1,000 Words

I have been thoroughly enjoying daily reflections through the photo-a-day challenge hosted by Rethink Church.

If photos are worth 1,000 words, then these photos shall prove to be my 40,000 words of reflection for Lent. Follow along on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook: I've been posting them on all 3.

Today's Reflection:

Day 6: Wonder.
Surveying the wonder-ful, wonder-filled cross.
 #photoadaylent #rethinkchurch

Who Am I?

Today is Ash Wednesday. The first day of Lent.

I have contemplated what practices I might add or things I might let go for this season, and as I did so, I kept coming back to this:

The United Methodist Church's "ReThink Church" campaign.

At first, I thought it seemed silly. Like an excuse to use social media more during Lent.

But then I read the topics more closely. and I thought: what an opportunity. Because in a photograph, it not only invites creativity, but requires a greater deal of reflection on each of them than I might offer on any other day.

Take, for example: today. All day I thought about this question and how I might depict it honestly....

Who Am I?

The same words rolled over and over again in my head...

From dust you came, and to dust you shall return.

But what does that even mean?

For me, today, it means that I am nothing without the God who knit me in my mother's womb.

I am nothing without the God who feeds my soul
and makes life worth living.

I am nothing.

Who am I?

I am dust.

#rethinkchurch #photoadaylent

Jesus is a Chicken?

For the season of Lent, the students and staff of SHADE wrote a devotional. I wanted to share the final devotion of our small book, written by my boss, Rev. Tembo Kalenga.

"Jesus is a Chicken"

Have you ever wondered why we have Easter eggs during Easter? Jesus is a chicken.

As a child, I tried to touch a chick and I didn’t know that the hen was nearby. As I picked up the chick, the hen out of nowhere started chasing me and when it caught me, it poked me deep in my skin; until this day I am afraid of chickens. I have realized how over-protective a hen is over her chicks. When a hawk tries to attack the chicks, the hen screams and all the chicks run under her arms for protection.

Jesus will always protect you. When you are in danger, He will warm you in times of danger and He will watch over you. When a chick dies, the hen mourns and tries harder to protect her other chicks; like Jesus said, your pain is my pain. God why have you forsaken me? Matthew 26:36-43

People tend to call weak people chickens because they are afraid to do certain things. Jesus was a chicken, He was afraid of dying and He asked God if there is any other way. Yet He accepted the pain. Just like the chicken He died so that we could be saved in His name. Jesus is a chicken who will always protect you, just call upon His Holy Name.

Lent Devotional

I am pleased to announce that many of my students and fellow staff have written a devotion to be shared during the season of Lent. I encouraged everyone to write a story from their life that gives testimony to the work that God is continuing to do in and through each of us. It opens with these words:

We believe that every person has a story to share, that there is evidence of God’s grace, love, and sacrifice in each of our lives. These stories are glimpses of that truth in our lives and give evidence of the Light God has revealed in and through our lives.

I am excited to share these stories around the world. They have already been sent to places in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. If you would like to read these short stories/devotionals and pray with us this season of Lent, I would love to share a copy of this devotional with you. Just send me a message and I’ll send you an electronic copy.

But if you get one, I challenge you to wait until Easter Sunday to read the final devotion titled, “Jesus is a Chicken!”

Ready for Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. The first day of the season of Lent on the Christian calendar. A day that we are reminded "From dust you came, and to dust you shall return."

As Christians, this is a time of reflection and introspection. It is a 40-day journey that is representative of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness. He fasted and was tempted, but most importantly, he prayed. He was preparing himself for a life of ministry beyond what we ever imagined. For us, we spend these symbolic 40 days preparing ourselves - of seeking restoration - as we anticipate Christ's Resurrection, which marks the end of this season.

