Offertory Prayer for May 11, 2014

Dear Lord,
We are like sheep,
Oblivious to what takes place around us,
Nibbling ourselves lost.
We must raise our heads
And follow the Shepherd.
He is our guide.
He calls us to nurture our church
With our love, our time,
And our money
Just as God nurtures us
With grace so undeserved.
Bless what we lay before you,

And use it for the benefit of your kingdom. 
Amen.

Easter 2014

My church day started with communion preparation.

Nine trays to be filled.

My duty this Sunday.

 My church celebrates the risen Christ

With the bread and wine

Of remembrance.

Next came an Easter egg hunt

Open to all in our city.

We are a church with few children

Except on Easter morning

When young voices echo

Through our old building.

Finally, organ music swelled.

The most joyous service of the year had begun.

Christ is risen!

The minister proclaimed from the pulpit

As he opened with a prayer.

I waited for the joy

That comes on Easter,

But it was not there.

Had I been too caught up

In the mundane

To know this day's exultation?

Then the choir sang

"He Is Not Here!"

As that anthem echoed through sanctuary,

My scalp tingled.

I stood outside Jerusalem

Gazing at an empty tomb,

Knowing that the world had been transformed.

He is risen!

And we all rise with him.

 

Change

Change comes like a sudden storm

To blow our routine away

And drench our careful plans.

Today we say good-by

To a shepherd of this flock,

A shepherd who has welcomed newborns
And strangers,

Prayed with us,
Wept with us,

Offered us the bread and the wine,
And ushered some through the final door.

  My thanks

For putting me once more
On the church bound path,

For showing me kindness and understanding,

For demonstrating grace with tenderness

And the strength to start anew.

I place this change in God's hands.
This church is like a butterfly
Trapped in its chrysalis

Waiting to be reborn.
No one can free the church from without,
Freedom comes from within.
A church must spread its wings
To feel the Son's blessing.
The future of this church
Does not lie in the hands of some miracle worker

But in the toil of those who choose
To forget the past
And build anew.

Palm Sunday 2013

 

Children scurried down the aisles

Of churches this morning

Waving green palm fronds in the air

In memory of 

Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 
On that day so long ago

The crowd spread their cloaks and palm leaves

Before his donkey's feet.

 People exulted.

Hosannas filled the air.

Soon the Romans would be gone,

They believed.

Jerusalem would be theirs alone.

But the cries of joy faded

In the wake of the High Priest's perfidy.

In one week, 
Christ would 

Be arrested,

Condemned

And

Crucified.

His body placed in a tomb.

Did Jesus know what was to come

As he rode into Jerusalem?

I think he did.

And still he came to Jerusalem

For us.

Advent For Evangelicals

Christmas approaches
With the burden of tradition.

The city is decorated in holiday glitz.

We search for gifts amid the crowds.
Shouldn't we read the prophet's words?

Shouldn't we search for the Bethlehem babe?

Shouldn't we listen for the angel's message?

"Peace on Earth."

An old tradition calls to us from the past.

We, who abandoned the trappings of the Church,

Are called once more to Advent.

Let us remember
That a child born two thousand years ago

Changed the world.

His message is simple and unadorned.

Love God

And Love your neighbor.
Listen for His words.
"I am come."

Photo by daveiam

Easter Memories

I remember Easter's past
When so very young,
Coloring hard-boiled eggs,
Leaving those bright-hued wonders
In a basket with plastic grass
For the Easter bunny to hide,
Searching early Sunday morning
For the missing eggs.
When a little older,
Dressing for Easter Sunday,
Gloves and hat required.
A crowded church, an endless sermon.
Home to eat a sumptious feast.
Where was Christ those Easter mornings?
Laughing with the children.
Walking down the church aisle
With the couple who come only once a year.
Holding the hat of a sleeping child.
Passing the lamb at Easter dinner.
Always with us.
Always love.

Photo by ButterflySha