Today’s post is another written by Gary Heard, pastor of The Eighth Day – A baptist community on the edge of West Melbourne. It was first posted on Gary’s new blog Heard the Whispers which he writes with his wife Ev Heard. Gary and Ev have been part of the international core of Mustard Seed Associates for over many years.
It is reposted as part of the series Creating Sacred Spaces Do We Really Need Churches.
The beach has never held much attraction for me as a place of recreation. Salt, sand, and seaweed clinging to my body has never seemed a relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Nor does the idea of heading down to an unprotected stretch of scorching sand on an already taxing day. I have occasionally been coaxed by my children to the coast where, sometimes in spite of myself, I find myself enjoying the water. But it has not taken a tsunami to warn me of the power and the perils of the ocean, knowing that below the surface lie powerful and hidden forces with the capacity to overwhelm.
Paradoxically, I love the beach as a place of contemplation. Sitting in a comfortable space (preferably away from the sand), I contemplate the intersection of two very different spheres of life interacting with one another as I watch the waves lapping the shore and retreating – an incessant rhythm with its own enchantment. I am drawn to contemplate another world below the surface – out of sight – one which I have occasionally explored with snorkel or scuba gear, but more regularly through the camera lens provided by Jacques Cousteau. In this contemplation, the beach is a border into another world, one in which there is an ill-defined partnership with those of us who live on the land.
The ocean is a vast expanse of life, operating by different rules and bringing different experiences. We have learnt some of the ways in which it feeds our own life above the surface, but much remains a mystery. We sail upon it, fly over it, swim in it, and sometimes dive through it, but we are never really part of it. It is much more mystery than knowledge, with forces at work visible only to the experienced eye, and then some more. I find my contemplation moving from the waves, with their indefatigable movement towards and retreat from the shore, to be a reminder of the love of God, never giving up on us, at times reaching further into our lives, at other times more distant. But as my thoughts move to the depths, I contemplate the life and secrets contained within. We have an uneasy relationship with the sea, never truly mastered, never fully appreciated.
It has intrigued me that Gospel stories record Jesus teaching the crowds while standing on a boat on the sea. Beyond the words of Jesus’ teaching, I wonder at the symbolism – Jesus upon the ocean, filled as it is with a richness of life partially revealed, yet largely unknown to us, and a power we barely appreciate. Learning to explore that mystery remains a daily challenge.
Check out the other posts in the series:
Creating Sacred Space Do We Really Need Churches
Every Garden Needs A Sacred Space
Reclaiming a Sacred Space – Cheasty Greenspace: A Place of Goodness and Grace by Mary De Jong
Creating a Sacred Space – Stir the Senses
A Garden of Inspiration – A Story of Leo Tolstoy
Symbols and Elements that Weave Together a Sacred Space
Why Being Spiritual may be More Important Than Being Religious by Rob Rynders
Celtic Spirituality – What Is The Attraction?
In the Barren Places: Finding Sacred Space for the First Time – James Rempt
A Tree My Most Sacred Space by Ryan Harrison
Sacred Buildings by Lynne Baab
Sacred Space – Listening to the Trees by Richard Dahlstrom
Garden day at the Mustard Seed House
Last week I was part of an exciting collaborative meeting. The Food and Faith Initiative of Seattle Tilth and the Interreligious Initiative of Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry drew together a group of local organizations to explore how we can inspire and educate our religious communities to better care for our environment and our communities by growing food to feed ourselves and neighbors. Many gardens on the grounds of religious communities already provide food for homeless/underprivileged meal programs, for example, while at the same time offering congregants, young and old, opportunities to cultivate their souls as they do the soil. However there is much more that we could do.
There are already a number of organizations here in the Seattle area that help to connect, educate and create gardens. Though many of them work only in the local area, their ideas and resources are wonderful for those concerned about these issues both across the U.S. and in fact around the world.
Seattle Tilth is one of the most inspirational organizations I know of for organic garden resources and education. Their Just Garden project helps build gardens, and educate gardeners in low income areas increasing access to fresh produce and improving health in the community. I love the way they engage youth in their work and nurture a culture of gardening for the generations to come.
