Last Saturday was a great fall day for working outside. The Norris household, including Arapahoe and Xian of the canine persuasion, spent the morning with others from the community to make a difference. In the church, we call it partnering with God to heal the world.
It was the fifth Saturday that we had joined others over the past two years to transform some Village property into walkable green space. In the spring of 2015, this property, close to the railroad tracks and to Haines Branch Creek, was heavily flooded after torrential rains. Cornstalks from the adjoining cornfield were clumped throughout the small wooded area. It was really quite a mess! The first time, we raked a ton of cornstalks into a large composting pile. We also pruned mature wild grape vines, cut downed trees into firewood, and pruned saplings left and right. Grapevines and brush went into a second pile. Since then, it’s been more of the same … minus the cornstalks. Nearly all downed trees and overgrowth have been cleared. Now, this small wooded area is more like a natural park-like setting. Why all the fuss? For a number of reasons, I suppose.
Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat
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In moments when we are truly alive, we experience life as gift. We also experience life as surprise. Faith is the heart’s response to life as gift. The heart’s response to life as surprise is hope, as we shall see. The more the insight that life is freely given takes hold of us, the more our life will be a life of faith, a life of trust in the Giver. … The more the insight that life is surprising takes hold of us, the more our life will be a life of hope, a life of openness for Surprise. And Surprise is a name of God. --Brother David Steindl-Rast in “Hope: Openness for Surprise,” in Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer, p. 123.
This book is one of four that I am reading for my next session of Two Year Academy for Spiritual Formation, which starts tomorrow. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I was reading it through a time of uncertainty, and Br. David gave me much to consider. I also mentioned here two weeks ago that we had recently learned that my husband’s brain tumor is malignant. However, being short of space, I didn’t go into much detail then. How about hearing the rest of the story? Or at least a little more of it, anyway? Hearing “malignant” may have sounded like a time bomb in the beginning (see Something to Ponder … October 8, 2017), but it turned out to be a surprise we could truly be grateful for. His particular type of cancer involves a co-deletion of the 1p and 19q loci, which has been shown to respond favorably to both radiation and chemo. People do survive having this type of cancer. Thanks be to God! Br. David also writes: hope is rooted in the very mystery of the Triune God. The Father from whom we come and to whom we go is “God of hope.” The Son in whom we live and who lives in us is “our hope.” The Holy Spirit, God’s very life within us, gives us the power to hope, p. 132. God of Life, God of Faith, God of Hope … may we trust you enough, have faith enough, and hope enough that our lives will be open for Surprise. May we experience gratefulness in all surprises. Amen. Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat Something to Ponder … October 15, 2017
Today we celebrate the ministry gifts of the laity. To put it another way, we acknowledge the gifts God has given each person. Believing that God has called each of us to serve in some way, we celebrate the ministry each person does, as they use their gifts in Christ’s name to serve God’s people. I give thanks to God for all the ways I have been reminded of your gifts for ministry as I have worked alongside some of you the past couple of weeks. Here are a few ... Opening and closing the church for worship, classes, and meetings. That means making sure lights are out and no water is running, too. Preparing food for fellowship time, Kids ROCK, and funeral luncheons. That includes serving, hosting graciously, and cleaning up after. Teaching our Sunday School, Kids ROCK, and Confirmation classes. Rather, helping young disciples BECOME passionate disciples like their teachers and mentors. Meeting with UMW, Church Council, and Trustees to plan for and do God’s work in our communities, our churches, and the world. This includes the behind the scenes work to prepare for a meeting, in addition to leading the meeting, taking minutes, or preparing reports. Glorifying God in our worship time together. Many are involved with preparing bulletins and slides, checking sound and projection, providing music (and practicing ahead of time), arranging the altar, preparing and serving communion, lighting the candles, and more. Praying for God’s people around the world and right here at home. Doing what you can do to let those who are hurting know that you are with them, that you are holding them in the Light. Loving God, continue to bless the work of your servants’ hands and hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat Something to Ponder …
A grateful person will say “thank you” before checking what’s inside the gift-wrapping. If you wait to express your thanks until after you have examined the gift, you might be smart, but no one will call you grateful. True gratefulness is courage to give thanks for a gift before unwrapping it. --Brother David Steindl-Rast in Gratefulness, The Heart of Prayer This book has captured my attention, or much of it, for the past several weeks. Between the richness and depth of Br. David’s writing and the complexities of our lives, I’ve been able to read only pages at a time. So many nuggets of truth! This nugget in particular caused me to pause. And ponder. What might be thought of me? Smart? Or grateful? In his chapter on Faith and Beliefs, Br. David goes on to say: Now, it might not cost you a great amount of courage to trust your friend. True enough, that box wrapped in gold paper is just the right size to contain a medium-large time bomb. But who would even dream of that possibility? When life hands you a gift, however, it’s a more serious matter. God has a way of putting time bombs into pretty packages. We know that from past experience, and now we get another one of those surprise gifts. To be there to say “thank you” and mean it does take courage. It is as if you were saying: Watch it! This might be another one of those whoppers. It might blow me to pieces. But even if it does, I trust that this is just what I need right now.” That’s trust all right! And that trust in the Giver is the crucial point where faith and gratefulness meet. While we have learned that my husband’s tumor is malignant, we have also learned that because of its type it responds favorably to both radiation and chemo. He feels good about being part of a study to help others, in the future, with his type of cancer. His incision is healing nicely so he is scheduled to begin radiation in two weeks. Holy and Most Gracious God, Creator of All Things, and Giver of All Life … may we give you thanks for all things, and trust you in all situations and circumstances. Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat Something to Ponder … October 1, 2017
I love this time of year! School has been in session for some time now, which means Christian education and ministries involving children and youth are taking root as well. At Fairmont Community, Kids ROCK is drawing 28 children and youth on Wednesday nights. Ranging from 3 years old to 9th grade, we have been learning together this past month what these words mean: Fellowship and Sanctuary, Worship and Pastor, Choir and Hymn/Hymnal. We have gone on a nature hike, made crafts, played games, sang songs, and prayed. And each night has started off with a meal served by a great team in the kitchen. Each week, our team of adult volunteers has grown as well … up to 8 now! Next week we will be splitting into 3 age groups. Kylee Slocum and an Adult Yet to be Determined will teach the Pre-K thru 2nd grade students. Linda Carroll and an Adult Yet to be Determined will teach the 3rd and 4th graders. Pastor Pat and an Adult Yet to be Determined will teach the 5th thru 9th graders. We are also praying for 4 class helpers (2 for the youngest class). At Milligan, Sunday School has begun, with Lila Koca and Bailey teaching again this year. We look forward to more of our youngest disciples participating in coming weeks. We are also gearing up for a large Confirmation class at Milligan. An Orientation meeting will be held this Wednesday, Oct. 4 for students in 7th grade or older and their parents to learn about our discipling plan (aka Confirmation schedule). Part of the plan involves each student inviting a mentor from their church family to walk and learn with them on this journey. Milligan Church Family, I hope you’ll consider saying Yes when you are asked by one of the youth to be his or her mentor. Fairmont Church Family, I hope you’ll consider saying Yes to help as a teacher’s aide (if you are an adult), or as a class helper (if you are in high school), or as part of the kitchen crew (if you like to cook, bake, or just want to help serve 30 people in a short amount of time). Grace and peace … --Pastor Pat |
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