When the song of the angels is stilled,When the star in the sky is gone,When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock,The work of Christmas begins:To find the lost,To heal the broken,To feed the hungry,To release the prisoner,To rebuild the nations,To bring peace among others,To make music in the heart. The poem “The Work of Christmas” is from Howard Thurman’s The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations

a reflection on the feeding of stomachs and souls

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is even beyond our vision.
[…more…]

Ed Happ wrote a beautiful poem about our Pentecost service on Sunday and was willing to share it with us all. Thank you, Ed.There is no rain in the forecast but the clouds say otherwise the breeze rustles with intent, I would think not if, but when. The young boy stays back as the others run forward to the priest who has sat down in their midst with blocks and figures from the Pentecost story, she begins. His mother having accompanieda younger siblinginto the storyturns and crooks her fingerto...

A clergy friend has told me that there are many people who don’t know where the phrase “doubting Thomas” comes from. They assume that it’s associated with some well-known Thomas, like Thomas Jefferson, or Thomas Edison – or, for those with children or grandchildren, Thomas the Tank Engine. We’re all one step ahead, then, in interpreting this story. We know that it comes from John’s gospel – and that Doubting Thomas refers to the Thomas the apostle  - the apostle who was absent when Jesus...

In my student-teacher days in college, back when I thought I wanted to be a teacher, I taught a lesson in an English literature class at Cass Tech, a predominantly Black high school in Detroit. The text we were studying had a reference to "40 acres and a mule." Ignorant of what this meant, I skipped over it. After the class ended, the teacher pulled me aside and took me to task. I had to admit that I didn't "know as much as I should" about "African American history." Her blistering reply still...

Lead us, we pray, in the ways of justice, mercy, and peace. Inspire us to live for all, to assist in ways open to us to alleviate the suffering of others. Amen. —Cultivating Fruitfulness, Robert Schnase

Help us in our congregation “To sing a new song to the Lord,” To be created and recreated Again and again by your Holy Spirit. Amen. from Cultivating Fruitfulness by Robert Schnase

O God you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. from The Book of Common Prayer, 1979

Holy Father, help me to look beyond myself and see the world through your eyes. May I continually be changed through my worship of you. Amen. --Cultivating Fruitfulness, Robert Schnase Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Gracious God, give me a heart that remembers the strangers who may be in my path today. Help me share your all-encompassing love with them, just as you have shown love to me. Amen. —Cultivating Fruitfulness, Robert Schnase