September 6th Update

A Message from the Interim Pastor…

Most Sundays, after the announcements, I ask the congregation, “Where did you find God this week?” I do this for several reasons, the most important of which is to encourage you be on the lookout for God – to look for blessings – to look for how God is working in your life. One way to do this is to be observant of the little things that cross your path. In her book, An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor writes this:
“Start with anything you like. Even a stick lying on the ground will do. The first thing to do is pay attention to it. Did you make the stick? No, you did not. The stick has its own story. If you have the time to figure out what kind of tree it came from, that would be a start to showing the stick some respect. It is only “a stick” in the same way that you are “a human,” after all. There is more to both of you than that. Is it on the ground because it is old or because it suffered mishap? Has it been lying there for a long time or did it just land? Is it fat enough for you to see its growth rings?”

“If you look at the stick long enough, you are bound to begin making it a character of your own story. It will begin to remind you of someone you know, or a piece of furniture you once saw in a craft co-op. There is nothing wrong with these associations, except that they take you away from the stick and back to yourself. To pronounce a blessing on something, it is important to see it as it is. What purpose did this stick serve? Did a bird sit on it? Did it bear leaves that sheltered the ground from the hottest summer sun?”

“At the very least, it participated in the deep mystery of drawing water from the ground, defying the law of gravity to deliver moisture to its leaves. How does a stick do that, especially one this size? Smell it. Is the scent of sap still there? This is no less than the artery of a tree that you are holding in your hand. Its tissue has come from the sun and from the earth. Put it back where you found it and it will turn back into earth again. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes. Will you say a blessing first? No one can hear you, so you may say whatever you like.”

“Bless you, stick, for being you.”

“Blessed are you, o stick, for turning dirt and sun into wood.”

“Blessed are you, Lord God, for using this stick to stop me in my tracks.”

Peace and blessing,
Pastor Michael