Yr. D, Wk. 24: Prophets and Reformers

Present:  Erica, Lynne, Bill, Susan, Scott.  Erica provided dinner.

Bill led worship from a Scottish Book of Common Prayer, and asked how we responded to something "alien" in our lives during the past week.

Discussions of the readings brought some parallels in the conflicts of faith-and-word centered puritans of the North (Israel, Germans and Swiss) and Southerners (in Jerusalem, in Rome) more focused on the proper observation of rituals and hierarchy. 

Susan brought the poem "Hamlen Brook" by Richard Wilbur.  We focused on the last two quatrains and explored the world of the brook.  When we opened it up to tradition and culture, we found some surprising resonance: living water at the well, mystic desert fathers' experience of God too deep for words, Augustine's "God-shaped hole" that nothing but God can fill; an insight that a sense of the awesomeness of creation is redemptive; the lilies of the field in all their beauty - whole, provided by God, independent of us or our perception.

In lieu of a collect, we settled on Psalm 42 as the expression of what emerged from our discussion:
"As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you O God.  My soul is athirst for God, athirst for the living God; when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?"


Next week:  Join the Parish for a Shrove Tuesday service and pancake supper, or bring your own. Scott brings the TR; Erica will lead worship.

Yr. D, Wks. 22-23: Dry Bones, Black Death, and Growing Up

Present:  Bill, Lynne, Erica, Susan, Scott.  We brown-bagged the meal.

For our worship time, Lynne brought a recording of a hymn with words by Jean Sophia Pigott (1845-1882), "Jesus, I am Resting, Resting." She drew our attention to how we can rest, not just from work, but in work.  We responded to three related passages from Scripture, telling how we've been able to trust God, reach peace, or find contentment in the past week.

We discussed the essay "Living into Wholeness" in the Reading and Reflection Guide, and shared what we found in readings for years I and III.   (Scott's reflection on the essay, and a response to Slaying Your Goliaths from the Forward Day by Day people, are posted to his personal blog here.)

For the TR, Erica brought an anecdote.  We focused on a moment for which she was not present, because it seemed to be a metaphor in itself, when children confronted adults dismantling  their "fort."  We proceeded from the question, "What is creation like in the world of the fort?" and so on. The reflection took some unexpected turns, as we found ambivalence about the nature of childhood in our tradition and culture (Peter Pan won't grow up, but the father in Mary Poppins needs to re-connect to childhood).  We collected key ideas in our ...

Collect for Children of All Ages
Abba, Father of all creation, You have watched over us since we were children who contructed walls from sticks and paper; as we put away childish things, help us yet to keep a child's wonder and joy in creation and community.  Amen.


Next week: We do the readings listed for Week 24.  Bill brings worship, Erica brings dinner, and Susan will bring something for theological reflection.

Yr. D, Wk. 21: Orthodox Church, Unorthodox Spy

Present: Scharme, Susan, Lynne, Bill. Scott arrived late, following rehearsal.  Bill and Lynne brought dinner.

Worship, shared by the mentors, consisted of the Beatitudes, read responsively by half verse, followed by a question, "Which of these beatitudes speaks to your experience since our last meeting?" 

As I arrived, discussion had brought out some connections between the epistles I,II Peter and the Russian Orthodox church.  All saw a connection between physical isolation of churches and a preservation of orthodoxy; we also saw that isolation made local clergy influential.

For a TR, we tried something new: We simply considered an iconic figure of contemporary culture, "James Bond."  After considering many aspects of the character, we focused most on his unorthodox approach to his duty, how he sometimes disobeys orders, blows up things, and comes back to fight another day. In fact, several times, he has come back from the dead.

After considering what constitutes wholeness, brokenness, reorientation and restoration in the world of Bond, and connecting this icon to our own experiences, our beliefs, and our tradition, we then answered this question:  "How do your personal gifts apply to the Bond-aspect of our world?" Our answers, listed in lieu of a collect, were these:

• Perseverance, a kind of stubborness: "Close enough for government work is not good enough for me."
• Empathy - Bond always loves and tries to rescue those "Bond girls" who are caught in unhealthy relationships with super-villains; one of our gifts is this kind of empathy and an ability to work with people who are suffering with tough emotions
• Strong sense of duty - and won't let go
• Analysis, an ability to find patterns, to survey the situation and make decisions
• Being a team player, feeling enlisted in "His Lordship's Secret Service," the Church.

Next time we meet will be February 14: With surgery and a play coming up, we'll be down by two next week, so we'll read the short essay in the RRG for wk. 22 as well as the readings for wk. 23 before our meeting on Valentine's Day.  We'll brown bag our dinner;  Erica will be back with us, and will bring the TR;  Lynne will lead worship.

Yr. D, Wk. 20: Change with Continuity, and a Dilemma

All were present. Scott brought Chinese dinner, as usual.  Susan's worship came from the BCP, pp. 139-140, with the question, "What challenged you this past week?"