I also love The Garden Hotline and the very useful leaflets they produce. Their new one – Growing Food in the City is great. Check out the others which can be downloaded for free from Seattle Utilities. Be sure to follow the links to brochures on rain water harvesting and composting.
Lettuce Links creates access to fresh produce, seed and gardens for low income families. They co-ordinate 64 P-patches around Seattle, harvest backyard fruit and help distribute it to food banks. Check out their great resource on giving gardens.
Earth Ministry works to educate individuals and congregations about lifestyle change and the need for environmental advocacy.
It was great to hear about some of the churches that already host community gardens often providing food for congregational meetings and homeless ministries. St Luke’s Ballard, St Columba’s Kent, Epiphany Episcopal, University Presbyterian and St James Cathedral are but a few of the churches that were represented.
July 4th is Independence Day here in the U.S. I know its coming because I keep receiving emails that tell me I need to buy this, go there, eat and drink something else.
This is a celebration I struggle with and not just because it once again focuses on consumption. I particularly struggle with the ways in which this celebration is linked to Christian faith with songs of praise to the nation of America being sung in church. Independence means we don’t need anyone else. Independence means we can do it alone, be self sufficient, live in isolation from the rest of the world. Hidden in the midst is an assumption that this type of living means freedom too. I talked about this last year in my post The Call to True Freedom. The values of independence are so counter to the values of the kingdom of God.
None of this is true and I think it is time we both recognized and celebrated the fact. My freedom often comes at the cost of oppression for others. My disconnect from responsibility to God’s world wide community and to the earth on which we live can mean suffering, pollution and destruction.
Last year I linked to this great article by Chris Smith Celebrating Interdependence Day with 40 suggestions on how to celebrate interdependence. This year I have come across a number of other suggestions on how to celebrate our interdependence.
Justin Mayfield sent me an invite to the Front Yard BBQ movement encouraging us to celebrate in our front yards not our back yards and even invite a few neighbours in. It reminded me of the first Easter I spent in Greece over 30 years ago. The open invitation to come and enjoy the feast still stirs my soul with wonderful memories of Godly hospitality.
Whitney Standefer sent me a link to the 3rd Annual Inter-Dependence Day celebration in Chimacum WA with food, fun and even a talent night.
There is even an Interdependence Day movement that we can join – not celebrating on July 4th but a world wide celebration in September – this year in Dublin Ireland.
This year we are celebrating with an international day – Celebrate the Americas. We will share fun, food and celebrations from all over the Americas… and with my nephew and his wife here from Australia even a little contribution (pavlova) from Down Under.
So how are you planning to celebrate our interdependence this week? Perhaps we can put together a resource list for next year and incorporate your suggestions.
This morning’s post is written by Gary Heard, pastor of The Eighth Day – A baptist community on the edge of West Melbourne. It was first posted on Gary’s new blog Heard the Whispers which he writes with his wife Ev Heard. Gary and Ev have been part of the international core of Mustard Seed Associates for over many years.
It is reposted this morning as part of the series Creating Sacred Spaces Do We Really Need Churches.
The back yard in my own family home was a battleground where test matches, football finals, and basketball championships were won and lost. Being the youngest in the family, any win was difficult, often requiring perseverance against the odds. Alongside broken windows, damaged fence palings and a dented rubbish bin found one could also discover bruised egos, a heightened sense of injustice, and some heated battles over rules, interpretations and application, some of which were referred to a higher power (parents!)
When invited recently to conduct a wedding in a back yard, I was drawn to reflect upon the significance of such places in forming key aspects of our identity. Most back yards are ordinary places, littered with strategically placed and creatively recycled pieces of furniture, vegetable gardens, trees and plants with a unique ability to conceal a tennis or cricket ball, and knick-knacks collected from holiday spots or favourite nurseries. Although they are closed spaces, back yards are open to the sky, bringing a twin opportunity to ground ourselves in particular relationships and settings, but also to dream of what lies beyond: open to the infinite wonder which the sky represents.
