Reflection for Thursday, March 19 from Pastor Lauren

May All the Earth Rejoice!

Psalm 148 is one of my favorite Psalms because it knits all of creation together and helps us to attune our ears to the cries of joy and sorrow shouted by the other living beings we share the planet with.

For too long, I believe we have been ignoring the cries of the earth as she asks us to save her from pollution and waste that fills the sea, land, and air. Last night in our Lenten class, Cat shared how this time of staying home is allowing even the earth to rest as cars stay off the road and planes are grounded.

Though I’m not suggesting that what’s happening with this virus is a good thing, I am suggesting that God can create good out of chaos -- in fact, isn’t that always what God does? Perhaps in this time we can re-learn how to be in community with one another -- and the earth -- as we all are faced with thinking about the things of life that matter most.

Today, I invite you to look outside. Notice the hints of spring that are starting to come up out of the ground, in the trees, or heard in the songs of the birds returning home from winter. Take a moment to read Psalm 148 and think about the ways all of creation both rejoices and calls out for help. Think about the ways your actions can help creation to flourish rather than wilt.

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Psalm 148, Julia Seymour

The Words From Her Mouth Psalter

Let’s get excited about God!

You jaguars and grizzly bears, roar to the One who made and keeps you.

Let’s dance with divine inspiration!

You dolphins and frogs, leap with joy toward the highest heaven.

Let’s sing together a song of salvation!

You wolves and red-tailed hawks, exult in your freedom and belovedness.

Let’s worship the Spirit who brings order out of chaos.

You sea otters and kangaroos, give thanks with your whole being.

Let’s listen to the Love that is the source of all healing.

You pronghorns and pandas, rest in the everlasting arms of provision.

Let’s celebrate grace, unearned concession freely and generously given!

You snails and blue whales embrace your vocations.

Let’s praise God as a united creation!

You siblings and friends, you neighbors and strangers, you ascetics and revelers,

let us praise the Lord – eternal Love poured out, among, and for us.

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Reflection for Wednesday, March 18 from Pastor Lauren

Here We Are to Worship!

When I was little, I loved climbing the fence and going to my neighbor’s house. Joseph, a carpenter, made me a set of little steps so I wouldn’t snag my clothes on the chain-link fence when I jumped down. They left their garage door open for me to come through whenever I wanted to and told me where the hidden key was incase they forgot. Once inside, I’d usually find Mary baking or painting as she was an amazing artist and teacher.

Yes, their names really are Joseph and Mary. Yes, Joseph is a carpenter. And yes, they are Christian. In fact, growing up they were the most devout Christians I knew. At their house, we prayed over all of our snacks and meals. Scripture lined the walls. Bibles were all over the house and crosses hung on many walls. The Christian or Gospel station was always playing in their home. Joseph created a giant manger for their front yard and they waited to put baby Jesus inside until Christmas morning. Their home was always warm, it often smelled like cookies, and it sounded like church.

So, today, let us find warmth, comfort, and make our homes sound like church! Today, I invite you to turn up the praise and worship in your house. Praise God as you bake cookies, clean, organize, work, or get ready this morning.

I made a worship playlist for you with some of my favorites: Click here to worship with me! (There are some great videos on this list too!)

Reflection for Tuesday, March 17 from Pastor Lauren

One Little Light

Today, I invite you to worship by lighting a candle. If you don’t have a candle, click on this virtual candle.

The phrase “We have lit a candle in the wilderness and it will never be extinguished” is on the largest window in Gunnison Chapel in upstate New York. It is a phrase that brings me courage and hope, a phrase I think might be able to bring us a sense of peace as we light our candles today.

When in the wilderness, there is often an experience of the unknown. Even on a marked trail, you never know what you’ll encounter. Perhaps you will come upon a beautiful view, see a brilliant bird, or be surprised by a spider web that meets your forehead. Sometimes, the wilderness is dark, cool, and moist. Sometimes, the wilderness is arid, bright, and dry. The wilderness is always a place of surprise that can test us and push us.

To light a candle in the wilderness is then to bring the unknown into focus, to bring hope to a perilous situation, or to bring unexpected joy to a time of confusion. It is a reminder that one small act can bring forth great courage, that one candle might shine on and on unto eternity, and that our light might make way for other lights to shine.

Today, as you light a candle, what does its light mean for you? For your neighbor? For the world?

As you contemplate on these questions, take a moment to listen to Light of the Holy Spirit by India Arie. May the light from this one small candle fill you and make you whole. May it spark in you a renewed connection to the Spirit, and may it give hope in the wilderness.

Reflection for Monday, March 16 from Pastor Lauren

Building an Altar

It is looking more and more likely that many of us will be staying indoors, turning our dwellings into our workplaces, restaurants, cafés, studios, and social centers. Social engagement will look more like phone calls than being at church. What will this look like for worship?

This week, our Lenten focus is on worship and as our experience of worship will be different for the next few weeks, it is the perfect time to consider what worship means to us and to God. When we worship, we give adoration and reverence to God. Worship is a time when we attune ourselves to the guidance of the Spirit, lean into the wisdom of people of faith throughout generations, and more fully consider our role in bringing the kin-dom of heaven to earth by our words, actions, and postures.

As we enter into thinking about worship this week, I invite you to find a space in your home that can be your altar -- maybe it’s temporary, for this time, or maybe it’s permanent. Altars are spaces dedicated to the holy, places we can find God routinely. They can be in our homes, in our cars, even in our wallets or our imaginations. In our home, we have an altar that faces the door. Is it filled with photos of our ancestors, sacred texts, meaningful objects, and mementos of cultures around the globe. On our altar are also candles, incense, and sage -- relics of the faith of our ancestors and objects that can bring our senses into worship.

Where is your altar? What is on it? How can you worship at your altar this week?

If you are able, send in a photo of your altar or describe it so we can worship with you.

Lenten Reflection for Ash Wednesday, February 26 from Pastor Lauren

“From ashes you were created and to ashes you will return.”

The first Ash Wednesday service I ever went to was in Juarez, Mexico. My dad and I were building houses with a local organization in Juarez and they invited us to church after a long day in the sun. The service was in Spanish, a language I do not speak with any fluency, so I really didn’t understand what was being said. Before long, we went up to the priest and had ashes put on our foreheads, specs of ash falling onto the tip of my nose and lips. Someone translated the words of the priest for me and my dad “from ashes you were created and to ashes you will return.”

As the service continued, I sat there listening to the organ play, smelling the incense as it filled my lungs, and hung on these words. I thought about the ashes that collect at a campfire and in the devastating remnants of a house fire. I thought about the certainty of death that all living creation faces--the ways we are bound together with a common destination. I thought about the fleeting nature of life and the short time we really all have on earth, in this body, in this place, with these people. I was struck by the sacredness of Ash Wednesday: a day to remember our mortality, our fragility, our connectedness to all of creation.

In your personal time of reflection today, I invite you to think about the connection you inherently have with all of creation. The very fibers of your being are made up from the cells of other beings no longer living. Your body’s final destination is the same as every other living thing. While our uniqueness is something to celebrate, our commonality is something to behold. How does the notion, “From ashes you were created and to ashes you will return” inform your daily life?