Pastor’s Corner – October 1, 2023
Dear Beloved,
Who or what helps you to be still? The other evening when outside preparing for supper with our family, God’s creation invited me to be still. I have been appreciating many books and leaders over the last few years who have been teaching me to listen to God’s creation. One particular evening, I heard lots of sounds from above me – I was not sure if they were birds or squirrels or both, but they said look up. Take time and look up - which led me in a prayer of thanksgiving for these feathered and/or furry friends were reminding me of Psalm 121:1-2, “I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of the heaven and earth.”
These verses have a special spot in my being, and I thank a wise ancestor and a young boy in Haiti for embedding them in my life. When I first began serving with Friedens UCC, a woman named Nancy Richert spent a lot of time serving in the ministries that I was most involved with, as did and do so many people. One day I asked her what her favorite Bible passage was, and Psalm 121:1-2 was what she shared with me.
I’ll save the special story and experience in Haiti to share with you another time. For now, I close with this prayer.
God of the squirrels and birds, of soil and branches, thank you for offering us your wisdom is so many diverse ways. Thank you for ancestors and neighbors near and far. Thank you for the blessings of community and collective hope and healing. Please fill us with your Spirit that we may be attentive you – listening with wide-open hearts, mind, spirits, and bodies. Please help us have the same mind as Jesus that we may follow in his ways of compassion and wholeness for all. May all know they are precious and beloved by you with gifts to be united together for the growing of your beloved community for all. Amen
