Finding Ourselves
The fullness of joy is to behold God in everything.
~ Jullian of Norwich
December 2, 2007
October 14, 2007
It's All About Relationship
(Pieces of the Puzzle)
"Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others. You're fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you're not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you're out of line. If the way you live isn't consistent with what you believe, then it's wrong."
From Romans 14:22-23, The Message Translation
"I think Christianity has created a great problem in the Western world by repeatedly presenting itself, not as a way of seeing all things, but as one competing ideology among many. Instead of leading us to see God in new and surprising places, it too often has led us to confine God inside OUR place. Simeon Weil, the brilliant French resistor, said that the “tragedy of Christianity is that it came to see itself as replacing other religions instead of adding something to all of them.”
- From Richard Rohr in Everything Belongs
Continue reading "It's All About Relationship
(Pieces of the Puzzle)" »
September 26, 2007
Working For Something You Believe In
I think many of us have had those occasions.... while working for something we believe in..... when we pause to examine our progress... and we find no measurable improvement-- or even results opposite of those we had hoped for. It can be very disheartening. This simple letter has often helped me to put things into proper perspective.
“A Letter to a Young Activist”
by Trappist monk Thomas Merton
Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself. And there too a great deal has to be gone through as gradually you struggle less and less for an idea and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything…
August 26, 2007
Forgetting Ourselves
Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do. ~ Neale Donald Walsch
The Gospel lectionary scripture for today tells of the healing of the woman with the bent back (Luke 13:10-17). What makes the related story even more engaging is that a religious leader of the time expresses annoyance to the gathering crowd that the healing occurred on the Sabbath. Now, such a sentiment may sound absurd to us today (and it certainly sounded absurd to Jesus then), but within the world of the religious leader, it made sense. The religious laws, permissions, and prohibitions based upon the Sabbath had grown quite lengthy and complicated. Yet, the original spirit of the Sabbath remained simple and the same: it was a day of rest, a day to keep Holy, and, as Isaiah put it, a day to refrain from serving one's own interests and pursuing one's own affairs.
August 1, 2007
Car Koan
I saw this on a bumper sticker the other day
and found it a beautiful thought to meditate on:
WAG MORE, BARK LESS
July 23, 2007
How Much Good... ?
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
~John Wesley
July 22, 2007
The Greatest of These
If I speak in the tongues of humans and angels,
but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
July 16, 2007
Pride Sunday (in the name of Love)
It was a beautiful morning, a beautiful drive, and a beautiful breakfast with wonderful company. The Pride Sunday service at the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universialist was fun- such a wonderful group of folks! Later, at Harrisonburg's first "Pride in the Park", sponsored by the Shenandoah Valley Gay and Lesbian Association, around 75 people gathered for a baby shower, a picnic, volleyball, and friendship. It was truly a wonderful occasion, and very fitting that it began with a Baby Shower. A new birth! On the ride home, Heather and i were treated to a wonderful spectacle- a glorious rainbow bending over the Shenandoah Valley!
God is Good. :)
May 12, 2007
Sunday at 4: What's It All About?
True religion is real living; living with all one's soul,
with all one's goodness and righteousness.
~ Albert Einstein
God comes to us from unexpected places, and in unexpected ways.
A burning bush, an infant, a rush of wind...
How Divinity speaks to us and connects with us
is of vital importance to many.
This Sunday at 4pm we will continue our Spring Session class
on Religion, Theology, God, The Bible, Jesus, Christianity.....
and just generally.... "What's It All About?"
We will talk about and share some of the ways God speaks to us still,
in the words of others, from the world around us,
and through the still small voice within.
If we have time,
we will also begin to take a look at some of the early church symbols,
and the symbols of other faith traditions,
examining what they mean,
and looking at what they say to us.
This class is open to all who wish to attend -- all are welcome.
This is a journey, and the journey begins Sunday.
Hope to see you there. :)
Shalom,
Emma
April 28, 2007
Religion 101
April 29, 2007 -Sunday at 4
True religion is real living; living with all one's soul,
with all one's goodness and righteousness.
~ Albert Einstein
This Sunday at 4pm we will begin a Spring Session class
on Religion, Theology, God, The Bible, Jesus, Christianity.....
and just generally.... "What's It All About?"
Or... (with a smile and nod to Douglas Adams):
"Life, The Universe, and Everything".
This class is open to all who wish to attend -- all are welcome.
This is a journey, and the journey begins Sunday at 4 pm
at the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Meeting House.
We'll also be discussing plans for a church picnic.
