Weekly Recap for Tuesday, November 8, 2016 from ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States "Has Standing Rock changed your view of America? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week."
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Standing Rock Footage
Trevor Hall with NoDAPL
The whole World is watching and learning the price that it costs to be brave in a land that claims to be “free”
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, over 200 Tribal Nations, and thousands of allies from across the United States and the world have been taking direct action since April 2016 to call attention to the violation of their Indigenous rights, desecration of their lands and waters and the threats to their ecosystem engendered by the Dakota Access Pipeline
The 1,172 mile pipeline, being pushed by the US Army Corps of Engineers and Energy Transfer Partners is proposed to pass under the Missouri river and Lake Oahe, a vital source of the tribe’s drinking water and ceremonial practice.
In a last stitch effort, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has appealed to the United Nations addressing the human rights commission in Geneva . But it is clear that the case of the Standing Rock Sioux is another shameful example of treaties broken and violated by the U.S. Government under the rule of kleptocracy.
Those in protest, aka the Water Protectors, have remained steadfast, resilient, and Peaceful in the wake of law, military, and private security bullying. Some “law enforcers” have no name tags, rank, or badges as even corrections officers have been deployed. Dogs, mace, stun grenades, batons, and the destruction of their encampment are just a few of the injustices committed against this unarmed movement. Order followers should think twice about their paycheck and who they work for. You can’t drink oil!
The whole World is watching and learning the price that it costs to be brave in a land that claims to be “free”.
Mainstream Media(MSM) chooses to remain silent.
READ ON ..
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The Leader I’d Like to Have
Chris Glaser
Our leaders reflect our own civic harmony or our own civic disarray... Above all, we must be guided by the compassion proclaimed in every faith and by many philosophies.
Note that Jesus left off God’s vengeance from Isaiah’s declaration, a sign not only of good editing, but of good politics. We’ve had too much vengeance and not enough favor from our politicians, as well as those who provide political commentary. True of religious leaders as well.
Of course only Jesus could dare to tell his listeners that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Or maybe these words reflect the later judgment of his followers. Only history can vindicate any leader’s judgment, so humility should be expected. Over my six and a half decades I have witnessed leaders with messianic pretensions fail even their avid fans. And here I mean leaders of every stripe: political, religious, moral, economic, you name it.
A similar humility is called for in the electorate. Our leaders reflect our own civic harmony or our own civic disarray. In reflecting on every candidate for office and every issue on the ballot, we may remind ourselves of our limited perspectives and grasp, seeking wisdom from our deepest thinkers and most experienced practitioners, not just our loudest and most commonly available opinionators. Above all, we must be guided by the compassion proclaimed in every faith and by many philosophies.
We too best begin every Election Day prayerfully meditating on the words of Isaiah read approvingly by Jesus so long ago:
The tension between “bricks and mortar” and “mission and ministry”
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The Leader I’d Like to Have
Chris Glaser
Our leaders reflect our own civic harmony or our own civic disarray... Above all, we must be guided by the compassion proclaimed in every faith and by many philosophies.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because I have been anointed
to bring good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to those without vision,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
I would not like a leader so presumptuous as to say this when proclaiming her or his candidacy, nor giving an inaugural speech. Only Isaiah and Jesus could get away with that, in my book.
But I would like a leader who repeated this privately as a prayer at the beginning of every day in office, and before every meeting and every decision. It’s good for leaders to be reminded, not just of their prophetic and pastoral roles, but of their responsibility to do what’s right and best.Note that Jesus left off God’s vengeance from Isaiah’s declaration, a sign not only of good editing, but of good politics. We’ve had too much vengeance and not enough favor from our politicians, as well as those who provide political commentary. True of religious leaders as well.
Of course only Jesus could dare to tell his listeners that “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Or maybe these words reflect the later judgment of his followers. Only history can vindicate any leader’s judgment, so humility should be expected. Over my six and a half decades I have witnessed leaders with messianic pretensions fail even their avid fans. And here I mean leaders of every stripe: political, religious, moral, economic, you name it.