In the back yard I learned about justice. Being the youngest sibling, I was often out-played or outweighed in the rough-and-tumble of backyard matches. I learned to deal with injustice, to rebound when I felt cheated or overwhelmed, developing skills to deal with taller, faster, stronger siblings. These skills impact me to this very day. I certainly knew how far to push, and when it was better to let things go, learning to use my own assets in creative ways when a direct one-on-one contest was too daunting.
But back yards are symbolic of a much richer heritage. In preparing for the wedding service, I reflected upon the ways in which it symbolised a love grounded in the realities of relationships, not only of husband and wife, but wider family and community, affirming that love is planted firmly among family and friends, and grows out of the reality of our daily lives. Back yards are places where ordinary experiences are made ever richer by shared love, recollected through the years in family gatherings. Stories are formed, told and retold in this place, becoming part of our identity. And some threatening drops of rain reminded us all that in the back yard we are also exposed to the elements, requiring us to relinquish some control and enjoy the exploration and randomness which nature – and relationships with family and friends – can often bring.
I recall reclining in the backyard pondering the skies and my place in the universe beneath the wonder of myriad stars so far from the earth, illuminating the skies. Looking into history – for the light I could see twinkling left its source many years before – I pondered perspective and the bigger questions of life. And in later years I would sit in the back yard with my beloved, sharing dreams and hopes together, pondering imponderables, and simply enjoying each other’s presence. These dreams could be apparently mundane: we can plant this, we can build that… the source of an intimacy built with roots in common dreams, shared values, a mutual spirituality.
Jesus’ parables often have their roots in ordinary places – weddings, gardens, roadsides – because they are the repository where our identity is formed, and our perspective on the greater questions of life are shaped. They are the places where God can be found.
Check out the other posts in the series:
Creating Sacred Space Do We Really Need Churches
Every Garden Needs A Sacred Space
Reclaiming a Sacred Space – Cheasty Greenspace: A Place of Goodness and Grace by Mary De Jong
Creating a Sacred Space – Stir the Senses
A Garden of Inspiration – A Story of Leo Tolstoy
Symbols and Elements that Weave Together a Sacred Space
Why Being Spiritual may be More Important Than Being Religious by Rob Rynders
Celtic Spirituality – What Is The Attraction?
In the Barren Places: Finding Sacred Space for the First Time – James Rempt
A Tree My Most Sacred Space by Ryan Harrison
Sacred Buildings by Lynne Baab
Beautiful prayers this week on Light for the Journey. Thank you to Bonnie Harr and John Birch
You have sown
fertile seed
into our hearts,
Good Gardener,
and we, willingly,
or by neglect
allowed weeds to grow
and spoil the beauty
of this small corner
of your garden.
Keep our hearts free
of that which hides
your love, we pray
and prune away
all that hinders,
that others might see
your beauty
blossom
within.
Lord Jesus Christ may we never forget
the wonder of your love.
It is new every morning,
Embracing every moment,
Encompassing every person.
Your love never gives up.
It is always forgiving,
Always caring,
Always reaching out.
May we see and give thanks
Christine Sine https://godspacelight.com/
Lord may we rest in your presence,
Trusting in your love,
Embracing your purposes.
Lord may we follow your unconventional ways,
Hungering for justice,
Thirsting for righteousness,
Abounding with compassion.
lord may we live as neighbours,
helping the stranger,
restoring the marginalized,
Belonging to your community of love.
Christine Sine https://godspacelight.com/
You have clothed this world in beauty,
from morning mist dissolving into summer day
to the splendid isolation of a mountain peak;
from flowers of the field in all their radiant hues
to butterfly emerging from chrysalis, all speak
of the artist’s vision and creativity,
the loving brushstrokes with which you paint.
And if you should take such care with these,
who are we to doubt the value that you place
on those whose hearts contain the maker’s mark?