Your input is welcome.
Hope to see you there. :)
Shalom,
Emma
April 21, 2007
Asking Why
At the Intersection of Innocence and Violence
April 22, 2007 -Sunday at 4
The great challenge is to refuse to let the bad things that happen to us
do bad things to us. That is the crucial difference between adversity and
tragedy. ~ Neal A. Maxwell
Why? It seems like such a simple question,
and yet it is one as complex and as old
as tragedy, accident, pain, and misfortune.
When violent things happen to people whom we consider to be good and innocent, our world is suddenly tossed into turmoil. We find ourselves struggling to make sense of moments and events that really defy explanation. In our struggle for reason, we may thrash about, seeking someone to blame, someone to hurt (to cause pain to in the name of pain), someone to punish. Lacking a credible target, or "enemy" to defile and/or vilify, we may even create one as needed, or make one of ourselves, pouring the salt of guilt over our own woundedness, perhaps in some strange way, allowing us to be numbered among the innocent victims.
At these intersections of innocence and violence, our internal systems of fairness and justice are challenged. We are suddenly confronted with the very real possibility, as evidenced by events right before our eyes, that the world in which we live may indeed be horribly unfair, may not make logical sense, and, in fact, may quite likely be badly broken.
This is a stunning realization.
April 13, 2007
Reaching Out
April 15, 2007 -Sunday at 4
Action breeds confidence and courage.
If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it.
Go out and get busy."
~ Dale Carnegie
Out there, somewhere, perhaps even now as you're reading this, rolls a bus
of courageous Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, and just
generally Queer, kids. They are the SoulForce Riders [Equality
Riders], and their route takes them into many of the very places where
people may want least to openly encounter them-- largely conservative
evangelical colleges. Sometimes they are allowed on campus. But
sometimes, as they visit, the people of the college keep themselves
hidden away, behind closed doors. Occasionally, police will even
block the entrance to a campus to forcibly keep the SoulForce Riders
out.
Ages ago, a group of disciples huddled behind doors closed and locked
as well. They were afraid. Afraid for their life. Afraid that what
happened to Jesus might happen to them. Afraid of what
people might think of them, afraid of what people might say.
But it was behind those doors, closed and locked,
that the risen Christ came, stood among them,
and reached out to them with a message of peace.
Now Jesus was the LAST person the disciples expected to encounter that
day, much like a bus full of openly Queer folk rolling onto a conservative
college campus. But the risen Christ cannot be kept out.
In many ways, the GLBT community is one of the wounds in the body of
Christ, and on the Sunday after Easter, as we reflect on John
20:19-31... and as we reflect on fear... we also remember the brave
riders, and the people with courage enough to reach out in the face of
their own doubt, and touch the wounds in the body of Christ.
Sunday at 4 pm
at the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Meeting House
the conversation continues.
I hope to see you there. :)
Shalom,
Emma
April 7, 2007
Who Are You Looking For?
April 8, 2007 -Sunday at 4
It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.
~ Eugene Ionesco
All too often we expect all the answers from our faith tradition. Yet while it has
been recorded that Jesus was asked 183 questions in the Gospels, he only answered three of these directly.
Jesus was great at asking questions, and the questions he asked were
good questions- questions that invariably led people to places where
transformation was possible. In his book, "The Questions of Jesus",
John Dear, a Jesuit Priest, says, "Jesus leads us into liminal, and
therefore transformative space, much more than taking us into any
moral high ground of immediate certitude or ego superiority. He
subverts up front the cultural or theological assumptions that we are
eventually going to have to face anyway. He leaves us betwixt and
between, where God and grace can get at us, and where we are not at
all in control."
Our journey to Easter has been through questions, and so it's fitting
that on Easter Day we conclude with the question a "gardener" asked
Mary in the garden outside of the tomb:
"Who Are You Looking For?"
Who are YOU looking for?
Who is YOUR Jesus?
Sunday at 4 pm
at the Harrisonburg Unitarian Universalist Meeting House
the conversation continues.
I hope to see you there. :)
Shalom,
Emma
March 31, 2007
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
April 1, 2007 -Sunday at 4
In searching for truth, be ready for the unexpected.
~Heraclitus
In 1967, a movie opened in theatres about a customary ritual, a young
woman bringing her fiance home for dinner to meet her parents. It was
entitled, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?". What made this movie
particularly interesting, and even socially groundbreaking, was that
the young woman in question was white, and the young man was African
American. The young woman's parents prided themselves on being
progressive, but suddenly they were about to have the very principals
they professed tested in the relationships of their own family. They
knew who was coming to dinner- their daughter's fiance -but he was not
who they expected.
