Guest commentary by Liz Rasley Not sure about you, but I cannot wait for the fireworks this year. After all we’ve been through (murder hornets, mysterious monoliths and oh, a world-wide pandemic) I think mandatory fireworks across the entire nation is not too much to ask to ring in 2021. But that’s only my small, humble opinion. If fireworks don’t happen in my tiny town, okay. I’m prepared with a Roman candle of my own to light it all up. While visions of all-day movie marathons and other distractions may be dancing through my children’s heads, my own version of delight is saying goodbye to a year that’s been more bitter than sweet, more heartachy than heartwarming. A Roman candle (the firework kind, that is) — well, that sort of energy resonates with my mostly disappointed mood for 2020. Like you, I had so many grand plans and expectations for it. Now, if I really let myself, I could dive into the deep end of disappointment and despair, feeling very vindicated and … [Read more...]
How will congregations observe Epiphany in the year of COVID-19?
With many churches worshipping remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, church leaders have come up with some creative approaches for distributing Star Words as a way of celebrating Epiphany. Star Words is an Epiphany spiritual practice some congregations have adopted — with each person given a word in early January they are encouraged to pay attention to throughout the year, “a lens through which to view God at work in the world,” as one pastor put it. Some of ideas that church leaders shared on social media: Email congregants a list of Star Words and let each person choose a word. Or, for those willing to be more labor intensive, email or text each person a word. Come up with a list of 31 words – one for each day of the month – and share the list. The day of each person’s birthday will determine what word that person gets. Mail out the Star Words, after praying over each one. Deliver a bag to each household with communion elements for Epiphany Sunday and a Star Word … [Read more...]
New Year’s Day prayer
God of all time, as we start a new year , we look back with thanksgiving for your grace woven throughout each moment, every challenge, all of the joys of the past 365 days. When the unexpected shook our faith and inevitable change caused us to be anxious, your promised presence never failed to bring mercy and compassion. Before we race into a new season with resolutions or resolve, anticipation or resignation, we stop to reflect on where we sensed your providence, your provision, your sustaining love and transformative power in all that has brought us to where we are right now. As we recognize your all-encompassing care for all creation, we look ahead with hope, trusting that no matter what triumphs or tragedies unfold, no matter how exhilarating or mundane the day, no matter how delightful or daunting we find this world, you never abandon us, you always seek us. You want nothing less than abundant life for all of us. As we turn the page on another calendar year, make us … [Read more...]
The art of getting lost
We just moved to a new city, and even with Google Maps and Waze I'm finding myself lost pretty regularly. As a pastor, I realize that there are some great spiritual components to getting lost. Think about all the stories in the Bible of people who neededto lose their way: the Israelites had to get lost in the wilderness before they were able to enter the promised land, Jonah had to get lost in the belly of a fish before he could follow God's commands and Jesus had to go get lost in the wilderness before he began his ministry (not to mention the stories about God's tendency to pick people up and whisk them off to unknown locations — Elijah, Ezekiel, Philip and John of Patmos for example). I'm not saying that God is miraculously sabotaging GPS satellites to stop me from getting where I'm going, but getting lost has, in fact, been a reminder to me that not everything in life is about getting from point A to point B. And in a new place, that's good news. On a very practical level, it … [Read more...]
My hope for the PC(USA) in 2019
Given the chance, I jump at the opportunity to tell people why I love the Presbyterian Church. I can go on and on about polity, theology, critical Bible study and so much more. During a recent family gathering, I found myself explaining some of the major theological differences between Protestants and Catholics. For as much as I love the way our process works with shared leadership in our committees, time for everyone to share their voice and formal votes to agree upon things, it sometimes holds us back from really doing the work of Jesus in the world. We can (dare I say it?) be so decent and in order we forget what following Jesus is all about. In 2019 my hope for the church is that we would learn to love more fully without getting caught up in our own process. While it rightfully takes years of process to change our constitution, it should not take us a series of meetings to respond to people in crisis. Yet even loving people seems to have been hijacked by politics in our … [Read more...]
A New Year’s resolution: Practicing friendship
Training for marathons has taught me at least one thing: Small, habituated decisions can lead to significant and even surprising results. I am ambivalent about beginning the year with yet another resolution or collection of resolutions, but my ambivalence does not change the fact that making intentional decisions aimed at an achievable goal can be a really worthy endeavor. I have wondered long and hard about how to engage constructively with the history of race in the United States. Race is a vast and subtle embodied experience that touches every dimension of our life. As I have explored and probed my own family’s history with race, particularly as it pertains to western South Carolina, I have come to realize that healing this centuries-long history will likely take more than a generation or two. In addition to time, it will likely require open, honest and specific intentionality. I am grateful to be serving as a pastor in a denomination that seeks to promote education on … [Read more...]