A similar humility is called for in the electorate. Our leaders reflect our own civic harmony or our own civic disarray. In reflecting on every candidate for office and every issue on the ballot, we may remind ourselves of our limited perspectives and grasp, seeking wisdom from our deepest thinkers and most experienced practitioners, not just our loudest and most commonly available opinionators. Above all, we must be guided by the compassion proclaimed in every faith and by many philosophies.
We too best begin every Election Day prayerfully meditating on the words of Isaiah read approvingly by Jesus so long ago:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because I have been anointed
to bring good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to those without vision,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Visit Chris Glaser’s Blog Here: Progressive Christian Reflections
READ ON ... The tension between “bricks and mortar” and “mission and ministry”
Tom Ehrich
Facilities don’t do ministry, of course. People do ministry. Bricks and mortar just sit there, week after week, unless an entrepreneurial leader stirs the congregation to active engagement with needs outside their doors.
The tension between “bricks and mortar” and “mission and ministry” is never easy to navigate. Facilities seem so real and practical, while mission and ministry tend to be ambiguous and unmeasurable.
The tension gets especially complicated when facilities are enshrined as “historic.” Some constituents derive personal status from things historic, whether or not it is deserved, and the old implies a certain continuity that many desire.
The tension between buildings and servanthood often boils over when constituents are hoping that their facilities can do their mission and ministry so that they themselves don’t have to do it. Renting space to a 12-Step group is labeled a big plus in mission, and all anyone has to do is cash AA’s rent check.
If facilities actually could do ministry, they would do far more than congregational leaders typically allow. In addition to renting space to 12-step groups – yes, AA et al always pay rent – they would provide shelters for women being abused by drunk men. They would offer respite to children whose home lives are out of control. They would offer recovery ministries, to bolster the 11th Step: “We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God.”
In addition to giving away canned goods to needy clients once a week or once a month, they would serve hot lunches to the homeless every day. Kitchens that sit quiet all week would bustle with the noise of food being prepared for Meals on Wheels taken out seven days a week.
Classrooms that are used two hours a week on Sunday would be additionally purposed as weekday preschools for at-risk children and as adult day care and caregiver respite. Halls and parlors would be additionally purposed as small-business incubators. Meeting rooms would be additionally purposed as free medical and dental clinics.
If major fund-raising were possible, churches would take some of their acreage and construct affordable housing for seniors. Church members would embrace their new neighbors and thereby address an “epidemic of loneliness,” as The Times called it, among seniors.
Newly paved parking lots would fill with cars seven days a week, not just Sunday morning. Handsome lawns would be turned into athletic facilities to support youth programs. Also into community gardens where apartment dwellers could join the “farm-to-table” movement.
Facilities don’t do ministry, of course. People do ministry. Bricks and mortar just sit there, week after week, unless an entrepreneurial leader stirs the congregation to active engagement with needs outside their doors. The difference is the entrepreneurial leader and those people who are willing to follow, not the facilities themselves. If the leader won’t challenge people to engage in active, outward-facing ministry, it doesn’t matter what happens to the facilities. If people won’t rise to the challenge, tidying up the space and fixing gaps like inadequate offices and a below-code kitchen won’t accomplish much. Inward-facing must give way to outward-facing. Self-serving must give way to other-serving.
For many, of course, inward-facing is all they want. They want to worship occasionally, give enough to keep the doors open, and derive some satisfaction from strained-glass windows, a fine pipe organ, well-polished wood, and historic provenance. They don’t want this flow disrupted. The problem, we now realize, is that inward-facing is self-defeating. Unless the congregation is serving the larger community and giving itself away boldly in mission and ministry, it will cease to matter to anyone beyond the dwindling few.
Many church members ask, How can we improve our facilities to make them serve our needs better? The far better question to ask is, What does our larger community need from us? What mission and ministry are we called to carry out? What do we need for that enterprise?
The answer might include some enhancement of bricks and mortar. But that is never the place to start. If facilities drive the church, its future is dim.
About the Author
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of A Fresh Day online magazine, author of On a Journey and two national newspaper columns.
Facilities don’t do ministry, of course. People do ministry. Bricks and mortar just sit there, week after week, unless an entrepreneurial leader stirs the congregation to active engagement with needs outside their doors.
