Thoughts Along the Way . . .

I am on my way to Boise today. One of my daughters is getting married this week-end and there’s no place I’d rather be. There is, in fact, lots going on in my family right now and that has me reflecting on the importance of those connections. In addition to the wedding, one daughter is pregnant and moving back to the West Coast. Another daughter just got a big promotion at work. And my mom just moved from an independent living facility to an assisted living facility, and landed in the hospital last week-end. We human beings are connected, relational creatures. Our culture often has us believing that we are independent and self-sufficient – lifting ourselves up by our bootstraps and all that. But the truth is far more complex than that. The writer of the first creation story in Genesis understood something about this truth. God says, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness...” The language is plural and relational. Being connected is built into the very fabric of our being – always has been, always will be. I invite you to celebrate your connections. Find the people you love and tell them that you love them (or, better yet, show them that you love them). Do it now, because “now” is the only moment there is. Thank you for being part of my family. I am grateful for the ways in which we are connected.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)

Thoughts Along the Way . . .

I have now been your Transitional Pastor for a year. Together we have laughed and cried, worked and played, worshipped and prayed, studied and explored. We sought God’s guidance as we dreamed about the future of this congregation. We filled the sanctuary for special worship experiences and held steady in attendance during a time of upheaval and change. You have invited me into your homes and into your lives. And together we have been God’s Church. Thank you for the opportunity to walk this path with you for this time. I look forward to our continued partnership in the months ahead as the Search Committee moves towards their goal of finding the right person to be your next Settled Pastor.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)

Thoughts Along the Way . . .

I was standing on the Quatama MAX platform the other day waiting for the train. And then a potential disaster began to unfold before me. A young woman was having an emotional fight with her boyfriend and she was distraught. So she sat down in the middle of the tracks, with her back to where the train would be coming from. “This is how you make me feel!” she shouted. Fortunately there was not a train coming at that moment, but I knew that one would be coming along soon. I began to consider my options. If this situation wasn’t resolved by the time the train showed up, what would I do to help keep this young woman safe? Prior to the train’s arrival she did get up, and they wandered off through the parking lot, still arguing but no longer in imminent danger. I breathed a sigh of relief and sent out a silent prayer for her safety and emotional well-being. A few days later I became aware of a resource that I might have used if I had known about it at the time. Washington County has a “24 Hour Mental Health Crisis Line.” (503.291.9111) I could have called them and said, “This is what’s going on right now. Have you got any suggestions for how I can help prevent a disaster?”

Jesus makes it clear that part of what it means to live faithfully in this world is to take care of the last, the lost and the least among us. It can be a big, scary world out there, and sometimes (often) the situations we encounter are bigger than we know what to do with. Sometimes we could benefit from partners who can help us as we seek to help others. This Crisis Line is one such partner. I invite you to consider entering the number into your phone, because you never know when you might encounter a situation where you could use a little help in making a difference.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)

Adventures in Spiritual Play

During this season of Lent I will be offering two events which focus on spiritual practices. “Adventures in Spiritual Play” is a series designed to help us expand our prayer repertoire and experience new ways of connecting with the sacred presence of God. These events will take place in the Fellowship Hall at 12:15pm on Sunday, March 15th and Sunday, March 22nd. Soup will be provided at the beginning of each session.

For many people “spiritual practices” consist primarily of praying and reading the Bible. And the prayers are often limited to a “thank you God for . . .” or “please help me with . . .” They tend to involve words (sometimes lots of words) directed to God. There is certainly nothing wrong with such an approach to prayer, except that it can be limiting. When we broaden our horizons with regards to the forms our prayers take we open up new possibilities for experiencing God’s presence in our lives. Because our culture (and often our religion) tends to be very “head” centered, with lots of emphasis on what we think and what we believe and the particular words we use, it can sometimes be helpful to engage in spiritual practices which get us out of our heads and into our hearts and our bodies.

With that as our goal, the two “Adventures in Spiritual Play” events will provide us with resources to experience God in new ways. The first session will be based on the book “Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God” by Sybil MacBeth. I sometimes refer to this approach as “Spiritual Doodling.” Using colored pencils, pens, crayons and markers, we will spend some time in God’s presence playing with colors. The experience may surprise you. The second session will provide an opportunity to experience labyrinths as a form of prayer in which our whole body gets involved in the process. Labyrinths are an ancient form of walking meditation. The experience is ripe with metaphors and opportunities for fresh insights and powerful awareness of spirit.

I invite you to join me for one or both of these events. They are my Lenten gift to you.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)

Thoughts Along the Way . . .

Last Sunday afternoon the sun was shining, the temperature was pleasant and I went for a stroll at Cooper Mountain Nature Park. Sometimes when I visit such places I hike – walking at a brisk pace and only occasionally stopping to enjoy the view. This time I strolled, or maybe it was meandering, or perhaps it was a saunter. Whatever word might be used to describe the activity it was characterized by a slower pace with lots of stops along the way. I’m not sure how much exercise my body got, but my spirit was certainly refreshed. With camera in hand I saw clusters of small golden mushrooms, tiny bell-shaped flowers, the first wild iris of the season, and new growth on the trees and bushes. By slowing down and paying attention I was rewarded with both glimpses of beauty and a profound awareness of God’s presence. Sometimes we just need to pay attention to the lyrics of the old Simon and Garfunkle song - “Slow down, you’re moving too fast...” Sometimes God wants to meander with us.

- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)

Here is the Daily Gratitudes blog entry I posted the next day:

http://my-daily-gratitudes.blogspot.com/2015/03/meandering-and-paying-attention.html

And here is a set of photos from my meandering adventure:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rogerlynn/sets/72157651126286735/