pray. Prayer is now at its foundation a contemplative soaking in the infinite love of God. All our intercessions and thanksgivings and wordless cries now issue from the molten core of contemplative prayer. Prayer has become the vital breath, the heartbeat of divine energy without which we cannot live.
So what awakens you to the love of God? I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
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