We shall not worry what tomorrow brings,
for even in sorrow you bring us joy
and we shall praise you for all good things!
(http://www.facebook.com/faithandworship)
God guide us,
Through the wonder of your love.
Through the gentleness of your compassion.
Through the righteousness of your justice.
Amen
Christine Sine https://godspacelight.com
God help us to see as you see,
Beauty in the midst of brokenness,
Love in the midst of war,
Promises in the midst of despair.
God help us to hear as you hear,
Cries for help from those in need,
Calls for justice where there is oppression,
Voices of hope that bring us life.
God help us to think as you do,
To believe you can transform
All that is broken into wholeness.
Amen
Christine Sine https://godspacelight.com/
God send your spirit upon us,
Give us a great love for all,
Make us more compassionate to the sick,
More generous to the needy,
More zealous to follow you.
Give us strength and courage
To follow you in all we do,
Amen.
Christine Sine https://godspacelight.com/
I arise to day
Through God’s strength to pilot me :
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils.
From temptations of vices,
From every one who shall wish me ill,
Afar and anear.
Alone and in a multitude.
(from Selections from Ancient Irish Poetry, Meyer, Kuno, 1858-1919)
Posted by http://faithandworship.com
A Prayer for My Children (part three)
Today’s post is by Kimberlee Conway Ireton, author of The Circle of Seasons: Meeting God in the Church Year. This is the last of a three-part prayer for our children, adapted from an Orthodox akathist to Mary the Mother of God. If you missed or would like to reread the first two parts of the prayer, you can find them here:
A Prayer for My Children
Prelude 9
Fill the souls and hearts of my children with all good—and You alone are good, O God. Drive away from them the evil spirit of atheism. Give to each of them all that they need of Your infinite compassion. I cry to You: Alleluia.
Song 9
Deliver my children from teachers and leaders who speak lies about Your all-powerful intercession, O Christ. Look upon me as I faithfully sing:
Raise my children to love You with all their hearts and minds.
Raise my children to love You with their whole soul and strength.
Raise my children to open their lips only in praise and glory to You.
Raise my children in watchful and continual prayer.
Raise my children (names), O Christ, to be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and make them heirs of eternal blessings.
Prelude 10
Desiring to save the world, O Christ, You came from heaven to call, not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I pray that, having been saved through You, my children may call to God: Alleluia.
Song 10
Surround my children with indestructible walls, O God, that under Your blessed protection, they may accomplish a multitude of good deeds. I cry to You:
Raise my children to be leaders in doing Your will.
Raise my children to hate sin and all transgression.
Raise my children to love good and all virtue.
Raise my children in blameless purity.
Raise my children to ascend the ladder of their lives every day.
Raise my children to turn their eyes to Your compassion in the midst of sorrows.
Raise my children to serve You in obedience and purity of heart.
Raise my children (names), O Christ, to be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and make them heirs of eternal blessings.
Prelude 11
Make my children (names) worthy always to hymn Your unshakable intercession, O Christ, and through Your grace direct their lips to sing to God: Alleluia.
Song 11
O Shining Lamp from on high, make the lives of my children to burn and their hearts to melt day and night with love for You and for their neighbors. Hear me when I cry to You:
Raise my children to love You with all their hearts and minds.
Raise my children to open their lips only in the praise and glory of Your blessings.
Raise my children in watchful and continual prayer.
Raise my children to await Your coming with joy and tears.
Raise my children to stand always before You with reverence.
Raise my children to bear good fruit.
Raise my children (names), O Christ, to be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and make them heirs of eternal blessings.
Prelude 12
Fill the hearts of my children with the inexpressible grace of the Holy Spirit, so that they may love only You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For this, I cry to the King of all: Alleluia.
Song 12
Singing of Your loving-kindness, I pray to you, O Christ, who feeds and has mercy on my children: do not cease to intercede for them with the Father, for I believe that all is possible for You.
Raise my children to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Raise my children to live in a holy manner.
Raise my children to dwell securely on the path of faith by the grace of the Spirit of God.
