Holidays

Ashes to Go

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My church is having pancakes and ashes on Tuesday night. We will enjoy a time of fellowship over tasty pancakes made by the youth and then everyone will leave with a baggie of ashes and a piece of paper with the following words.

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. This special day is the beginning of the
season of Lent. For the next 40 days, we will focus on the life of
Jesus preparing ourselves to follow him as witnesses of his death and
resurrection. Lent is a time to focus on following Jesus through
prayer, Bible reading, sharing what we have with each other, and
asking for forgiveness when we are wrong. As you place these ashes on
your head, consider how you will follow Jesus this Lenten season.

Bible Reading from Joel 2: 12-16a

“Even now,” declares the Lord,
   “return to me with all your heart,
   with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

13 Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
   and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast,
   call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the
assembly; bring together the elders,    gather the children.

Blessing of Us as We Receive the Ashes

Holy God, you created humans from the dust of this earth. You created
us in your own image. We are grateful to be your beloved children. As we receive these ashes, help us to remember your love and your call
for us to return to you. We admit we have sinned and we know that
these ashes are a sign of your forgiveness and your love for us.
Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, who we are following today and each
day, we pray, Amen.

Imposition of Ashes-

You can place the ashes on your own head or have someone else place
them for you. As the ashes are placed say-

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.

Or

Remember God’s amazing love for you and that you belong to God today
and everyday.

Closing Prayer and Blessing (Psalm 51:10)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.

Five Years without My Mom (Thoughts on Grief)

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Today marks five years since the death of my Mom. I miss her. I spent time today wondering through Barnes and Noble (which she loved to do), looking at pictures of her, and remembering.

And I spent time thinking about what grief looks like for me. It is now much different from that initial grief when I could cry so easily and the missing her was an intense ache. Today, there were tears and sadness and a longing for her to have not been absent the past five years. The feelings change even as they linger.

I want to normalize grief and death in our society. We all grieve, and we will all die. It is not something we must think about all of the time until we are preoccupied with it. Also, we do not need to fear it or ignore it or pretend it will never happen to us.

For me, rituals have been helpful in coping with the deaths of people I love. I find ways that are meaningful to me to mark important days. I honor my Mom’s birthday and the day of her death. My whole family honors cheeseburger day which is the day she and my sister completed chemo (same day different years).

Honoring these big days in my Mom’s life is one way I hold on to her memory while also living my life as part of her legacy.

In honor of my Mom, I invite you to read a book, wear comfy pants, put your feet up and cover up with a blanket, eat a food you enjoy, hug your family, laugh out loud or silently, watch a movie you have seen countless times, go buy a book you may never read, visit your local library, build something with Legos, or just smile and be thankful for your life.

Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea

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On a cold morning, this is a great tea to warm me up!

The side of the tin describes the tea so well. “Assertive, yet smooth with sweetness and spice.” This tea makes a great morning pick me up or is perfect for warming yourself up by the fire after being outside on a wintry day.

This tea was an awesome Christmas gift from a dear friend. I will be enjoying it all winter long!

Advent Candle Lighting-Hope

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Reader-As Advent begins again; we light the candle of hope.

We look to the book of Psalms to see what words of hope are offered there.

All-“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” 

Reader-In this season of Advent, we are reminded to wait for the promises of God to come again into our lives.

All-“And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?  My hope is in you.” 

Reader-“Hope in God.” 

All-“For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth.” 

Reader-“But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.”

All- “But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” 

 

(The words in quotes are from the NRSV edition of the Bible from Psalm 33:22, Psalm 39:7, Psalm 42:5a, Psalm 71:5, and Psalm 71:14).

Palm Sunday Prayer of Confession

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As we prepare to begin Holy Week, let’s acknowledge together that Holy Week is hard. If we attend to all that happens Monday-Saturday, Holy Week is a roller coaster of emotions and experiences. We can do this together.

Call to Confession-We know the story. We know what is coming this week. It is easy to jump ahead. Instead, let’s use this prayer time as an opportunity to sit in this moment right now. Let us pray together.

Holy One, We are waving our palms and welcoming you with shouts of Hosanna! It is a joyful service. We confess we want to jump ahead to next Sunday and fast forward through the events of this week. Remind us to slow down and walk with Jesus this week. To acknowledge where we have failed. To ask for forgiveness and a chance to start over. Hear our prayer as we journey with you each day not looking ahead and simply being present to what is happening. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness-God knows this week is hard! God hears our prayers and always forgives us. Hear and believe this good news-we are forgiven!

A Story of Friendship (Remembering Kristi)

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I met my best friend, Kristi, as summer was ending in 2000. We were moving into our apartments to start seminary. From that moment, we were friends. It was friends at first sight. For four years of seminary, we were usually together. (She did spend a year doing an internship in Virginia during this time-don’t worry we talked on the phone and emailed regularly).

Then we graduated and we both took jobs as Associate Pastors. I was near Milwaukee, and she was near Cleveland. We used to joke that my weather would be her weather the next day. During this time, we did spend two weeks together in Scotland when we worked on our application for The Amazing Race. I still think of the fun we would have had running the race each time I watch it!

She officiated my wedding. There were more moves. I officiated her wedding while she was sick with stupid cancer. And I was there with her 13 years ago as she took her last breath.

