Lenten Thoughts

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is the forty days (Sundays don't count because each Sunday is a little Easter) period during which we remember Jesus' temptation in the desert following his baptism. It helps us get ready for Holy Week and the celebration of the resurrection at Easter. Most folks associate Lent with fasting or giving up something. This is one Lenten tradition, but there are others. For example, we stop saying the word "Alleluia" beginning on Ash Wednesday. We do not say it again until Easter when we kindle the new fire and light the paschal candle.

It can be hard to keep a "holy Lent" at home. But here are some themes you can share at home as a family during this season. Lent is:

-a time for looking at the things we have done that are wrong and asking forgiveness

of God and those we have wronged.

-a time to grow closer to God by either giving up something or adding something to our lives that helps us focus more on God.

-a time to think about new ways to show our love for others as God shows God's love for us.

-a time to remember our baptismal promises and try to live into them (check out pg. 24 in the UMH Hymnal)

The seasonal color for Lent is purple - it is both the color of penitence and the color of royalty. In the words of the Godly Play story “the Mystery of Easter”, "Purple is the color of kings. We are preparing for the coming of a king and his going and coming again . . . purple is a serious color and it reminds us that something sad is going to happen." (The Complete Guide to Godly Play, Vol. 4, pgs. 29-20). The purple color reminds us that Jesus must die before he can rise again.

There are many ways to incorporate purple into your family life during Lent. A purple scarf in the middle of the table, or purple placemats are easy ways to remind your family daily. Lent is a good time to write a family grace if you don't have a favorite. Learn it together and share it when you are together. Paper chains are another easy way to bring the seasons of the church year into your home. Perhaps each family member might want to write the name of someone or something they are praying for on one of the rings each day and the entire family can share that intention in silence together for a moment before mealtime or bedtime. Small purple napkins can be tucked into your child's lunch box or backpack with a note like "I love you and so does God" or "I am praying for you today." Little things like this connect us to one another and to our larger Christian family - past, present and future!

Be creative! Lent can be a refreshing and nurturing time for us as individuals and families.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

The Doldrums Re-visited

One of my favorite children’s books is The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster. The story begins when a very bored young Milo returns home from school one day to find a tollbooth kit in his room. He quickly assembles it, takes the map offered and drives his toy car through the tollbooth. At once he finds himself in the Land of Expectations. Enjoying the ride he pays no attention and suddenly finds himself in a dreary place called “the Doldrums.” Everything is colorless. Neither thinking nor laughing is permitted, and nothing much happens in this very stagnant place.

While there is a great deal more to the story (I’ll let you read it to find out how it all turns out), it seems to me that the first chapters of The Phantom Tollbooth describe exactly where we find ourselves as this very long Epiphany draws to an end. Christmas has come and gone. Our New Year’s Resolutions and our best intentions have hit brick walls. It seems we have been shoveling snow and breaking up ice damns since forever. Stuck in the Doldrums, we find ourselves agreeing with Milo, “It seems to me that almost everything is a waste of time.”

In the Doldrums, we forget the miraculous discovery of Christmas – GOD IS WITH US!!!! As Epiphany unfolds, we continue to catch the glimmers of the truth of God’s transforming love for us. We yearn for the deeper meaning even though we feel sometimes that we, like Milo, are stumbling around in the colorless miasma of life without joy and excitement. What lies underneath “the Doldrums” is the fear of disappointed hope in a yearning we are afraid to name. Yet, we continue to yearn for that meaning in our lives.

The Epiphany season teaches us that what we expected in a Savior is different than who God sent to us. Rather than saving us from our full humanity, the incarnate Jesus invites us to reclaim it- not what we expected. Milo is reminded, "Expect everything, I always say, and the unexpected never happens." Our God made flesh is the ultimate revelation of the unexpected - both simpler and way more complicated than we thought we wanted or needed. Because of it, our lives are made meaningful because our humanity is restored. We realize we have been invited into partnership with God in re-creating the world. Our lives become far more than a “waste of time.” But we have to be looking for that truth. Milo is told, "There is much worth noticing that often escapes the eye." But buried under the mounds of snow this winter, it has been hard to notice.

As wise character in The Phantom Tollbooth speaking about meaning and purpose reminds Milo, “You know that it's there, but you just don't know where - but just because you can never reach it doesn't mean that it's not worth looking for.” And that is what the season of Epiphany is about – it is about both our deepest yearning and how we are led to look for it. But unlike Milo, we KNOW where to look. Jesus, the light of the world, still shines –even in the snow. Gradually, as we follow ray by ray, “the Doldrums” becomes filled with light and in that light we see the gift we have been given in Jesus and the gifts our hearts make in response. It is this light that moves us through“the Doldrums.” We may not know what our ultimate destination will look like- and it will be beyond our wildest expectations - but as long as we keep following Jesus, we can be confident we will get there. And just as the days get longer, the light will continue to get brighter and brighter the closer we get.

