Check out an article in the Washington Post by a professor Susan B. Thistlethwaite at the Chicago Theological Seminary.
Tweeting for Justice here
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Church News
The children are excited about helping Common Hope's work with Guatemalan children. Please, get out that Children's Offering project that came in the mail. Make the work for your family as simply or as grandly as your lives allow. You will be glad you shared this experience with your child! The offering will be collected next Sunday or anytime thereafter. Please place it in an envelope marked "Children's Offering."
The March 13 meeting of Dining for Women will take place at the home of Joyce Sherwood. The NGO is Women's Earth Alliance with a focus on Sierra Leone and Liberia. Clean water and sanitation practices are the big ideas of this month. All are welcome, but you must RSVP.
The ACE's seminar will feature The Rev. Chris Dorsey, who will examine some of the theological foundations and ethical paradigms needed to help develop an understanding of how Christians engage in contemporary social issues related to race, the environment, healthcare and education. Rev Dorsey has worked as a university chaplain, a local church pastor and as a hospital chaplain to HIV/AIDS patients. This week's subject is What Must the Earth Do to Be Saved? The seminars take place at 10:15 Sunday mornings in the second floor Seim Room.
The introductory meeting of Bring Your Opinion - a new once-a-month Friday night discussion group - will take place tomorrow evening, Friday, March 9. The group is open to all adults, members and non-members.
paz.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Tell No One
Mark 8:30
"Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about him."
Reflection by Anthony B. Robinson
After Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered, "the Messiah." Then Jesus ordered the disciples, "Not to tell anyone about him." Some joker suggested this may be the only command of Jesus — "tell no one about me" — that the church has actually managed to keep!
But, really, why did Jesus say this?
It's not the first time in Mark's gospel that Jesus has told someone not to talk about him, nor the last. Scholars have a fancy name for it. They call it "the Messianic secret."
It's sort of the opposite of one of our society's most prominent features, the cult of celebrity. An entire industry tracks and reports the movements of "the celebrated" whose only achievement is often, well, that they are celebrities.
Why did Jesus order those he healed and those he taught not to celebrate him? Perhaps because he's not seeking admirers so much as participants. Perhaps because he's not interested in dazzling people but in changing lives. Jesus does not offer a personality cult to join, but a way of life to be lived. A church is different than a fan club.
In a far less grand way, this may also apply to us. Admiration and attention are gratifying—and seductive. Community or business leaders, parents and pastors, teachers and artists may be admired, even in a way "worshipped." But if Jesus is our guide, it's not about us being admired or celebrated or winning a popularity poll. That's not the point. The point is helping people grow in their own faith and in their own capacity to lead lives that make a difference, for God's sake, in the world.
Prayer
I give thanks, dear God, for those people who deflect the bright light from themselves in order that others may discover their own light. Amen.
* from the United Church of Christ Daily Devotional - you can sign up here
For Some Christians, Lent Means ‘Giving Up’ Carbon
For Some Christians, Lent Means ‘Giving Up’ Carbon: pby Catherine Woodiwiss For many Christians, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection before Easter known as Lent is a chance to get in mental and spiritual shape. People give up chocolate; quit drinking or smoking; avoid meat; start reading the Bible regularly; or even give up social media – “fasts” intended to discipline and [...]/p
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Can't Resist
paz.
garden party bunting here
Monday, March 5, 2012
Life Giving
Every year my family promises to start an incredible garden and every year it doesn't really happen the way we envision it. We need help! Here are some cool gardening sites for your family - and mine. Let's take part in the miracle of creation by starting a garden this summer. Send me photos of your bounty!
paz.
kidsgardening.org
kitchengardeners.org
plantingseedsblog.com
forsmallhands.com (children gardening tools)
mytinyplot.co.uk (sweet blog)
carrotsandkids.com (also really cute blog!)
loveandoliveoil.com (had to add a good cooking blog too!)
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Bless
just watched this Salt Project dvd today. it's called bless. it's really beautiful. pass it on - and don't forget to bless something or someone today.
paz.
"This is what the church teaches us: we are made to bless.
We are created and called to bless hammers and backpacks; relationships and homes; the waters of baptism and the bread and cup of Christ's communion; victims and perpetrators of violence, and even our own enemies.
We are made to bless! We are "supercharged" by God to make all things new, to make all things better."
Life
check out the blog by Keely Kernan. the photographs are incredible. she has a gift of transporting you to another place and into the heart of another human.
paz.
paz.