We continued our practice of finding matches to "suit" the first "card" laid down.  This time, it was an observation from third year about the orthodox church, that it might not have held on so tightly to tradition had it not been threatened from outside by Western church and Islam.  Soon, the board was filled with observations from Hebrews, Isaiah and Micah, all giving us scripture that references more ancient scripture in a new context.

Scharme's TR began with a story about her first approach to St. James' labyrinth, and ended as a dilemma that turned out to be universal: the conflict between seeking personal growth and seeking the common good.

Collect for Discernment
Lord Jesus, You at times retreated from the crowd to the wilderness, and then You returned to Your work; let us take solace from what we find in our wilderness so that we may go out into the world to do the work Your still, small voice calls us to do.  Amen.

Next week:   Bill and Lynne will bring food; Scott will lead worship; Erica will stimulate our TR. 

Yr. D, Wk. 19: Amos, Hosea, Paul, and Tradition

Present:  Scharme, Erica, Bill, Lynne, Scott.

Scharme provided food; Erica brought worship.

We again took turns "playing" cards from our different readings, trying to "suit" one idea to another.  Bill led with Orthodox "tradition," a "continuity" that doesn't mean "changelessness."  Scharme saw Paul clarifying the Jewish tradition for Gentile Christians in Romans.  Erica picked up on the prophets' excoriating those who follow the traditions without faith, and Amos mocking the whole tradition of "prophets," who served as Kings' P.R. men.

We had some discussion of "faith" as an attitude, a feeling, an approach to life, a long-term relationship.  We wondered what part the visual aspects of our worship play in our faith: symbols? emotional cues? "proskynesis" (portals to true God)?

The TR led us to the harrowing metaphor of the failed or injured mountaineer whose dead weight threatens the whole party.  The guide has to choose whether to cut the rope. We found many cultural and Scriptural ties to this, including a movie and the parable of the 99 sheep.

Collect in time of Bad Choices:
Eternal God, you see all possibilities to the end of time; help us in our blindness to trust in Your Providence when he have no good choices; and give us the strength to live withour decisions. In the name of Him who prayed at Gethsemane to be spared his hard choice, Jesus Christ. Amen.  

Next Week:  Food, Scott;  Worship, Susan;  TR, Scharme.  

Yr. D, Wk. 18: Growing God Within Us

All present. Bill led worship from the prayer book of the Church in New Zealand; Susan provided our meal.

We reviewed the week's readings in the manner of a card game. We started with something that struck Erica from I and II Kings.  Others added something similar in "suit or number," whether the connection was by theme, topic, or some other similarity.  In this manner, we found several examples from the readings relating to cannibalism (!), and others concerning obedience to rulers who abuse their authority.

After our discussion, Lynn stimulated our theological reflection with a contemporary painting in Renaissance style of the Annunciation to Mary, by John Collier.  The detail of the open book reminded Susan of a much earlier painting by Fra Angelica.

When it came time to write a collect, Scott was reminded of a medieval prayer, "What good, Gabriel, is your message to Mary, unless we, too, can grow a God in us?"  We decided that was a good collect as it was; I've put it in more collectible form below.

Collect for Mindfulness of God in Us:
Eternal Father, You sent Your angel Gabriel to Mary with the message that her Lord and God would grow within her by the power of the Holy Spirit; Make us ever mindful how Gabriel's message resounds through the ages, so that we can nurture our Lord and God growing within each of us through the power of the same Holy Spirit.  Amen.  

Next Week:  Scharme has food, Bill brings something for a TR, and Erica leads worship.

Christopher Moore's Lamb: Thanks to Bill for loaning me this novel.  I've written a response to it, Good News about Christopher Moore's Gospel of Biff. 

Yr. D, Wk. 17: Samuel, Paul, Gregory, and Exiles

Abraham et. al. leave Haran

All were present. We brown-bagged the meal. Worship was the order for personal devotions in the evening. We came on board with stories of the recent holiday.

When we shared our assignments, Scott noted topics on the board. By the end, we'd seen a lot of overlap in the readings, concerning themes including the conflicts between religious authority and state authority.

The TR took off from the days' assigned Scripture, Hebrews 11.13-22, concerning the faith that led the Hebrew patriarchs away from their own land to sojourn as "exiles" in the land promised them.   (BTW:  On my personal blog, I use this in reflection on our discussions of November 15.  See The Power of Liturgy: I've Heard it all Before.)

Next Week: Susan brings food; Bill leads worship; Lynn will bring something to spark theological reflection.

Collect for Exiles (responding to Hebrews 11.13-22)
O God, You challenged Abraham and Sarah to leave their comfortable home to live as exiles in a strange land, while Your promise was yet to be fulfilled; be with us as we walk a road that, like theirs, requires us to strive, fall, and rise again, that we may ultimately see the heavenly country, and dwell in the city You have prepared for us. Amen.