Raise my children to hunger and thirst insatiably for the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.
Raise my children to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.
Raise my children (names), O Christ, to be made worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven and make them heirs of eternal blessings.
Closing Prayer
O Sweetest Jesus! Accept this small hymn of supplication for my children as a sweet fragrance and take them under Your compassionate protection. Grant them to think, know, hear, say, and do only that which brings them close to You, only that which helps them attain eternal salvation. And send them in this present life all that is profitable for the salvation of their souls, that they may cry to God all their days: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
As a young doctor I was always concerned because it seemed to me that the Bible had nothing to say about doctors. When healing occurs it is usually linked with the miraculous. Luke is the only doctor mentioned in the Bible, and he was not working as a medical practitioner.
I was thinking about this yesterday when our good friends Steve and Michelle Ruetschle came to visit. Some of you may remember when I wrote about him a couple of years ago in Do Miracles Still Happen. According to the doctors Steve should be a quadriplegic. Though medical science certainly helped in his healing, Steve would not be walking today without the healing powers of God.
Health and healing, the practice of medicine and the principles of hygiene in the Hebrew world, all fell under the Levitical mantle, part of the religious framework of life. Medicine and the care of the sick is part of the priestly calling a life set aside in service to God.
It was the Levites to whom God gave the principles for health and hygiene. They were responsible for both the physical and spiritual health of the community. God gave them detailed instructions for basic cleanliness and sanitation that if followed today would greatly increase the level of hygiene in many a struggling nation. It would be hard for us to imagine our church workers as garbage disposal experts or as sanitation workers, yet for the Levites this all came under their jurisdiction.
Spiritual and physical health were linked as one ministry. Physical cleanliness was for the priests a symbol of spiritual cleanliness. One depended on the other and both were performed by those people whose lives were set aside to serve God.
In the early Judeo – Christian church, healing was considered part of the religious function of the community. Monetary compensation was forbidden. In contrast the Graeco-Roman tradition professionalized medicine and saw it as a vocation to be monetarily compensated – the model that we now embrace.
The rapid growth of the early church was probably a result of its power to heal, to cast out demons and to create communities of mutual care. Interestingly, this was closely linked to an acceptance of suffering as an identification with the sufferings of Christ and an understanding of physical illness as part of a larger paradigm in which God’s grace works through human weakness. Throughout most of Christian history, the church provided centers for healing and cared for the sick and the suffering. In the Middle Ages the monasteries were centers of healing They were often famous for their herb gardens which provided a broad range of medicinal substances that were produced for the use both within the monastic community as well as in the outside secular community.
In this framework, the medical attendant was seen as a servant to the poor and the sick, someone who came to relieve their pain, to heal their hurts to comfort their concerns. Spiritual and physical health and healing walked hand in hand, separate parts of a whole person.
I thought that you might be interest in this interesting reference to health care workers that I found. It is not in the Protestant Bible but in the Appocrypha, those books between the Old and New Testament that are considered by some to be a part of the Biblical text.
From the Book of Ecclessiasticus (part of Appocrypha)
“Hold the physician in honour, for he is essential to you,
and God it was who established his profession.
From God the doctor has his wisdom, and the king provides for his sustenance.
His knowledge makes the doctor distinguished, and gives him access to those in authority.
God makes the earth yield healing herbs which the prudent man should not neglect;
Was not the water sweetened by a twig that men might learn his power?
He endows men with the knowledge to glory in his mighty works,
Through which the doctor eases pain and the druggist prepares his medicines;
Thus God’s creative work continues without cease in its efficacy on the surface of the earth.
My son when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God, who will heal you;
Flee wickedness; let you hands be just, cleanse your heart of every sin;
Offer your sweet-smelling oblation and petition, a rich offering according to your means.
Then give the doctor his place lest he leave; for you need him too.
There are times that give him an advantage, and he too beseeched God
That his diagnosis may be correct and his treatment bring about a cure.
He who is a sinner toward his Maker will be defiant toward the doctor.”
Ecclesiasticus 38:1-15
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