The tension between “bricks and mortar” and “mission and ministry” is never easy to navigate. Facilities seem so real and practical, while mission and ministry tend to be ambiguous and unmeasurable.
The tension gets especially complicated when facilities are enshrined as “historic.” Some constituents derive personal status from things historic, whether or not it is deserved, and the old implies a certain continuity that many desire.
The tension between buildings and servanthood often boils over when constituents are hoping that their facilities can do their mission and ministry so that they themselves don’t have to do it. Renting space to a 12-Step group is labeled a big plus in mission, and all anyone has to do is cash AA’s rent check.
If facilities actually could do ministry, they would do far more than congregational leaders typically allow. In addition to renting space to 12-step groups – yes, AA et al always pay rent – they would provide shelters for women being abused by drunk men. They would offer respite to children whose home lives are out of control. They would offer recovery ministries, to bolster the 11th Step: “We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God.”
In addition to giving away canned goods to needy clients once a week or once a month, they would serve hot lunches to the homeless every day. Kitchens that sit quiet all week would bustle with the noise of food being prepared for Meals on Wheels taken out seven days a week.
Classrooms that are used two hours a week on Sunday would be additionally purposed as weekday preschools for at-risk children and as adult day care and caregiver respite. Halls and parlors would be additionally purposed as small-business incubators. Meeting rooms would be additionally purposed as free medical and dental clinics.
If major fund-raising were possible, churches would take some of their acreage and construct affordable housing for seniors. Church members would embrace their new neighbors and thereby address an “epidemic of loneliness,” as The Times called it, among seniors.
Newly paved parking lots would fill with cars seven days a week, not just Sunday morning. Handsome lawns would be turned into athletic facilities to support youth programs. Also into community gardens where apartment dwellers could join the “farm-to-table” movement.
Facilities don’t do ministry, of course. People do ministry. Bricks and mortar just sit there, week after week, unless an entrepreneurial leader stirs the congregation to active engagement with needs outside their doors. The difference is the entrepreneurial leader and those people who are willing to follow, not the facilities themselves. If the leader won’t challenge people to engage in active, outward-facing ministry, it doesn’t matter what happens to the facilities. If people won’t rise to the challenge, tidying up the space and fixing gaps like inadequate offices and a below-code kitchen won’t accomplish much. Inward-facing must give way to outward-facing. Self-serving must give way to other-serving.
For many, of course, inward-facing is all they want. They want to worship occasionally, give enough to keep the doors open, and derive some satisfaction from strained-glass windows, a fine pipe organ, well-polished wood, and historic provenance. They don’t want this flow disrupted. The problem, we now realize, is that inward-facing is self-defeating. Unless the congregation is serving the larger community and giving itself away boldly in mission and ministry, it will cease to matter to anyone beyond the dwindling few.
Many church members ask, How can we improve our facilities to make them serve our needs better? The far better question to ask is, What does our larger community need from us? What mission and ministry are we called to carry out? What do we need for that enterprise?
The answer might include some enhancement of bricks and mortar. But that is never the place to start. If facilities drive the church, its future is dim.
About the Author
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the publisher of A Fresh Day online magazine, author of On a Journey and two national newspaper columns.
READ ON ...
Liturgy Selection
Finding New Words
Find a balance between the power of repeating old words, with all their history and associations for you, and the power of finding new words, with all the fresh understandings they can bring.
Finding new words to express ancient wisdom is an essential part of progressive Christianity. Not only does such an effort put the fundamental ideas into modern language, but the very act of searching for the new words is part of coming to understand what you believe and how you want to share it with others. Find a balance between the power of repeating old words, with all their history and associations for you, and the power of finding new words, with all the fresh understandings they can bring.
A Call to Find Your Voice
Together we hold a place where each can find voice as they long to reflect the Christ for our time.
A Call to Find Your Voice
Responsive reading based on the 8 points by Dan Senter
Together we hold a place where each can find voice as they long to reflect the Christ for our time.
We hold a place where the path and teachings of Jesus leads us into an experience of the sacred even as we draw from diverse sources of wisdom along way.
We hold a place inclusive of all people as we explore the fullest expression of what we believe
We hold a place that expresses itself through the way we behave toward each human life and all of creation.
