The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A wonderful Lord’s Day concludes
We gathered around the Lord’s Table
Worship, Prayer, and Fellowship
An afternoon’s respite
An evening of food, laughter, and friendship
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…
It is Not Jesus’ Temptation but ours
http://millennialpastor.net/2019/03/10/it-is-not-jesus-temptation-but-ours/
— Read on millennialpastor.net/2019/03/10/it-is-not-jesus-temptation-but-ours/
March is Women’s History Month, a wonderful time to honour some of the women of history who have shaped and formed us. I have always found inspiration from the lives of those who have gone before. Their footprints provide places for me to stand and words and prayers encourage and strengthen me as I too seek to move forward into the ways of God. It seems appropriate that we celebrate the lives of some of these women during this season of Lent.…
godspacelight.com/2019/03/09/inspiration-from-teresa-of-avila-for-womens-history-month/
Scripture Reading – Luke 4:1-13
Sermon – Meeting God in the Wilderness
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
A time of reflection
A day of study and preparation
A time to simply be still
As this Lenten journey begins
Lord, guide us and encourage us
Speak to us in the silence
Lead us in right pathways for your name’s sake
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…
On our short trip the week before last to visit Rapid City, South Dakota, it seemed like we were the only people in Badlands National Park. I think we only saw one car the entire circuit. When we visited at the end of May last year, the temperatures were much warmer and the starkness of the wilderness was vivid. Even though the temperatures were quite cold on the last visit, the beauty of the snow somehow softened the look of the wilderness.
When I think of the wilderness and wilderness experiences that I have had in my own life, nothing was as dramatic as Jesus’s forty days and nights. In Luke’s reflection on the wilderness experience of Jesus, we see a sketch of the experience. What is missing is the raw and gritty experience of the 40 days… following his baptism in the Jordan, Jesus was immediately sent into the wilderness. We don’t hear anything about the majority of his experience until the temptation at the end.
Imagine, if you will, spending forty days and nights without food. There are plenty of traditions from the Native American Vision Quest to the Desert Ammas and Abbas spending time fasting and praying. The wilderness was where they went to seek God.
In that situation you are incredibly vulnerable. You face your own inner demons. Your body and spirit are worn down and raw. That must have been how Jesus felt when the temptations hit him like a ton of bricks.
As I explore this wilderness scene… as I place myself into the story in good Ignatian fashion… I am overwhelmed by the vulnerability of it all. In that moment, I remember all of the wilderness moments in my own life. In that moment, I am overwhelmed by it all.
During this Lenten season, I am inviting our congregation to explore their own wilderness moments. I am inviting them to spend 15-20 minutes each day in a quiet wilderness place nearby. There are so many places that I can think of in the Rocky Mountain National Park to explore my own wilderness moments.
In the Gospel story, Jesus faces the temptations. In our day, dear reader, we are invited as a community of faith to go to the wilderness to listen for the voice of God. This is a time of self-reflection and contemplation. May we find God in these wilderness moments during this Lenten season.
The sun has set and the Vesper Lights flicker and glow
After a long and emotionally exhausting week
What a pleasure it was to simply Be Still
What a gift it was to read and rest
What a gift it was to spend an evening with dear friends
What a gift to celebrate life and music
What a gift to celebrate community
For these and all gifts, I offer my humble thanks
Lord, in your mercy, hear this humble prayer
Dona Nobis Pacem
Grant Us Peace
A wee prayer from the heart of your Padre…
Below is the transcript of VFP Board member, Jessie Medvan’s speech on International Women’s Day, 2017.
My name is Jessie Medvan, I’m the president of Veterans for Peace chapter 47 of Western Pa. I served in the National Guard for 6 years and from 2004 to 2005 was stationed in Taji, Iraq. I want to tell you about what life is like for female veterans and what I feel is the ultimate cause of our suffering. I begin with a story of horrible injustice.
— Read on www.veteransforpeace.org/who-we-are/member-highlights/2019/03/08/jessie-medvan-international-womens-day
Wonderful words of wisdom and contemplation, Jake!
Profound spiritual insights, Joy ❤️❤️
What might having an abundant life look like to you? Is it possible to have a “more than” existence with less? I believe it is. Although it has taken years of shifted thinking and spiritual digging to discover the truth of a less is more kind of life.
When I was a nurse, running madly around a ward all day, with a home and family to take care of as well, the idea of more meant extra time out and time off. Having a hot, undisturbed bath. A book to read. An ability to rest. A meal cooked by my husband. Those were luxuries to me.
But when I first became sick with M.E, I saw that time itself wasn’t such a gift. It’s how we spend our hours that counts. If you spend your days flat-out with fatigue in a darkened bedroom, unable to participate in life and full…
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