When This is Over

When this is over,

May we never again take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

Conversations with neighbors

A crowded theater

Friday night out

A taste of Communion

A routine checkup

The school rush eachmorning

Coffee with a friend

The stadium roaring

Each deep breath

A boring Tuesday

Life itself.

When this ends, 

May we find that we have become

More like the people we wanted to be,

We are called to be

We hoped to be

And may we stay that way – better for each other because of the worst.

– Laura Kelly Fanucci

We heard this prayer during CommUnity Yoga online this past Saturday evening.  It really touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you.  While we are beginning to see some hope of getting out in public more, close contact with other people is still a ways off.  Life will not be the same as it was before, for good and for bad.  During this time of forced isolation, we have had time to reflect on what we miss in our lives and what we don’t miss.  What are the activities that we want to get back to and the ones we feel we can drop?  Who are the people we want to see and be with and those that we are okay with being distant with?  We have had time to look at our lives, prioritize and sort out. My hope is that after this is over we remember how blessed we are.  We have missed much because we have much to miss.  My hope is that we realize this and are able to share are blessings.  Hopefully, we can live a more balanced and centered life, a life centered on God and on others.  We can start living that life now, we don’t have to wait to go out in public to love and serve God. What spiritual practices have you been doing to grow in your faith? What changes in your schedule are you thinking of making when we can “get back to normal”?  Are there changes that you want to make? 

I am not sure that we will use the term hindsight is 2020 much anymore, however we have been given this chance to reflect and look back at our schedules and lives and to see if they reflect what we feel is important.  I for one will not take being able to go to worship for granted again and will probably be crying when we first get to come back together again, even in small numbers.  I will also probably cry when I can get back to seeing baseball at Angel Stadium or go out with friends.  I have much to be thankful for and when this is over, I want to remember what it was like when I couldn’t do those things.

Remember that God is with us during all of this, we are not alone. That this isn’t the last word, that God gets the last word.

Connect with God in ways that work for you and connect and care for others.  How will you do that this day?

Take care and be safe.

Grace & Peace, Suzanne

Dear Friends,

This last Christmas I received a gift from one of my sons and his family, it was a paint-by-numbers kit. I had asked for one, thought it would be fun to paint some day when I had the time…not really knowing when that might be. Lol! It’s a lovely picture of an Italian Bistro with a terra cotta tile road, an outdoor fruit stand and a lot of brick and stucco in this Italian village. I’ve been fortunate to have gone to Italy so this painting has memories for me, but when I saw this picture I thought I would never have the time to finish it! But I went ahead anyway and opened up the box and saw the paint board, it looked like a blob of chicken scratching with a plethora of tiny little numbers and letters that could barely be seen with the naked eye where the color of paint was to be placed. Then guess what… I found myself having all the time in the world on my hands, so April 17^th I began this adventurous journey into my paint-by-numbers!

Looking at the paint board without any color on it made it very difficult to see the picture past all the lines. I would spend many hours painting tiny little spots and for the longest time it didn’t look like anything at all let alone the finished picture. And at some point I started to connect it with my life. Isn’t it true, we can’t usually see down the road very far of what life will be, we know what we dream or assume it will be but life has a way of taking detours.

There was a time in my life when I couldn’t see the road before me at all; I spent much time in prayer and discernment, but I was struggling with trusting God fully to show my which way to turn. During this time, God placed a scripture in my heart. It was Jeremiah 29:11-14, it says…

¹¹ I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope. ¹² When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you. ¹³ When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me. ¹⁴ I will be present for you, declares the Lord, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the Lord.

This passage gave me great comfort, as God was calling me to trust. Trust the path that I could not see and to trust that God’s love for me was to bring me hope and a future. A dear friend of mine during this time shared a Quaker saying with me, “Proceed as the way opens…” We find ourselves in uncertain territory and it’s difficult to see the path before us during this time of quarantine but God has given us hope. Hope in the One who loves us beyond our understanding, trusting to give us peace and a future.

So, just as my painting begins to take form so shall the way forward during this long moment in our lives. God wants to fill our hearts with peace, hope and a future.

In closing I offer you this prayer from St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, help me to live this day, quietly, easily. To lean upon thy great strength, trustfully, restfully. To wait for the unfolding of thy will, patiently, serenely. To meet others, peacefully, joyously. To face tomorrow, confidently, courageously. Amen.

Blessings,

Brenda                                      

Messy Adventures

You might call what we have been experiencing for the past 9 weeks a messy adventure; but if this pandemic hasn’t been enough and you are looking for a little more adventure, I would like to invite you to join the global Messy Church on a Messy Adventure.