So here is your assignment for this last week of the Season after the Epiphany. Get yourself a copy of The Phantom Tollbooth. Read it aloud to your kids. Follow the light, as Milo drives his toy car towards it. His arrival at the place of light is miraculous to behold and is one of my favorite images of what it means to co-create with Jesus the Kingdom of God. Let me know what you think!

Grace and peace, Dr.Elizabeth

Space for Family Faith

Here we are fast approaching the 7^th Sunday after the Epiphany! As we come to the final Sundays of this season and get ready to move into Lent, now is a good time to take stock of our homes as a place where God dwells among us.

Does your family have a gathering space where conversation, laughter and family identity happen? Have you looked at this space lately to see what makes it special? Are there photos of family members both near and far? Mementos of special significance? These things are sacred objects your family. This space is the perfect place to acknowledge the God who is already present in the fellowship that happens there.

And here is the opportunity to make a small “holy center” somewhere in this space. Put a Bible there and maybe a collection of prayers and blessings and/or a bowl where family members can drop a slip of paper with a prayer request or a thanksgiving written on it. Add a candle or two. And then the next time you and your family are together enjoying each other, take a minute to recognize the presence of God’s Spirit among you. Say “thank you” together. Share the prayer requests in the bowl and finish by saying the Lord’s Prayer together. It isn’t fancy or complicated; it is just the honesty and gratitude of being a family together in the presence of God and each other. Enjoy the Divine and human company!

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

Strength for the Journey

Epiphany is a season that can be as short as 4 Sundays or as long as 9 – it depends on the date of Easter. Our Epiphany season is LOOOOOONG this year (9 Sundays) – sort of like the winter weather, it seems to go on forever.

As we live this Epiphany season with our shovels in hand and our buckets under the leaking ice dams, it is a good time to ask what sustains on our faith journey when things seem ordinary, troublesome or just plain wearying.

Holy Communion – the meal we shared last Sunday- is one of the primary ways the Christian faith journey is nourished along the way. In blessing, breaking, taking and sharing the bread and cup, we invite Jesus into our souls and the community of faith. Like vitamins or a booster shot, we gain strength, nourishment, and resilience in our journey. The sense of well-being and contentment Communion offers us can be much like sitting down with your family over hot chocolate after shoveling yet again the driveway and sidewalk. The bread and wine restore us in each other’s company and we gain the strength to go back out into the world living the Good News – knowing that there are times when faith is ordinary and sometimes can feel as though we are slogging through heavy, wet snow up to our knees.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed in what he called “the Duty of Constant Communion” because he knew from his own experience that the Christian journey needed regular and frequent nourishment. Stay tuned to the Chronicle and the bulletin – during Lent Pastor Joel invites to experience weekly communion and we will have the chance to share its sustenance together.

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

A Hinge Point

As we follow the rhythms of the Church season, we look for clues to tell us what is happening. Beginning in Advent, we were paying attention to light. The Gospel told us “The Light shined in the darkness” (John 1:5), and we lit our advent candles each week to remind us that the “darkness has not overcome it.” The Shepherds see the bright light of the star as do the Magi who follow it and the star’s bright light leads us into the Epiphany season.

But beginning this week, the light begins to change. February 2^nd is traditionally celebrated in the Church as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Faithful to the rites of their Jewish faith, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple to dedicate him (Luke 2: 25-39). Simeon and Anna who had been waiting their whole lives to see the Messiah, recognize Jesus as the One for whom they have been waiting and the light blazes for all the world to see.

Our Epiphany lessons focus on Jesus’ ministry- the healings, feedings, teaching that will lead him to the cross where, on Good Friday, the light will briefly go out to be rekindled in the resurrection fire on Easter Eve. The Feast of the Presentation is the middle point in the Church year between the light of the Advent candles and the re-kindling of the Paschal Candle. It is a hinge point in our journey.

Take moment this week to share the story of the dedication as a family. What are the hopes we share when a new child gifts the world? How do you and your children hope to make the world more like God’s Kingdom? Are there dark places ahead? What light will you take with you? How will you and your child shine as lights in the darkness?

Grace and peace,

Dr. Elizabeth

The Lord's Prayer

As we move through the liturgical calendar into the heart of the Epiphany season, the Church School has been hearing the stories of Jesus calling the disciples and the things he teaches them. In the time we have before music begins each Sunday, I have been sharing and talking through the prayer Jesus' teaches his disciples with our children.