We hold a place where we find grace within the very search for understanding.
We hold a place where all can strive for justice and work to restore the integrity of the earth.
We hold a place committed to life–long learning, expanded compassion, and selfless love.
Together we each find our voice as we live into the reflection of Christ for our time.
read more
How to Lead a Guided Meditation
This essay will help you write, lead, or choose a guided meditation. It starts with some simple steps for leading an effective meditation, gives some guidelines for choosing or composing a meditation, then concludes with two sample guided meditations.
Find a balance between the power of repeating old words, with all their history and associations for you, and the power of finding new words, with all the fresh understandings they can bring.
Finding new words to express ancient wisdom is an essential part of progressive Christianity. Not only does such an effort put the fundamental ideas into modern language, but the very act of searching for the new words is part of coming to understand what you believe and how you want to share it with others. Find a balance between the power of repeating old words, with all their history and associations for you, and the power of finding new words, with all the fresh understandings they can bring.
A Call to Find Your Voice
Together we hold a place where each can find voice as they long to reflect the Christ for our time.
A Call to Find Your Voice
Responsive reading based on the 8 points by Dan Senter
Together we hold a place where each can find voice as they long to reflect the Christ for our time.
We hold a place where the path and teachings of Jesus leads us into an experience of the sacred even as we draw from diverse sources of wisdom along way.
We hold a place inclusive of all people as we explore the fullest expression of what we believe
We hold a place that expresses itself through the way we behave toward each human life and all of creation.
We hold a place where we find grace within the very search for understanding.
We hold a place where all can strive for justice and work to restore the integrity of the earth.
We hold a place committed to life–long learning, expanded compassion, and selfless love.
Together we each find our voice as we live into the reflection of Christ for our time.
read more
How to Lead a Guided Meditation
This essay will help you write, lead, or choose a guided meditation. It starts with some simple steps for leading an effective meditation, gives some guidelines for choosing or composing a meditation, then concludes with two sample guided meditations.
How to Lead a Guided Meditation by Michael Patrick Ellard
This essay will help you write, lead, or choose a guided meditation. It starts with some simple steps for leading an effective meditation, gives some guidelines for choosing or composing a meditation, then concludes with two sample guided meditations.
Simple Steps for Leading an Effective Meditation
Speak calmly, slowly, and with warmth during your meditation.
If you are using a meditation that someone else has written, you should attribute the meditation to that person as you begin. For example, “Please join me for ‘Seeing the Rainbow,’ a guided meditation by Karen Lebacqz.”
If you wish, you may use some background music to accompany your meditation. Alternately, you may do your meditation in silence, or you may bring in a bell or a chime to signify the beginning and end of your meditation.
It can be helpful to begin a meditation by asking your listeners to take a couple of deep breaths and let them out again. For example, “I invite you to take a deep breath. Now let it out. Now take another breath. Now gently exhale.”
You may wish to invite your listeners to close their eyes. For example, “If you feel comfortable doing so, I invite you to close your eyes as we begin the meditation.”
Go through your meditation at a peaceful, contemplative rate. Keep it nice and slow. Put pauses between your sentences and phrases.
You may include a moment of silence in your meditation if you wish. When leading a silent meditation, it is important to watch your audience carefully. When they are ready to return, they will begin to move — this is your cue to call them back.
At the end of the meditation, invite people to return. For example, “Now I invite you to return to this room. When you are ready, open your eyes and rejoin us here, filled with Christ’s love and peace.”
Choosing or Composing a Guided Meditation
Here are some characteristics of an effective guided meditation:
Guided meditations invoke, they do not instruct. Their focus is emotional, not intellectual. In typical instruction, a teacher presents information to a student or students, who are expected to be able to retain and repeat this information as presented. In a guided meditation, the leader may call upon his or her listeners to reflect on a question, but the answers to the question, or even the exact nature of the question, are left for each person to find.
Guided meditations work best when they give the listener a lot of freedom. The people you’re leading may have very different needs or be wrestling with very different problems. A good guided meditation is one in which people can see themselves regardless of their situation.
Guided meditations tend to move at a slow, gentle pace. This means that they do not need to be long in order to be good. Two or three short paragraphs is an excellent length for a written meditation.