How did this idea get started?  When the pandemic hit there was a great feeling of uncertainty and the landscape in Messy Church and in the world had changed drastically and quickly. Lucy Moore, the founder of Messy Church, had a little idea that popped into her head.   She was looking for a way to celebrate… to be a bright spot in what was feeling like a not so bright time. She wanted to connect the Messy Churches internationally. Like many things associated with the Messy Church movement the idea was shared and energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas began to flow. And the next thing you know there is a Messy Adventure to go on.

What exactly is a Messy Adventure?  It is 14 hours of a variety of journeys from the Bible.  It is a way to “get out of the house”. We will travel to 6 different countries to hear a variety of different stories and experience 6 different cultures.  We will laugh, sing and contemplate. There will be videos for all-ages and videos for families and videos for Messy Church Leaders.  It is a way for us all to connect with others in a fun way during these stay at home orders. 

Messy Church USA is one of the 6 countries participating.  Eight states are participating in Messy Church USA’s 2 hours.  The first hour will be Jesus Journeys into the River Jordan for Baptism. We will be visiting a few different rivers as we journey across the United States, hearing about the Plater’s experience of Zachary and Madison’s baptism at our CUMC Messy Church and ending with Leyla and I telling the story of Jesus’ Baptism from Sunset Beach.  The second hour will be Jesus Teaches from a Hillside. We will wander in the Antelope Desert with Rev. Jim White. We will lead you in a science experiment investigating light and watching videos of how people have been the light and shared the light during the pandemic.

When is this adventure? It begins on Thursday, May 21 7:00 AM (British Standard Time) which really means 11:00 PM Wednesday May 20th (Pacific Standard Time). Here is a schedule so you can see what stories you might be interested in.  Click here to take you to the Messy Adventure. The USA will begin their adventure at 9:00 AM (PST) on Thursday, May 21.

Come join with others around the world to celebrate each other. To celebrate with each other and to celebrate the wonders of God!

Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord! How good it is to sing God’s praises! How delightful, and how right! Psalm 147:1

Gracious and Loving God,
Be with us as we journey on this adventure.  Give us strength when we grow weary.  Open our ears to new ways of hearing your stories. Open our eyes so that we can see the blessings that we find along the way. Open our hearts so that we can use our gifts to serve others and share your love with those we meet on the journey. We have much to celebrate!
Amen

Marty
 

Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
   where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
   my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
   with waiting for my God.
— Psalm 69:1-3

It is OK to feel overwhelmed.
You turn on the news and see the reports of the latest death toll.
You go to the websites and they tell you how people are doing amazing things, but what you are doing is wrong or worthless.
You read your social media feed and you read about how everyone but the author of the post is stupid, evil, or both.
Even the people you turn to for hope are now full of pessimism.

You feel frightened, but exhausted.
You feel bored, but have so many expectations to fulfill.
You want to be able to do it all, but everything takes so much longer, because you have to do it in a new way.
Above all, you have to maintain — for the sake of the kids; the parents; the partner; the boss. And most importantly, you have to push through and prevail because it is how you see yourself.
It is OK to feel overwhelmed.

The Psalms are full of overwhelmed people (or David feeling overwhelmed again and again, depending on your perspective on the Bible). The psalms speak to a people with all of our normal (and extraordinary) human feelings. Imagine going to the Temple and singing together a song you know by heart – not just because you have memorized it, but because it expresses that which is on your heart.

When you recite the words, you know: It is OK to feel overwhelmed.

It is OK to hurt, it is OK to hope, it is OK to complain, it is OK to rejoice, it is OK to approach God, it is OK to hide from God, it is OK to be angry at God.  And God has heard it before. You aren’t going to hurt God’s feelings.  So don’t hold it in. Express it. Tell God how you feel. When you express it, you take away its power over you.

Sometimes in reflecting with persons who care for others, we find ourselves saying “Remember to offer to yourself the same grace you extend to others.”

So when you have had enough, tell God. Tell others. Let them hear that frustration, pain, and fear.

And when someone expresses that sense of being overwhelmed, listen. You don’t have to fix things. You probably can’t. Often, asking “What can I do to help?” or “May I do ___________ for you?” will result in a brush off. But don’t be upset. Keep listening.  Sometimes all we need to do is express our emotion to someone else, and that will be enough.

Frequently in the Psalms, after the statement of exhaustion, lament, or anger, the author goes on to remember the works of God in the past. They remember God’s promises. They remember what God has done in their lives. That is because God usually doesn’t interrupt us when we pray or sing. God gives us space to empty ourselves, and to unwind the tense springs of our stress. Then we can just be in God a while.

Eventually we remember enough to find hope and strength rallying with in us.

No, we still won’t be able to do a full Marie Kondo on our house. No we still won’t be able to make a seven layer cake from scratch. No we won’t be able to design the perfect… whatever.  But we will be able to move on. With help. In our community of family and faith.

— Psalm 69: 30-33
“I will praise the name of God with a song;
   I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
This will please the Lord more than an ox
   or a bull with horns and hoofs.
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
   you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds.”
Amen!

Pastor George