All social issues aside, in 1967, interracial marriage was illegal in
16 states. And yes, Virginia was among them. But things were about
to change, and Virginia was about to play a significant role in the
striking down of the laws barring interracial marriage.
Continue reading "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?
April 1, 2007 -Sunday at 4" »
March 23, 2007
What Are Your Weaknesses?
March 25, 2007 -Sunday at 4
"We are led to truth by our weaknesses as well as our strengths."
~ Parker Palmer
That saying is tacked above my desk at work, written on a large strip
of paper, like the heart of a huge fortune cookie, the print and paper
weathered and worn by time and touch. How many times have i fingered
that strip? Too many. I picked it up over 4 years ago at my ministry
intensive in Dallas, Texas-- a week-long intensive immersion
experience designed to better prepare people for a lifetime of
ministry.
It was waiting for my fingertips in a large bowl of other folded
paper strips, all containing various quotes from Parker Palmer,
poised on the edge of a large labyrinth. As i walked the labyrinth,
thinking on that saying, it began to open and unfold in my mind.
While many may have discarded their saying afterward, as if they were
finished with them, i kept mine. I wasn't sure that i would ever be
finished with it.
It used to be kept in my purse, in a drawer, in a pocket, never far
from my fingertips, but generally hidden from my view, and thus, my
thoughts. I mean, really, who wants to keep being reminded that they
have weaknesses?
Me.
Continue reading "What Are Your Weaknesses?
March 25, 2007 -Sunday at 4" »
March 18, 2007
What Is Your Passion?
March 18, 2007
"Do whatever most kindles love in you." - St. Teresa of Avila
I met a friend of mine for lunch this past week. I had not seen him
in nearly 15 years. We were friends in college at James Madison
University. In fact, we even co-wrote some songs together, and I was
listed as a co-writer on a few songs appearing on his first cassettes
and CD's.
We had maintained distant contact with one another over the passing
years- Christmas Cards, occasional notes... and we each generally knew
the state that the other one lived in. Or so i thought. My last note
from him revealed that he had recently moved from the southern states,
in which he had lived for the past 20 years, back to his home state of
Northern Virginia. Wow, small world!
Meeting friends not seen in years is always an adventure and a joyful
occasion for me. It is a time to catch-up and reach out over the many
years and miles to touch an old friendship. It is time to see exactly
what has changed, and what has remained the same.
March 17, 2007
Children of Abraham United
click the image to see a larger size version (click it to return).
"The religion of love transcends all other religions;
for lovers, the only religion and belief is God." ~ Rumi
It was an amazing evening. Sponsored in part by the Rumi Forum for Interfaith Dialogue and the Amram Scholar Series, The Dervishes of Rumi whirled in the home of the Washington Hebrew Congregation-- perhaps the first time Dervishes have ever whirled in a Synagogue. It was an amazing evening of diversity and kindred spirits. Quite literally.
As i sat there with Heather (it was our "date night" -- some date, mmm? This is clearly the kind of date you get with a "God Geek"), she leaned close and whispered, "The Children of Abraham are celebrating together tonight." Indeed. What a woman. :)
"Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field;
I'll meet you there." ~ Rumi
March 12, 2007
Planting a Church is Like....
Planting a church is like
trying to build a house while you are living in it.
No, wait...
planting a church is like
trying to build a car while you are driving it.
No, wait...
planting a church is like trying fly an airplane
while you are building it.
Yes, that's it.
A lot of what is necessary to get off the ground
only comes as you begin to get things together
and off the ground.
But not quite.
Planting a church is like putting seeds into the ground.
I have no idea what will happen here,
if things will germinate, grow, take root, and mature.
March 10, 2007
Who Are You?
March 11, 2007
"Who Are You? Cause I Really Want to Know." ~The Who
I was driving the other day, wondering what to do this Sunday, when my
ipod shuffled up a song by The Who. The little blue Honda was soon
filled with the powerful syncopated introduction riff, and the equally
powerful question, sung in beautiful harmony: "Who are you?"
The season of Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter)
means different things to different folks. At its most basic, it
simply means a coming of Spring (woohoo!). To some, it is the quiet
time between Mardi Gras and Spring Break. To others, however, it is a
time of intentional discomfort, burden, and denial, a time punctuated
by fasts, abstaining from certain enjoyments, and enduring
self-imposed physical discomforts (hairshirts anyone?).
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