There are so, so many details I left out in this short description of our friendship. I am thankful to have had a friend who loved me for who I was, who supported me in pursuing my dreams, and who never doubted the possibilities of what each of us could do.

It seems hard to believe that it has been 13 years since I said goodbye to my buddy. Today in her memory, why not tell someone you love them? Or do something kind for someone else? I will be working on my kindness, telling my people how much I love them, and enjoying some tasty food in memory of my best friend, Kristi!

Kristi and I in Scotland in 2005!

Lent is here! Woohoo or maybe just woo.

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The season of Lent (the 40 days not including Sundays that lead up to Easter) begins today. Very few people call this their favorite season of the church year. On the Everything Happens podcast, Kate Bowler called Lent a “bummer” because we know what is going to happen. Jesus is going to be betrayed. Jesus is going to die.

Lent is a bummer and also a realistic season. Parts of our lives have been a bummer too. Things don’t always work out like we planned. Life is hard. Somedays we are lonely, sad, mad, frustrated, and so many other “negative” emotions. We have learned over our lifetimes that happy emotions are good and sad emotions are bad. Nope. They are all our feelings. There are not good emotions nor bad emotions…just emotions.

So, join me in embracing this season of real life. Let’s sit in the sad. Let’s mourn what has been lost or never was. Let’s give up the idea that our life must be perfect. And let’s commit again to following Jesus even when where he leads isn’t exactly where we’d prefer to go. Let’s follow Jesus together.

Faithful God, these ashes on our heads are a reminder that we have failed and that is okay. These ashes are a reminder that our time on earth is limited and that is okay. These ashes are a reminder that you created us and we are all made in your image and called your beloved. In these next forty days, walk with us Jesus as we go where you lead. Forgive us and remind us to forgive ourselves. Amen.

A Prayer for Planners when the Plans Go Off-Track

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I love a plan and a to do list. It is Christmas week and I am preaching Sunday. We had company last weekend and have new company coming this weekend. (Neither company cares what the house looks like. I am using their arrivals as encouragement to sort, organize, and clean).

And in the middle of all this, we take my computer to the fix it store to get it working properly. This throws a big wrench into my plans. And I am being flexible and hopeful and positive.

While you might not have encountered this exact list of off-track items, I do know you have had weeks like this. And this prayer is for all of us when our week hits a couple of speed bumps along with a few traffic cones and a detour.

Loving God, you know I had a great plan. You know I love to follow a plan. And you know how poorly my plan is going this week. Give me strength and creativity to enact a new plan knowing that you are at the center of all my plans and working all things together for good. Thank you for showing me that pivoting to a new plan is a great idea when things go off track. And thank you for supporting us when it becomes too much and overwhelming. Thank you for plans A, B, and C! Amen.

Hope and Quiet in Advent

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On Sunday when I led the children’s moment at church, we lit the hope candle and talked about being quiet. I shared with them how my sister and I were asked to play the quiet game on long road trips when our parents had reached their limits on our sisterly bickering. And I asked them to share how they find moments of quiet in our busy lives especially this busy season!

I hope while you are preparing for the birth of Jesus that you find moments of quiet this season. You know I would recommend you make a cup of tea, sitting by the tree, and have a prayerful quiet moment. And if that is too much for you this season, simply pause and give thanks for a moment of silence while waiting for the return of our Prince of Peace.

Originator of Hope, This season of preparing is filled with so much noise. Much of it is joyful noises-carols, laughter, conversations. And yet sometimes it is just too much. We long for quiet. We long to feel hope. We long for your return as the Prince of Peace in our lives and in this world. So, quiet our hearts and our minds and focus them on you. Renew our hope. And guide us back into a close relationship with the One who inspires our hopeful silence. Amen.

20 Years of Ordained Ministry!

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20 years! What an amazing journey this has been. I have served in four different church positions and been a hospice chaplain. If you had told me 20 years ago, that this is where I would be today…I probably would have answered like Sarah with laughter (Genesis 18:12).

As I read over the words of the service of Ordination to Ministry from the UCC’s Book of Worship, these words caught and held my attention.

“Will you seek to regard all people with equal love and concern and undertake to minister impartially to the needs of all?”

And I answered, “I will, relying on God’s grace.”

It has been a joy and a privilege and a challenge to answer and live into the call to ordained ministry these past twenty years. I give thanks to God regularly for those who nurtured my call when I was young, those who stretched and molded my faith, those who welcomed me into their lives as their pastor and chaplain, and those who supported and those who continue to support me on this journey.

I love that I was ordained on Reformation Day as it reminds me of the many that have gone before in the faith. And the Scripture that was read and preached that day continues to bring me hope and strength and challenge, Luke 24:13-35. It is the story of the road to Emmaus. I’ll sum it up for you. It is the day of the resurrection and Jesus walks with two of the faithful. They do not recognize him. He tells the story of faith and still they do not recognize him. When do they finally know it is Jesus? When he breaks the bread at the table with them, they finally know this is Jesus. I love the beauty and simplicity of this story. Where is Jesus among us and I don’t recognize him? When I gather at Christ’s table are my eyes and heart open to see who is standing beside me?

These last 20 years have been full of every single emotions. As I look back at where I have been I will not even try to guess where I will be 20 years from now. I am thankful that God keeps me guessing and always keeps the journey interesting.