As we prepare ourselves, we have the tradition of making some sacrifices during Lent. Whether we give something up (a food, bad habit, or some material item we really don't need) or add something (spiritual practice such as devotions or prayers), please remember the reason we do so. I encourage you not to make a change because you feel you have to, only to return to your "old ways" on Sundays ("mini-Easters") or the day the season ends (Easter). I hope instead, we can make changes to our lives that will hold lasting effects, that will truly help us to grow in and strengthen our faith. That whatever choices we make in this season will have everlasting effects and carry over beyond Lent, and that most importantly, it will help us to refocus our energies and take a risk by diving into an even deeper relationship with Christ who calls us to this place - who restores us.

Far more than any year ever before, this year, I am ready for Lent. So much has happened already this year, and it is almost as if there has been no time for it all to catch up and sink in. From ongoing economic problems to discovering the root of my back problems are because I have Degenerative Disc Disease to friends in need hundreds of miles away, to the tragic and heartbreaking premature birth and death of friends' infant son only last week, I have spent this year in ceaseless prayer for crisis after crisis.

This year I have set goals for this season, as always one "sacrifice" and one spiritual practice to work on. More important than these, though, I pray whatever our goals are, we are able to collectively keep up an attitude of ceaseless prayer, even when we aren't in crisis to remind us (and I hope that day will be soon). I pray that whatever changes we make to our lives this season, they are changes that allow for us the opportunity to find rest and inner peace, and to find the restoration we so often speak of this season being affiliated with.

Come, O God, and restore our souls as we remember on this day that "From Dust we came, and to dust we shall return."

An Ongoing Celebration

Easter has finally arrived! Christ is Indeed Risen!

It has been a long journey through Lent this year, and so I welcome Easter with open arms, an open heart, and open eyes to see and hear and experience all that the Risen Christ has to offer us.

Saturday afternoon I was fortunate enough to have a lovely meeting for coffee with a long-lost Australian friend who is studying abroad in DC (and is in Chicago on Spring Break). Our time was far too brief, but it was nice to have the short time we did to catch up and share in the simple gift of one another's presence.I had to cut our time together short when I decided to go to the Easter Vigil at the Chicago Temple (a United Methodist Church downtown). I had been told what a beautiful service they have, and that it would be well worth my time to check it out. So I went- and was relieved to be celebrating the risen Christ long before our morning services the next day! The service was nice... but felt a bit like a marathon as they rushed through it to get through the entire service in only 50 minutes. I have never heard prayers, sermons, or Scriptures read so fast in all of my life! Fortunately, I ran into my friend Kristin there, so we were able to share in the service together, which made it a much more blessed experience.

Sunday morning was beautiful. Easter MUST be the BEST day to work in a church and go to both services! The music, worship, proclamations and praising of God were overwhelmingly beautiful and joyful! Both services were full, too, which made the experience all the more rich. There is nothing like a full house of clapping, dancing and singing for the glory of God to start off a morning!

Complete with new members and flying water (or pitchers of water during the Hallelujah Chorus!) that we might remember our Baptisms, Easter is indeed a day of celebration. I hope that this is only the beginning of many celebrations to come, though. For yesterday was only the first day of this new season, the day which we celebrate the Risen Christ... but we as Christians are called to celebrate this every week. Therefore, I hope we can remember, as Laurence Stookey reminds us, that it is not that "Every Sunday is a mini Easter," but that "Every Easter is a Great Sunday."

Let us remember to proclaim with boldness, then, the great news that Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen, Indeed! Hallelujah! Amen.

World Water Day

Today is Holy Saturday. A day of waiting as Jesus rests in His tomb... and with anticipation of the Resurrection that we know is to come, we take time today to instead focus on what has been lost, focusing on on the Passion and death of Christ.

In this day of mourning and reflection, it somehow seems all too appropriate to me that today is also World Water Day. It is appropriate because this weekend more than any other of the year, Christians are remembering the Living Water that was offered to us as Christ came and lived among us. Just as this water of life sustains us, so too do we need physical water of the earth for our lives to be sustained.

