Here’s the third and final poem in this short series that came out of the Rector’s Forum last weekend at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina, Minnesota, and that was written by none other than the Rector himself (i.e., me):
Jesus
direct, truthful, unsettling
descends, embraces, loves, forgives
exhale and breathe the Holy Spirit
present
You can read the first poem here and the second poem here.
Posted in Advent, Jesus, Rector's Forum
Here, as promised, is a poem by the Rev. Nancy Brantingham, Associate Rector of St. Stephen’s Church in Edina, Minnesota, which was written last Sunday morning and follows the same pattern that was described in yesterday’s post:
Shepherd
gentle, compassionate, kind
leads, protects, shelters, carries
I am safe
Father
Look here tomorrow for the third and final poem by . . . me!
Posted in Advent, Jesus, Rector's Forum
Last Sunday the Rector’s Forum at St. Stephen’s Church in Edina, Minnesota, featured guest speaker Jan Bucher, who is both a psychotherapist and spiritual director. Those present for her presentation were invited to write a poem that describes either God or ourselves in relationship to God, following this pattern:
one noun
three adjectives
four verbs
phrase
one or more words that connect with the first noun
I’d like to share with you three of those poems, beginning with this one by Daniel Beal, which alludes to the popular writings of C.S. Lewis:
Aslan
powerful, quiet, watching
protects, understands, forgives, guides
the one I trust
Lion of his people
Look here tomorrow for the second poem by the Rev. Nancy Brantingham!
Posted in Advent, Jesus, Rector's Forum
Have you heard the news about the man in Florida who was recently exonerated after 35 years of wrongful incarceration? James Bain was only 19 years old when he arrived in prison. After DNA testing proved he couldn’t have committed the crime that resulted in his life sentence, Bain became a free man at the age of 54. The Associate Press has reported that as Bain walked out of the courthouse earlier today, “he spoke of his deep faith and says he does not harbor any anger.”
I think that’s remarkable, and something worthy of pondering during the season of Advent. This coming Sunday, many Christians will sing the words “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel . . .” We are a people who have been set free. So what would we have to say about that if reporters interviewed us on the front steps of the church after receiving Holy Communion? Would we exhibit the same kind of peace and joy that James Bain has shown on CNN? Why not?
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Posted in Advent
Today is the First Sunday of Advent, and it was also a day off for me from my duties as a priest. With things safely in the hands of others at St. Stephen’s, I was able to enjoy the rare privilege of sitting in a pew with my family for worship. We took a short drive this morning across the Mississippi River into the uncharted territory of the city of St. Paul, where we attended St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. It was a wonderful start to this holy season of joyful expectation and brought to mind this reflection by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams:
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Posted in Advent
Tomorrow begins the season of Advent, several weeks that are meant to be set aside to prepare ourselves for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The quiet message of Advent often gets lost in the very loud message of Advertising. But it doesn’t have to be that way. For the last month or so, I’ve seen repeated references on the social networking site Facebook to the website for Advent Conspiracy [AC], “an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.” [AC] was also featured in a recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which contrasted the shopping frenzy of so-called Black Friday and the kinds of activities promoted by this new/old movement/tradition. It encourages people to worship fully, spend less, give more, and love all. It reminds us that Jesus is the focus, that the best gift we can give our loved ones is the gift of presence, and that we can make a difference in the world by reaching out to those most in need.
Find out what others are saying about all of this on the [AC] website blog or the [AC] Facebook page. But first take a look at this year’s [AC] promotional video:
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Posted in Advent
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