Today was the first day back to work after the holiday and some much needed vacation time. Even in the midst of the season of Epiphany, we were busy planning for Lenten Worship Services (Wednesdays and Sundays)! It seemed a bit surreal but then this is often life in parish ministry. In the midst of one season and planning for the next…
We got a lot of work done and caught up with the office staff whom I hadn’t seen since Christmas Eve; such good folks who do so much to make ministry possible in our church. They do so much behind the scenes and don’t ask for accolades or publicity. They are true partners in ministry.
After work, Denise and I decided to drive home through the Rocky Mountain National Park. The roads were pretty good and there weren’t a ton of visitors in the park. We were able to see this Bull Elk along with three others grazing just off of the road. It was our first visit with our four-legged neighbors this year.
This fellow and some time reading and reflecting at home reminded me that the wonder and the gift of Christmas is still with us. As I read today’s reflection by Howard Thurman in Bruce Epperly’s book The Work of Christmas: The 12 Days of Christmas with Howard Thurman I was reminded once again about our call to be the Light of Christ in this world. John 1:5 says: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
In his poem, “I Will Light Candles This Christmas” Thurman writes:
I will light Candles this Christmas;
Candles of joy despite all sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all the year long.
May we continue to light those candles and share the light of Christ every day of the year.
A wonderful blog by my sweetheart and partner in life and ministry ❤️❤️
Either on Twelfth Night (January 5), the twelfth day of Christmastide and eve of the feast of the Epiphany, or on Epiphany Day (January 6) itself, many Christians in Europe chalk their doors with a pattern…
— Read on godspacelight.com/2019/01/05/feast-of-epiphany-time-to-bless-our-house-and-chalk-the-door/
It’s hard to believe but not only are we starting a new year, we are stepping into a new decade! For me, 2019 was a blur and I seemed to watch it fly by no matter how hard I tried to Be Still. I’m not particularly fond of New Year’s resolutions; they are just another chance for failure. New beginnings, however, are a whole other story. They are an opportunity to begin again, to live into my true created self. New beginnings aren’t as much about my actions as they are about how I perceive myself. I can be made anew and move toward the person I was created to be.
— Read on godspacelight.com/2020/01/02/following-the-little-flower-into-a-new-decade/
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
The first day of a new year and decade
It has been a day of quiet reflection and time with my sweetheart
It was time to Be Still
As I pondered thresholds and what lies ahead
I remembered the single biggest constant
You are with us always, Lord
Your Spirit calls, coaxes, and guides
As we enter this new year hear my humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra
Grant Us Peace on Earth
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
The new year has begun. I have been reading a lot about folks who are planning to live differently via resolutions. These are brave hopes for self-improvement and a better way of living.
Today has also been a day of rest, reflection, time with my sweetheart. Watching the Rose Bowl game in the stadium where Mom and Dad met on a blind date in 1952.
As I read today’s reading from The Work of Christmas: The 12 Days of Christmas with Howard Thurman, I was struck by his words. As the Christmas season draws to a close with the approach of Epiphany, what will I carry forward into this new year…
The true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become callous, insensitive, and hard. Once this spirit becomes part of a [person]’ s life, every day is Christmas and every night is freighted with the dawning of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.
Perhaps I will carry forward the sharing of graces in a world of need. Will you join with me in this endeavor? To share the spirit of hope, grace, love, and peace with others?
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
As we ring out 2019 and welcome 2020
As we ring out one decade and welcome the next
As we seek your presence
As we seek your guidance
As we ask for your blessing
May you guide us over the Threshold
As we enter the new year and decade
May your Spirit be our inspiration and guidance
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble you
Dona Nobis Pacem et in Terra
Grant Us Peace on Earth
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As I looked to the evening sky I saw the Waxing Crescent Moon. As I gazed upon Sister Moon making her way across the sky, there was much to ponder. When I consider the events and wonders of this past year… when I consider the events and wonders of this past decade… I see your hand, O Lord.
Becoming engaged to the love of my life
Retiring from the Air Force after 21 years of Active Service
Beginning a new call to ministry
Marrying my partner in life and ministry
Moving from Florida to Colorado
Walking with our Moms through the Valley of the Shadows
Walking with so many parishioners through that same Valley
Enjoying the beauty and wonder of the Gulf Coast
Enjoying the beauty and wonder of the Rocky Mountains
Meeting new neighbors
Now as the decade draws to a close
I give thanks for the new opportunities before us
These words of Howard Thurman, my companion in this Christmas journey, speak to my heart of hope and possibility for the future:
So when we think of Christmas, let us think of it as a time when we remembered the graces of life. It is important to seize upon the atmosphere created in this period, to let it tutor our own spirits in kindness and imaginative sympathy.
Bruce Epperly in his book The Work of Christmas shares these thoughts about Thurman’s words as we approach the new year:
As we look back on the bygone year, let us release past burdens and painful memories. Let us forgive the sins of others and let go of grievances. Let us begin as new persons for a new year, open to new possibilities, gracefully bestowed upon us by the hand of God.
Blessings upon you dear reader as we cross the threshold into the future.
One of my favorite memories of this song comes from my first assignment with the Air Force in England. A group of us went to a 300 year old Thatched Roof Pub for a New Year’s Eve Dinner. It had been a difficult year in the life of our little base community and we were in a reflective mood. In the custom of the country we had the table for the entire evening. The food and conversation were wonderful. As the stroke of midnight approaches, we were invited into the kitchen where we joined the staff and listened to the tolling of Big Ben. As the last strike of midnight, we all joined hands and sang Auld Lang Syne.
This blog that a friend shared gives some background on the song many will sing tonight.
Every year, on New Year’s Eve, people all around the world sing a few lines in Scots which most people don’t understand. Those lines are:
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought tae mind. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and the days of auld lang syne.”
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
It has been a wonderful day of rest and reflection
The last of our family made it home safely
It has been a day of prayer and reflection
It has been a time to simply Be Still
It has been a day of refreshment
It has been a day with my sweetheart
Lord, for all of these gifts I thank you
Now as my eyelids grow heavy
I lift this humble prayer to you
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
As we visited the Denver Zoo yesterday it was a bit sobering. So many species are hanging on by a thread thanks to the absolute greed of the two-legged humans who think they are better than the rest. What they fail to realize is that each of us are created by God to be interdependent with each other as God has created us to be.
In his book The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations, Howard Thurman talks about the dignity of humankind. I would extend that to all of God’s creation. These words of Thurman’s spoke to my heart and my soul. Bruce Epperly in his book The Work of Christmas updated Thurman’s language to be inclusive as I firmly believe he would if he were alive today.
Jesus remains the symbol of the dignity and worthfulness of the common humankind. . . . If the theme of the angels’ song is to find fulfillment in the world, it will be through the common person’s becoming aware of her or his own worthfulness and asserting her or his generic prerogatives as a child of God.
The dignity and worthfullness of humankind… the dignity and worthfullness of each member of God’s creation. As we approach the close of 2019 and look to 2020, my prayer that each one of us, dear reader, will honor that in one another and in all of creation.