World Water Day is an international day of observance- and a call to action- so that we can draw attention to the 1 billion people in the world who do not have access to clean [safe] drinking water. Our brothers and sisters around the globe have many needs, and it can be daunting. But for me, it is hard to have hope- to see light away from the darkness- without first seeing hope in the possibility of fulfilling the most basic, essential needs for all people. Clean water is as basic and essential as it seems to get... and so I have chosen to start there.

For only US$1, a person in sub-Saharan Africa can be given clean water for an entire year. $1! So for the past 4 years, I have been working with organizations like Blood:Water Mission to raise money and awareness for this urgent need. Whether you can donate your time, money (you can donate to B:W here!), a voice to raise awareness or even just taking the next few steps to become more educated yourself, I hope you will make time to do so. And of course as you do, feel free to contact me, as I would love to answer any questions you may have!

Closing today with a piece of hope, courtesy of Dan Haseltine, founder of Blood:Water Mission, "a huge body of water has kept us apart from Africa, but water is also the very thing that can connect us."

"Good" Friday

Today - "Good Friday" - is the quietest day of the church year. We began the Triduum last night with our Maundy Thursday service of feasting, fellowship and storytelling as we sat around tables. As it closed with the foretelling of what was to come and a prayerful Taize song, we will continue that service tonight. It will be a service of peace and prayer and readings from the Gospel with short reflections that will hopefully help us to process- maybe even understand a little better- the significance of the events we are remembering.

With the events of betrayal, denial and death on our hands, it can be difficult to understand why we might call this day "Good" Friday. I have heard a great variety of reasons for the name we have come to know this day by, and by far, I think I resonate most with the description Barbara Brown Taylor offers when she wrote:

Today, on the quietest day of the year, we have come to sit in the presence of one who was fully who God created him to be every day of his life--who loved God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength, and with all his mind--and who loved his friends so much that he stepped into the oncoming traffic of death in order to push them out of the way. He furthermore did it all with no more than the basic human equipment--a beating heart, two good hands, a holy vision, and some companions who could see it too--thereby showing the rest of us humans that such a life is not beyond our reach. Whatever else happens on Sunday, here is enough reason to call this Friday Good. (full article can be found here)

Let us gather, sitting at the feet of Jesus and remembering these mighty acts as we relive the events of today. Let us remember not just in that historic, yes-this-happened sort of way, but in the way of anamnesis, much as we did last night gathered around tables. That is, to remember by doing, experiencing, and allowing ourselves to feel as we fully engage with the crucifixion of Jesus.

Final Lenten Reflections

Spiritual Seasons: Led by the Garden

Everything you need to know about life--about the mysteries of life, about the secret to life--can be learned in a garden, if you pay attention. For those of us hostage to the urban landscape, who pay little attention to the seasons, who rely upon the weather channel or weather.com to forecast the weather for us, those of us who proceed from one appointment to the next oblivious to our environment, oblivious to the turning of seasons, oblivious to the colors of plants--for us the church's recognition of the 40 days of Lent becomes a reminder that we cannot experience the Easter tide of resurrection and renewal until we first go through a period of disequilibrium, of dying, of shedding, of letting go, of winter. You cannot experience spring until you have first experienced winter. You cannot experience Easter, Resurrection Sunday, until you first experience Lent.
~Rev. Dr. Renita J.

Coming Into the Change of Seasons

Today is the first day of the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday.

Its a snowy, dreary day that has been filled with a blizzard of mixing ice and snow, filling the streets and sidewalks with inches of slush to make your way through if you're brave enough to be out in it.

Because of this snow, many churches in the area canceled their evening Ash Wednesday service. At Holy Covenant, we did not, as it didn't make sense to when the pastor lives only upstairs and the interns didn't have to drive in (thankful for public transport- trains- on days like this!). So we continued with our service, singing a capella because our musician couldn't make it in the snow. It was peaceful, reflective, beautiful, and just what I needed.