As it is something we grown-ups say in Church every Sunday, it tends to be something we don't think much about - as familiar to us as the Pledge of Allegiance or "The Star-Spangled Banner." It is a prayer almost every Christian knows, absorbed largely through osmosis - and we expect our children to learn it in Church School.

In my first professional position as Children's Chaplain, the only "must" in my job description was teaching 3-7 year-olds the Lord's Prayer. It struck me at the time (and it still does now) as a somewhat odd assignment - how do you ask small children who often can't say their first and last names together to stumble through such words as "hallowed," "trespasses," and "temptation?"

Out of this experience came what I call "the Lord's Prayer in a Bag" - an "audience participation" homily with props to help children think, share and learn together what the Lord's Prayer means line by line, taking our time to really explore the "big" words of the prayer, as well as the imagery of the words "Father," "bread," and "Kingdom."

So here is my question for the adults of the SUMC congregation: When was the last time you really spent some time thinking about what the words of the prayer mean? What does it mean for you to "hallow"God's name? By what name do you refer to God? What constitutes your "daily bread?" How do you deal with your "trespasses" as well as those "who trespass" against you? What "tempts you"? From what do you yearn for "deliverance?" And just what does God's "Kingdom" look like to those of us who live in a democracy? And did you notice that this a prayer to be prayed corporately? We address "Our Father" and "forgive those who trespass against us" What does this mean in a culture that celebrates the individual?

They aren't easy questions, are they? There is an awful lot of meat in this one prayer - and that is why the Church incorporates it into is regular worship and why we are taught it. So I hope that you will spend some time this week thinking about the prayer: how does it speak to your life? Invite your children into your discussion - I've been listening to them for the past several weeks and they have a lot to say and share. And when you are finished talking together, say the prayer together . . .

Grace and peace,
Elizabeth

Sharing Faith at Home

On Wednesday evening, November 1st, beginning at 7:30, we will begin our discussion of what it is to live a life of faith at home as a family. To helps us learn and live into forming our children's lives of faith (and shaping our own as well), we will use Elizabeth Caldwell's book Making a Home for Faith: Nurturing the Spiritual Life of Your Child.

Whether or not you can read the first few chapters before then (the book is available from Amazon and copies will arrive via Cokesbury in the Church office this week), we will begin our discussion by focusing on Caldwell's list, "What Every Parent Needs to Raise Faithful Children." She believes every parent should be able to do the following:

1. Read a story from the Bible.

2. Tell a Bible story.

3. Deal with children's questions.

4. Pray (privately and publicly).

5. Take some time daily or weekly for personal meditation.

6. Ask faith questions.

7. Struggle to understand and interpret affirmations of faith while balancing a life of faith in

mission and witness and being faithful in meditation, Scripture reading and prayer.

8. Explain the meaning of the sacraments and the liturgical year.

9. Struggle with language for God.

10. Become familiar with the basic beliefs and practices of other faith traditions.

11. Regularly participate in adult education.

12. Be layleaders in worship.

I don't know about you, but the list seems overwhelming. Seems like you would need a full seminary education to do this, doesn't it? It is rather daunting for any of us, but it is not beyond the realm of what any one of us can do. As you ponder these items this week, identify those practices you are already doing. I'll bet you have some practice of private prayer already - even if the prayer is just of the "Help Me, Lord!" variety as the bathtub overflows. Most likely, you are struggling like the rest of us to understand the affirmations of faith and balance a life of service, witness, prayer, study and reflection!

Some of the other pieces are harder. Not all of us were raised in a faith tradition and we may not know the biblical stories. If we know the stories, we may not know how to find them in the Bible or how to figure out where the ones are that we maybe heard in Church once upon a time.

We may not know what to say when our children ask us questions. And it is hard enough to understand our own United Methodist faith traditions, sacraments and the liturgical year, never mind have enough knowledge of other faith traditions to share them with our children.

All of this is perfectly normal. Not only are our children's lives of faith in process, so are our own.

Christian formation - what John Wesley called "being perfected" - is a life long process. Getting the process "perfect" is nowhere near as important as being in the process and trusting God's grace to do the work of perfecting. And as with anything else in Christian life, we are not asked to do this work alone. We have other Christians to share our struggles, our triumphs and our questions with as we grow into the image of God we are called to be.

SO . . . please bring YOUR experience to this class. Even if you haven't read the first few chapters of the book, YOU ALREADY KNOW the questions. As we begin what I hope will be an on-going conversation, please think about what you need to be better prepared to share the faith at home with your children. How can we help each other become more confident Christian parents? What specific topics would you like to know more about? What support do you need from the Church to help you share faith at home? Please come as you are, where you are in your life of faith. And if you aren't able to attend, post a comment to this blog with your questions and concerns. One of the best parts of being a Christian is that we are never on the journey alone!

Grace and peace,

Elizabeth