I’ve been neglecting the blog lately in my efforts toward the Creative Arts Lenten Retreat. We have 28 people doing the retreat this year! I’m really enjoying leading the retreat experience–and now that it’s up and running I have a little more time for the blog. Here is the prayer of confession and assurance of…
For those of you still thinking about whether or not to sign on for this year’s Creative Arts Lenten Retreat, please note that tomorrow–Valentine’s Day, is the last day to order the retreat kit with the art supplies. The PDF of the written booklet will be available any time. I am so glad to…
This prayer of confession is based on Daniel 3. (I cannot wait to preach this text on Sunday!) Holy One, Sometimes we are like Nebuchadnezzar, wanting to be in charge, desperately and destructively trying to control everyone around us. God of freedom, forgive and transform us. Sometimes we are like the Chaldeans, jealous of those…
I’ve been working on the materials for the Creative Arts Lenten Retreat today. In thinking about the holy space of wilderness, I was inspired to create a finger labyrinth. You can find plenty of labyrinth images online to print out, though I found it strangely soothing to draw my own. (Mine is a classic 7-circut…
Here is the call to worship we will use this week. Our text is Jeremiah 18:1-11. We come to worship God, Creator of mountain, sea, sky, and land. We come to praise God, Fashioner of all creatures–even you, even me. We offer ourselves to God, Who forms and transforms in power with grace. Amen.
For this week’s call to worship, I decided to add to a piece I had written for an earlier Sunday when we were doing the Narrative Lectionary. I edited it a bit and added in the kings and prophets to reflect that we are a bit further along in our journey through scripture. This week…
There is a phrase parents sometimes use. When I hear it, I feel a small, uneasy twinge in the pit of my stomach. The phrase is floating around out there, so I’m sure you’ve heard it too. You may even have used it before. (Respectful comments welcome below.) One particular memory I have of this…
At Peace Mennonite, we’re back into the Narrative Lectionary. We’ve made it to the prophets. (Whether we survive them or not remains to be seen.) Here’s our call to worship, based on the Message version of Isaiah 1:10-20: God says, “Quit your worship charades. I can’t stand your trivial religious games. When you put on…
Last Saturday I was awake at 5 a.m. I didn’t want to get up, so I stayed warm under my covers and started thinking. I began making a mental outline of the sermon that I needed to write that morning. Then I started thinking about possible crafts for the February craft kit. And back and…
(Here is the reflection I shared during worship on New Year’s Day, 2012 ) Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11-14a It’s probably not surprising that I’ve been thinking about gifts this holiday season. Of course, I’ve been considering what gifts to give others and I’ve been enjoying the gifts others have given me. And as one year ends…
Spacious Faith 