If you’re writing a meditation, it can be good to center your meditation in a setting outside of the current context and describe how that setting affects various senses: sight, sound, touch. Possible settings for a guided meditation include: the beach, a forest, the desert, a mountain, a mountain range, an ancient cathedral, a small church, a city park, a stream, the ocean, the stars.
Because guided meditations focus on imagery and emotional content, they can help people connect with emotions and memories that they have been suppressing. This means that people may be very emotionally vulnerable during a guided meditation. Thus, it is important to be nurturing and gentle. If your meditation is going to touch upon something that may cause your listeners to connect with their fear, anger, or other emotions involving trauma, it is very important not to re-traumatize them.
Guided meditations are not prayer. Prayer is typically addressed to God and takes the form of a petition (asking for something) or thanksgiving (thanking God for something). A guided meditation is addressed to a person or group and takes the form of asking them to imagine something or remember something.
Because the use of guided meditations has been more prevalent in non-Christian traditions than in Christian traditions, it is easy to find good meditations that don’t mention God or Jesus. It’s fine to use these meditations if you wish. It is also good to invite people to imagine an encounter with God, Jesus and/or the Holy Spirit in your meditations. Guided meditations with Christian themes do exist, they’re just a little harder to find.
Meditations do not need to be written out in advance. For some people, having a pre-written meditation works best. For others, a “free meditation” which is spontaneously composed will work best. If you’re not sure what will work best for you, test each method with a group consisting of two or three trustworthy friends.
Sample Meditations
Here are a couple of sample meditations that illustrate the principles described above.
A Good Meditation
Imagine that you are walking down the beach in the late afternoon. A gentle breeze is blowing, and the sea air is caressing your face. With each step, your feet sink a little into the sand. Seabirds call overhead, and you can hear the murmur of the waves as they come in and go out again. You’ve come to the beach to wrestle with a problem, something that’s been bothering you for some time. Suddenly you realize that Jesus is walking beside you, and has been walking with you for some time. You walk along with Jesus, not saying anything, while the waves roll in and out and the seabirds call. Then after a time together you begin to tell Jesus your problems. You walk and talk for a long time, and Jesus listens to you. Finally, you finish as the sun begins to set over the ocean. For the first time, Jesus turns and looks at you. He is illuminated by the golden light of the sunset, and as you see your reflection in his eyes, you realize that you’re illuminated by the same light. In that moment, seeing yourself in Jesus’ eyes, you find the answer to the problem that has bothered you for so long. Jesus smiles, and you do too, and you begin to walk home together. The seabirds call, the breeze blows, and the waves continue on as before. But as you return home, you are at peace.
Good things about this meditation: vivid imagery across a range of senses, allows the listener to define what problems he or she may be facing, leads the listener to an answer without specifying what that answer should be, gentle, invokes a sensation of peace.
A Problematic Meditation
Imagine that you are walking down the beach in the late afternoon. It’s nice. You’ve been wondering what you should do about your roommate, who keeps drinking all of your beer without ever buying more. Suddenly, you notice that Jesus is walking beside you. “Problems with your roommate?” he asks. “Yeah,” you say. Jesus looks at you sternly, “Get over it already! What’s a few beers between friends? Didn’t I die on the cross for your sins? Is a few beers too much to ask in return?” To make his point, Jesus flicks a few drops of blood from his hands onto your face. You resolve not to be so uptight, and walk home, changed.
Bad things about this meditation: weak imagery in general, definition of a problem which is too narrow and will lose most people, provides a specific answer which may or may not be appropriate for the listener, imposes an answer upon people instead of leading them to an answer, uses violent blood imagery which may upset or repulse listeners, puts forth a particular theology of the atonement which may alienate some listeners. Keeping in mind the principles set out in this essay, you can easily avoid these pitfalls.
I hope this essay will help you lead inspiring meditations which will help people relax, center, and renew their relationships with God.© 2012 Rev. Michael Patrick Ellard
More of Michael’s writing can be found at his website itinerant-preacher.com
read more
Feast and Fast
The Swedes and the Hawaiians have something in common besides enjoying fish. They both have a deep understanding of the idea of “enough.”