Until this evening, I struggled with the fact that its already Lent. It seems so early, I feel so distant from it. I'm not ready for the struggle and reflection and all that comes with this season. I hadn't even decided "where I am" in terms of what may be best for me to "give up" or "take on" as my own sacrifice this season.

Tonight, that changed. I was blessed by the music, message, readings and prayers that were offered. I was blessed by the full community of people who knew that church is where they needed to be on this holy night... one of the only Christian holidays, Trey pointed out, that isn't made into a big affair by Hallmark. I think we often forget- because Hallmark isn't there to remind us, what an important holy day it is, though. There is no commercialism to help us "prepare" for the season. There is no preparation, it just arrives. At least thats how it felt for me this year. Especially after a big "Mardi Gras" celebration at church Sunday, on campus last night... celebrating with festivities just before entering this season of reflection has proven itself a challenging transition for me this year. And I sense that many others share that with me.

This service helped me to transition into a different place, and for that I am thankful. I have some things to pray about yet tonight before any decisions are made, but I am looking forward to beginning a new season tomorrow. Praying and repenting for the reality of not being ready on time- not anything unusual from where I (we?) often find myself/ourselves.

The past 2 years I have given up "inessential beverages" - everything but water- for Lent. I have done so with purpose, as a kind of extended "Two Week Sacrifice" to raise funds for water wells in communities that don't even have the most basic essential of life: clean water. A week ago, I was convinced I wasn't called to do that this year. I didn't follow it today. But now, I'm not so sure. After thinking about during the service, reflecting on how I learn and grow from that experience, I came home to check my email and find this article in my email. A blog written to challenge us to do that very same thing this year that I have done the past two years. A challenge I believe I needed to see tonight, in that very moment it came to me.

I have determined it is best not to make any decisions on where this season is leading me until morning, after I can pray and reflect on it further. After all, that is what this season is about. But whatever I decide, I am thankful tonight for the transition that I finally feel, that I have finally been offered, that I am finally a part of where Christ (or at least the Church) is calling us to be at this time of year. There is a time and a season for everything... and this season is one to repent, reflect, and to seek new ways of living. As I struggle through this season of transition and sacrifice, I hope you will struggle with me, and in the end, we will come away from this season changed, renewed, refreshed and alive, celebrating the new life and hope that only Christ can offer us.

A Season of Change

Today is February 2, and I can hardly believe how quickly time has passed this year!

Not only is it already February, but Ash Wednesday is only 4 days away!!! Granted, Lent begins very early this year, but I am still in disbelief that we are already there. As my site supervisor Trey said last week, "I feel like baby Jesus should still be in diapers!"

Fortunately, the peacefulness and reflective mood that the snow storm brought with it this week has helped me to move on from that, but I'm still not quite there. Maybe the Mardi Gras celebration at church tomorrow, the beginning of classes on Monday, and the Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday evening will help me to move the rest of the way- help me to transition into this new season of reflection. Maybe by Wednesday I'll be there. Ready or not, it will be ready for me.

In my misplacement this season of sensing the changing seasons, I am not yet sure what Lent will mean for me this year. In the past, it has been very important, transforming and life-giving to me in new ways. I was always more sure going into it what I was going to "sacrifice" or add to my devotional life as a step toward drawing closer to God. As of today, I do not feel as connected to such changes as I have in the past, and it is a bit disappointing. Partly this is because I'm not ready for it, but I am also aware that it has to do with the great changes I have undergone in the past year. I am in a very different place- and a very different person- than I was one year ago. For that I am thankful. Yet I am still struggling to discover more fully what exactly that means for me.

As we journey into this new season, I look forward to it with hope. I see it as a time not to be depressed and hard on ourselves, focusing only on sacrifices, but as an opportunity to seek change. All the talk we have heard recently is how the world is ready for a change. Perhaps that change needs to start with individuals. Perhaps that change needs to start with me. Here. Now. How? Only God knows, but this is as good of a time as any to explore...