Easter Message

This is the Easter message,

that awakening is possible,

to the goodness of God,

the sacredness of human life,

the sisterhood and brotherhood of all. 

 

-Anne Lamott

Traveling Mercies

 

LENTEN GREETINGS

Merciful God, grant me the heart of Christ, 
who walks with those who suffer.

Grant me the spirit of Christ, 
who goes among his enemies with love.

Grant me the courage of Christ, 
who stands by the afflicted and cries out.

Grant me the hope of Christ, 
who confronts injustice without despair.

Grant me the trust of Christ, 
who allows your Spirit to lead him.

Grant me the peace of Christ, 
who faces his end with clear eyes.

Grant me the life and death of Christ,

whom you give to the world and raise from the dead.

Merciful God, grant me the presence of Christ, 
that it may be not I, but Christ

 who lives in me with your perfect love. Amen.

-Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light

Make the Ordinary Come Alive

Make the ordinary Come alive

 Do not ask your children

 To strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

But it is a way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show then the joy of tasting

 tomatoes, apples and pears.  

Show then how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show then the infinite pleasure

 in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

 The extraordinary will take care of itself.

William Martin

Oso Disaster

As we consider the households who have been impacted

by this tragedy in our home state, as well as the people

who are risking themselves in service to those very same

households and their families, may we find comfort and

guidance through the poetry of the Psalms,

particularly Psalm 46:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in

 trouble. 
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth

should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart

of the sea; 
though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble with its tumult.

God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;

God will help it when the morning dawns. 

The LORD of hosts is with us;
 the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Lenten Journey

Beloved, come to me, I pray.

I do not care how or when,

in what form, what shape,

in what spirit you come to me,

but come.  I long for you.

I am not whole without you.

See, the place here in my heart 

for you alone  I hold and wait.

Oh, come, do come, and stay.
So the Holy One
cries out to you:
Beleoved, come.

Steve Garaas-Holmes

Unfolding Light

www.unfoldinglight.net

Lent

I may not say

everything perfectly.

I may not do

everything perfectly.

But if my heart is in

the right place,

and I try my best,

then I am OK

with that.

No-one is perfect.

Anna Pereira 

          

Ash Wednesday begins Lent

               Lent serves as our annual invitation to come closer to God. 

It provides a time to look at our lives and ourselves, 

not so we may criticize ourselves more harshly 

but so we can identify the obstructions that keep us from God.

What keeps us from feeling the presence of the divine in our every day? 

 How do we hide from God, and why?

Lent gives us a chance to look at such obstructions 

and to move them gently away 

so that we can come closer to the Love that gives us life, 

the Love whose triumph we will celebrate on Easter morning.

- Sarah Parsons
A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent