God of the Sparrow 🌱 By Kathy Manis Findley

Doing Something Surprising

January 30, 2017 Rev Kathy

Blue Mountain Lake, Havana, Arkansas
Photo by Debbie Cannon Fritsche

Let’s do something surprising. In the midst of anxiety, let us be unafraid. In the time of anger, let us be peaceful. In the heart of turmoil, let us be a steady center. How easy it is to run with the crowd, driven by sound-bytes and rumors, racing to catch the news, chasing hope as if it were running to hide. Let us do something different. Let us be the rallying point for faith, the constant and consistent presence of a love that embodies justice, the quiet truth that knits lives together. Let us surprise ourselves with the strength we have when we stand to face the wind.

– Steven Charleston

The writing of Bishop Steven Charleston always prompts me to examine my faith. His words often dare me to grow, to find my voice, to live into my strength. This call to do something surprising is no different. It demands my attention and moves me beyond my faith’s comfort. I am grateful that Bishop Charleston challenges me to contemplate my faith and action.

I am always surprised when I discover that I really do have the strength to face the wind. It is, of course, a strength that comes from God. But it is also a strength that comes when I face anxiety, when I navigate my anger, when I am steady in times of turmoil. It a strength that grows every time God leads me through days of trouble and I discover anew that a God truly is a constant and consistent presence in my life.

May God move me on this day to do something surprising, Amen.

Christian Witness, Courage, Freedom, Hope

The Strong, Bold Power of Hope

January 30, 2017 Rev Kathy

enlight1

Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

– II Corinthians 3:12

Boldness is a part of our Christian witness. Holy boldness makes it possible for us to proclaim, without apology, Christian values, justice for every person, and the radical reconciliation that has the power to unite us. There has never been a time in history when it was more important to hold tightly to a strong, resilient hope that gives its life to restore beloved communities where justice reigns. When I was just beginning my ministry, a Seminary professor, Paul Simmons, asked a compelling and provocative question: “Is what you’re doing worth giving your life for?”

Curtiss Paul DeYoung and Allan Aubrey Boesak wrote a haunting book entitled Radical Reconciliation: Beyond Political Pietism and Christian Quietism. In the book, they present a political theology that proposes the kind of boldness that can result in true reconciliation. They assert that so much of what is being called reconciliation and social justice stops short of completing the complex work required.

Too often “reconciliation” is used merely to reach some political accommodation that does not address the critical questions of justice, equality, and dignity that are so prominent in the biblical understanding of reconciliation . . . When Christians discover that what is happening is in fact not reconciliation, and yet seek to accommodate this situation and refuse to run the risk and challenge of prophetic truth-telling, we become complicit; we deny the demands of the gospel and refuse solidarity with the powerless and oppressed.

The authors continue by denouncing ineffective attempts at reconciliation and calling for bold reconciliation that brings genuine hope. What does it mean, the authors ask, to live out radical reconciliation in our lives? They call the reader to immerse their lives in the work of restoring beloved communities. DeYoung poses this question:

Do racially diverse congregations automatically experience reconciliation or could they simply become demographically diverse but not racially reconciled?

The authors call attention to the “need for a reconciliation that is more than conflict resolution and political accommodation; a reconciliation that resists the temptation to domesticate the radical Jesus, pandering to our need for comfortable reconciliation under the guise of a kind of political pietism and Christian quietism that deny the victims of affliction the comfort of justice.”

Paul Simmons’ question continues to cast its shadow over my life. “Is what you’re doing worth giving your life for?” The question permeated my life from the moment he asked it, prompting me to question myself over and over again. What is it that was guiding my life? Was it worth giving my life for? Did it hold the power that could shift the world on its axis? Did I have the boldness to hope for genuine justice? And did I possess the strong, resilient power of hope necessary to fully engage?

It is a privilege to hold something robust and resilient called hope, which has the power to shift the world on its axis.

― Krista Tippett, Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living

Courage, Hope, Light

The Bright Light of Hope

January 28, 2017 Rev Kathy

Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.

– Mary Tyler Moore

I have never been very brave or adventurous. As a child, I was hesitant to take physical risks. I didn’t play sports. I didn’t ride a bicycle much. I was terrified of theme park rides. When I was a teenager, though, I took a turn, living on the edge, speaking my mind, taking chances.

In my adult years, it was a part of my calling to stand up with persons who were abused. I developed enough courage and tenacity to do that. It was a meaningful career, one that rewarded me by seeing women and children move away from abusive relationships and begin to thrive.

They were brave, not only facing their abuser, but also facing a system that was often stacked against them. I had the privilege of walking with a mother of three who fought for custody of her children for many years. She left no stone unturned. When the family court system ruled against her, she patiently and wisely stood her ground.

Most often, she had to face the darkness of injustice. But her courage sustained her until she prevailed for the good of her children. She, and so many others, have inspired my life, showing me how to take chances, how to get past mistakes, how to walk forward in courage.

I am grateful for the lives I was privileged to touch through the years, and for all that they taught me. I am grateful for the opportunities I had to watch them stand bravely before the darkness and to remain there, for as long as it took, until they would again face the bright light of hope.

Faith, Freedom

God’s Gonna Trouble the Water

January 27, 2017 Rev Kathy

We are forever standing at the edge of our tomorrows. The view can be disconcerting at times, with troubled waters ahead, waters that we fear. Reverend Karla Miller prays an eloquent prayer for such times.

Dang it God.
That’s all.
Amen.
No, wait, there is more.
Peel me open,
Make me listen,
Lead me into troubled waters,
Show me how to trouble some waters.
I’m not the most articulate or savvy or smart,
I care. I am afraid. I am not afraid. I am both/and.
I will not rest when others can’t.
Teach me.
Lead me.
I am ready.
My hands and feet and mind and heart are yours.
Amen.

– Rev. Karla Miller, Published at https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/01/25/wednesday-prayer-73/

Sometimes, though, God is the one who troubles the waters, and we make our choice about going forward or remaining safely on the edge. I have always been moved by the spiritual songs of the slaves. Harriet Tubman used the song “Wade in the Water” to tell escaping slaves to get off the trail and into the water, ensuring that the dogs slavecatchers used to track them couldn’t sniff out their trail. “Wade in the Water” is one of their most inspiring freedom songs.

Wade in the water;
Wade in the water, Children.
Wade in the water;
God’s gonna trouble the water.

It can be a freedom song for us, too, every time we dare to step into waters that God has troubled. It is our faith, of course, that assures us that God troubles the waters before us, and that when we step into them, we take that step trusting in a God who wants only our good. May our prayer be “Lead me into troubled waters, God, and show me how to trouble some waters” so that the world might change, so that my life might change. Amen.

Abundance, Inspiration

Here’s to Extraordinary Days!

January 26, 2017 Rev Kathy

Life can seem so ordinary at times. Since being retired, the days seem to run together, one being just like the next. There is no workplace to be every day that can punctuate each day with events. I have discovered, though, that the secret to being happily retired is to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. I like was Steven Charleston says about that.

I look for God when I do the dishes, I search for the Spirit as I take out the trash. The sacred is revealed in brilliant light only rarely, in the flash of some great insight unexpected, but much more than this the holy is to be discovered in our daily lives, in the moments when we are simply being ourselves. Putting the kids to bed, working in the garden, sitting on the porch in the evening: the beauty of eternity is that it hides in plain sight all around us. We are all prophets of the predictable pattern, witnesses to the wonder of the average day.

– Steven Charleston

Finding wonder in the average day is not as easy as it sounds. It requires mindfulness. Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, yet not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness helps us put some space between ourselves and our reactions, breaking down our conditioned responses. Here are some practical ways to be more mindful:

1) Set aside some time. You don’t need a meditation cushion or bench, or any sort of special equipment to access your mindfulness skills—but you do need to set aside some time and space.

2) Observe the present moment as it is. The aim of mindfulness is not quieting the mind, or attempting to achieve a state of eternal calm. The goal is simple: we’re aiming to pay attention to the present moment, without judgement.

3) Let your judgements roll by. When we notice judgements arise, we can make a mental note of them, and let them pass.

4) Return to observing the present moment as it is. Our minds often get carried away in thought. That’s why mindfulness is the practice of returning, again and again, to the present moment.

5) Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself for whatever thoughts crop up, just practice recognizing when your mind has wandered off, and gently bring it back.

– From http://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/?gclid=CjwKEAiA2abEBRCdx7PqqunM1CYSJABf3qvaauVuejiHYoLcIYxifEBqDiya__MAbIcn9gNVf5SnFxoClYrw_wcB

Winnie the Pooh gives us one of the best pieces of advice about making an ordinary day extraordinary.

What day is it?” asked Pooh. “It’s today,” squeaked Piglet. “My favourite day,” said Pooh.

So here’s to extraordinary days!

Family, God's presence, healing, Light

My Healing Days

January 25, 2017 Rev Kathy

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

– Psalm 139:11-12 NIV

I am drawn to light, to brightness and color. Dark shadows and muted hues can cause melancholy in me. And in those times, I try everything I can do to fill my day with brightness. It is a healing balm in troubling times.

In 2014, I spent most of the year very ill and in the hospital. As I recuperated at home, I found that I had no energy to surround myself with brightness and color. I did not notice it really, until my sister-in-law came to Little Rock for a visit. A seasoned decorator, she began to transform my surroundings in little ways. She and my brother also insisted that we relocate to Macon, Georgia so that we could be near enough for them to help Fred with my care.

They prevailed. We moved. Our belongings arrived at our new place (a place we had never laid eyes on) before we arrived. My family unpacked all our things, set up the house, and my sister-in-law filled the place with flowers, candles, and all kinds of beautiful things. We arrived late at night. When we walked into the house, it was filled with good smells, brightness and color. It looked like a Southern Living decorator house.

In that brightness and color, lovingly created by my family, I began to heal and get stronger. My days became day’s of calm. I was able to take my intense focus off of my illness and instead aim my gaze toward God. There was healing power in that, a transformative power that strengthened my spirit. The words of John Muir provide a lovely description of my healing days.

Oh, these vast, calm, measureless . . . days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God.

– John Muir

How grateful I am for the thousand windows open to God. How grateful I am for the love and care of my family, for the light, color and brightness that fills my life. How grateful I am for these healing days.

Courage, Generosity, Light

Running Toward the Light

January 24, 2017 Rev Kathy

Running toward the light is no easy thing. It’s an imperative for our better angels. It’s what we do when we are inching closer to the person we aspire to be. I have to admit that it’s far easier for me to dwell in a darker place, place that is darker because of the despondency that sometimes assails me, a place that is darker because of my tendency to criticize others, to avoid those who do not hold my views, to exclude and disregard.

But the outrageous act would be to rush to embrace others, to welcome relationships and to say, “Here I am. I care for you. I invite you into my life.” I am so inspired by the words Steven Charleston.

Go ahead and be outrageous, as wild as you want to be, in your generosity, in your compassion, freewheeling in your mercy, without limits in your kindness, totally out of control in loving those around you, breaking all constraints of who is in and who is out, ignoring prohibitions about not associating with “those” people, running amok in joy for every living creature, helping all that you can, flat out happy, flat out forgiving, no turning back, no excuses, running toward the light, inviting others to do the same!

~ Steven Charleston, Choctaw elder, author, retired Episcopal bishop of Alaska, and adjunct Professor of Native American Ministries, Saint Paul School of Theology.

I plan to be more outrageous in the days ahead. It would be a God thing, I think, to be “flat out happy, flat out forgiving.” It would be living wilder than I’ve ever been, freewheeling and unfettered by my own intolerance. It would, indeed, be running toward the light, God’s light.

Dreams, Transformation

Still Time to Dream

January 23, 2017 Rev Kathy

It’s still early in this new year, still time to embrace fresh, new things. Sarah Ban Breathnach describes a transformative year of dreaming. I love her insight.

A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.

There is still time to dream. There is always time for self-discovery and transformation. Indeed, for me, it is necessary to keep dreaming and to follow God’s prompting that helps me discover all the ways I might be transformed. Life change is never over, never halted by aging or illness. For that, I am grateful.

I have faced off with both, aging and illness. I have navigated both, and have emerged stronger and wiser for it. So I am moving forward into 2017, carving out quiet interludes along the way, interludes for new dreams and continuing personal transformation. The words of the Psalmist give me courage and comfort.

You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

– Psalm 16:11 New International Version (NIV)

Thanks be to God for a constant, faithful presence, for opportunities for transformation, for the courage to dream new dreams.

Change, Courage, Politics

The Women’s March in Arkansas

January 21, 2017 Rev Kathy

Historic photos of my brothers and sisters in Arkansas as they march for justice and equality

Change, Freedom, Politics

The Swelling Current

January 21, 2017 Rev Kathy

Yesterday during the inauguration of Donald Trump. I felt as if I were drowning. My own “swelling current” was threatening to overtake me. I allowed myself to become anxious about all the harmful changes the new administration might make.

Today I will pray for the Women’s March on Washington where women will raise their voices for the rights of all women. The group will march west on Independence Avenue SW to 14th Street SW, then they will turn north on 14th Street to Constitution Avenue, then march west on Constitution to 17th Street NW to The Ellipse. Organizers say the event will be a peaceful gathering to “promote women’s equality and defend other marginalized groups.”

More than a quarter of a million women and men will march in our nation’s capital, with other marches taking place in more than 600 “sister marches” planned across the United States. Some of the biggest expected in Boston, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Women and men in cities around the world — including Sydney, Berlin, London, Paris and Cape Town, South Africa — are also marching in solidarity and in opposition to the values they think Trump represents

Protesters march on this day to raise awareness of women’s rights and other civil rights they fear could be under threat under Donald Trump’s presidency. Two of my friends will take my name with them to the Washington march, representing my personal fear that the Trump administration will eliminate Violence against Women Act funding. Most importantly, today we march and pray in protest of Trump’s past comments about women.

So while I nurse my feeling of drowning, I recall the comforting words of this hymn:

When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside.
Bear me through the swelling current, land me safe on Canaan’s side.

– Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, Text by William Williams, 1745.

What a compassionate promise from God found in this hymn. I will rest on that.

Darkness, Light

Supernatural

January 14, 2017January 20, 2017 Rev Kathy

Light Pillars. Photo by Timothy Joseph Elzinga.

A northern Ontario man was surprised to wake up in the middle of the night, 1:30 am, to see beams of brightly colored lights shooting up into the sky. Timothy Joseph Elzinga came out onto the street in the freezing weather to watch the lights as they changed between yellow, red, green, and blue. The phenomenon is called light pillars.

Light pillars appear when either natural or artificial light bounces off ice crystals floating close to the ground. In this case, the air was so cold that ice crystals were forming in the air, reflecting the city’s street and business lights. “It was very bright in person, like nothing I’ve ever seen. It almost seemed supernatural.”

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

– 1 Peter 2:9

I am not a person who likes darkness. Darkness is disconcerting to me. In fact, I like to be sure the lights are on in whatever room I happen to be.

Although I love the writing of Barbara Brown Taylor, I literally suffered through her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark. She embarks on a journey to understand darkness, which takes her deeply into unlit caves and other dark places. She learns to eat and cross the street as a blind person, discovering the mysterious ways of “dark emotions.” She rereads scripture to see all the times God shows up at night. She eloquently describes a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find God even in darkness, and giving us a way to let darkness teach us what we need to know.

Still, the book did not dispel my dread of the darkness. It is true, though, that to get to the light, it is imperative that we walk through the darkness. Without a doubt, life offers periods of darkness to every person. And when we walk through dark times and finally make it to the light, we will have strengthened our spirituality.

So we travel on with faith and courage, grateful that time and time again, God calls us “out of darkness into his marvelous light.” And that reality is supernatural.

Change, Contemplation, Home, Life pathways, Suffering

Making It All the Way Home

January 9, 2017 Rev Kathy

“Close your eyes and follow your breath to the still place that leads to the invisible path that leads you home.”

~ St. Teresa of Avila

With aging, I have experienced an emotional and spiritual “returning home.” The years have brought a sense of well-being in some very real ways. It happens to us all, I think, as we follow the usual life paths of grief, loss, fear, hopelessness, and yes, joy. The difficult paths are the important ones, in fact. Each assault, each time of suffering, makes us seek who we really are inside.

In a conversation last night, I made this comment:

The passing years are taking some of my intensity away. I now see my younger self as a very different person than who I am today, looking back on the years in which I was driven to save the world. But I’m happy that the frenetic drive has lessened for me over the years. If I had not settled down, I think I would have died. And the kidney disease year had a profound impact on the person I used to be. I miss myself sometimes, but mostly I’m very grateful to have relaxed.

The beginning of a brand new year brings a pensive season for me, a time when I want to know myself, my real self. My self-assessment, then and now, reveals how I eventually made it through life’s chaos to the serene present. So I am happy that I made it all the way home to this place, this still and holy place that nurtures my life.

Christian Witness, Politics

No Silent Assent to Injustice

December 27, 2016December 27, 2016 Rev Kathy

No, we cannot give silent assent to injustice.

Many say that President-elect Donald Trump won, in part, because he gained the favor of evangelicals in the United States. Tragically, these evangelicals sold out, bought into a “fake gospel” of racism, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and divisiveness. In so doing, they sacrificed the justice and righteousness of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I was reminded of that in a beautiful sermon preached this Christmas Eve by Bishop Thabo Makgoba, head of the Anglican Church. He eloquently served notice with his stirring words spoken to the faithful gathered for midnight mass in Cape Town, South Africa’s George’s Cathedral. He draws on his childhood, the example of Walter Sisulu, and God’s Word to explain why religious leaders have a critical role to play in addressing a nation at war with itself.

He also had a forthright message for President Jacob Zuma who has called on churches to stay out of politics.

“We have rejected President Zuma’s comments and have told him very firmly: ‘NO, Mr President, we will not refrain from engagement in the political terrain. Our people live there, work there, suffer, cry and struggle there. We live there too, and cannot and will not stop commenting or acting on what we see and what, in our opinion, is unjust, corrupt and unacceptable to God’s high standards of sacrificial love.’,

As people of faith, we must also speak out against the destructive policies of President-elect Donald Trump.

“No, Mr President-elect, we cannot and will not stop commenting or acting on what we see and what, in our opinion, is unjust, corrupt and unacceptable to God’s high standards.”

Christmas

Reborn

December 15, 2016January 20, 2017 Rev Kathy

God of every Christmas, you remind us of the sparkling star that was Bethlehem’s holy promise. In these days, we wait again for the birth of your son, our Savior and Mary’s infant.

Like young Mary, we wait for Him in trembling, joyful expectation under the beam of Bethlehem’s star.

Like Joseph, we wait with the protective concern of a father pondering how this magnificent star has so miraculously marked the birthplace of the Child.

We wait for Christ Jesus as the shepherds waited, keeping watch in their fields, filled with fear and with wonder, waiting through the darkness of night, yet amazed that Bethlehem’s star shone on the very place of the Savior’s birth.

Like the angels who hovered among the stars with the message, “Fear not, for I bring you tidings of great joy for all people,” we sing in exultation the words we have long known, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.”

Like the Magi who traveled so far from the Orient to see the Christ Child following this celestial star, we are filled to overflowing with grateful adoration, and like them we pay homage with priceless gifts.

And what gifts can we bring you, Christ Jesus?

We offer you our hearts of love, and we pray that you will fill them with your compassion.

We offer our hands, that we might do your work in the world, and we pray you will coarsen them with your labor as they reach out to help hurting brothers and sisters.

We offer you our feet made ready to follow your call on the rough, dusty, desolate roads among people who know pain and loss.

Finally, we give you our lives, that they may move at the impulse of your love, embracing those who need a warm embrace, and thereby changing the world.

We thank you, Christ Jesus, remembering your birth among us under Bethlehem’s star, for as you are born again among us in this season, we will be miraculously reborn by your birth.

Amen.

Change

Where Are You Christmas?

December 9, 2016 Rev Kathy

Music can speak for us sometimes. When words fail, music can express what’s in the heart. As Holy days approach, we are not always open to the comfort and joy of the season. For some, health concerns are at the forefront. Others struggle with relationships. Some have financial worries and others feel the sense of hopelessness they see on television news.

We cannot help but grieve for the children and families of Syria. We witness continual gun violence with horror. We feel desperation with immigrants who fear deportation and with young people who live with the fear that violence will cut their lives short. We are anguished by the threat of terrorism in our country and beyond.

And we wonder if Christmas will make a difference. Broken spirits ask the question sung by recording artist, Faith Hill.

Where are you Christmas?
Why can’t I find you?
Why have you gone away?
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me?
Why can’t I hear music play?

My world is changing;
I’m rearranging.
Does that mean Christmas changes too?

Yet, we once again wait for the coming of a Savior, one who always reminds us of peace on earth and good will for every person. Unto us a child is born, and because of His coming, we are reborn. The guiding star of Bethlehem still shines upon us. That doesn’t change, even in the shifting winds that threaten to rearrange our lives.

The song ends with these words:

I feel you Christmas;
I know I’ve found you.
You never fade away.
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us,
Fills each and every heart with love.

May God make it so for each of us.

Prayer

A Thanksgiving Prayer

November 24, 2016November 24, 2016 Rev Kathy

This popular Thanksgiving hymn holds a timeless truth, and speaks to us in these days. It is good news for us that the wicked ones who oppress us will “cease from distressing.” Even in our present time, with God at our side we will escape tribulation. I think mostly this day of the suffering of the families and children of Syria, of those who are the targets of hate in our own country, of our brothers and sisters at Standing Rock, of all who live in fear of losing their cherished freedom.

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing;
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, wast at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be;
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

May our God make it so. Amen.

Prayer

Help Me to Do What Is Right

November 22, 2016 Rev Kathy

When the Christ surprises us all and comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

Then He will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by having done what was right, guided by the Creator and the Spirit, inherit the kin-dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;

for I was Muslim and you welcomed me,

I was a refugee and you sheltered me,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

I was forced to be counted and you stood to be counted with me,

I am black and you said my life matters,

I was LGBTQ and you performed my wedding.’

Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you Muslim, black, a stranger, a refugee, LGBTQ, Jewish, or a stranger and welcome you?’ And the King of all Souls will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

May it be so for me and for you.

Amen.

Prayer by The Reverend Julia Seymour. She serves Lutheran Church of Hope in Anchorage, AK. She blogs at lutheranjulia.blogspot.com. She contributed to There’s A Woman in the Pulpit.

healing, peace

Our Reply to Violence

November 21, 2016 Rev Kathy

We have experienced some difficult days following election 2016. Violence was a part of the process, at least a violence of words. And violence takes its toll on the human spirit. The Southern Poverty Law Center has tracked 892 hate groups operating in the United States. The civil rights organization has also cited over 300 cases of hateful harassment or intimidation in the United States since Election Day.

For me, few things have helped ease the struggle of my spirit. The one thing that has helped the most is music. I have found myself singing hymns to myself several times a day and have been comforted by the familiar melodies and sacred texts.

Music has that kind of healing power for so many people during times of trial. Protestant Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer stands out among the Christian leaders during the Nazi era, for he was one of the few to actively resist the racist actions of the Nazi regime. He said this about music.

Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.

In the days that followed the assassination of President Kennedy, there were many heart-wrenching musical moments, like the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony. During that dark time, music director Leonard Bernstein gave an unforgettable speech at Madison Square Garden. His remarks include these words:

This sorrow and rage will not inflame us to seek retribution; rather it will inflame our art … This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly, than ever before.

May it be so … that music is our reply to violence.

Change, Grace, Hope, Life pathways

The Mists of Autumn

November 18, 2016 Rev Kathy

The story of Autumn tells of early morning mists that blanket the vibrantly changing trees. It reminds us of a kind of melancholy that anticipates the cold winter months. The sight is a masterpiece lasting for a short time, until the sun breaks through.

It’s also a picture of life that necessarily includes misty, melancholy seasons. Yet the sun breaks through, brightening our existence and reminding us of constant change. We live through the mists, always knowing that eventually the sun will rise upon us.

Until the warmth of the sun returns, we have companions beside us, willing to lead us by the hand until we can see the path clearly again. It’s called the grace of presence that proclaims that we are never alone. Life’s mists will come, but we will walk on with hope and with companions who walk with us until daybreak.

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

– Acts 13:11 King James Version (KJV)

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