Feast and Fast
The FeAST by Jim Burklo
The Swedes and the Hawaiians have something in common besides enjoying fish. They both have a deep understanding of the idea of “enough.”
The Swedish word that roughly translates as “enough” is lagom. Lagom means exactly in balance, “just right,” and the Swedes say it all the time, much more than we say the word “enough.” Their culture ennobles the search for lagom. There’s a minimalist quality, after all, to Swedish design. And while it’s a very prosperous country with a lively capitalist economy, there is much less imbalance in it between the rich and the non-so-rich. A young Swedish couple at Stanford, with whom my wife Roberta and I became close, explained this to us. I asked Jenny and Peter to teach us one word in Swedish that was most important to know, and lagom was the one they didn’t want us to forget.
And if you ever go to Hawaii, you’ll quickly learn the word pau. If you’ve had enough to eat, you say, “I’m pau.” When you’ve worked enough, or partied enough, you say, “Pau hana” which roughly means, “I’ve had enough of this activity and now I’m going home.” Native Hawaiians and white haoles alike use the word “pau” constantly. Maybe it gets used so much because there is so much to be satisfied with in Hawaii. It’s a reflection of that culture, too – one that focuses on simple pleasures, one that accepts all shapes, sizes, cultures, and styles of people. A haole friend of ours in Hawaii used to snitch a few avocados from his neighbor’s tree now and again. She was an old Japanese-Hawaiian lady. One day he came home and there was a big sack of fresh avocados on his doorstep. On it was a note from the neighbor lady that said, “No need steal!” There’s pau for everybody.
The Bible itself contains a powerful meditation on the idea of “enough”:
“Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? (Isaiah 58: 5-6)
The prophet Isaiah is asking for balance here. For a day acceptable to the Lord, a day “lagom” for God, when, after it’s over, God can look at human beings living in harmony with themselves, with each other, and with the earth. And then God happily can say, “Pau hana” and roll over and sleep sweetly on Cloud 9.
So let us feast on simple pleasures, and fast from all that gets our bodies and souls out of balance.
Let us feast on kindness, and fast from sarcasm.
Let us feast on compassion, and fast from holding grudges.
Let us feast on patience, and fast from anxiety.
Let us feast on peace, and fast from stirring up needless conflict.
Let us feast on acceptance, and fast from judgment.
Let us feast on joy, and fast from jealousy.
Let us feast on faith, and fast from fear.
Let us feast on creativity, and fast from all that deadens our souls.
Let us feast on social justice, and let us fast from negligence of the most vulnerable.
Let us feast on service to others, and fast from selfishness.
Let us feast on delight, and fast from despair.
Let us feast on bread and wine in spiritual communion, and fast from all that keeps us from communing deeply with each other and with God.
So that our lives might be sufficient, fulfilled, complete, whole, enough.
So that we might have no less than lagom and no more than pau.
Amen!
Feast and Fast
The Swedes and the Hawaiians have something in common besides enjoying fish. They both have a deep understanding of the idea of “enough.”
Feast and Fast
The FeAST by Jim Burklo
The Swedes and the Hawaiians have something in common besides enjoying fish. They both have a deep understanding of the idea of “enough.”
The Swedish word that roughly translates as “enough” is lagom. Lagom means exactly in balance, “just right,” and the Swedes say it all the time, much more than we say the word “enough.” Their culture ennobles the search for lagom. There’s a minimalist quality, after all, to Swedish design. And while it’s a very prosperous country with a lively capitalist economy, there is much less imbalance in it between the rich and the non-so-rich. A young Swedish couple at Stanford, with whom my wife Roberta and I became close, explained this to us. I asked Jenny and Peter to teach us one word in Swedish that was most important to know, and lagom was the one they didn’t want us to forget.
And if you ever go to Hawaii, you’ll quickly learn the word pau. If you’ve had enough to eat, you say, “I’m pau.” When you’ve worked enough, or partied enough, you say, “Pau hana” which roughly means, “I’ve had enough of this activity and now I’m going home.” Native Hawaiians and white haoles alike use the word “pau” constantly. Maybe it gets used so much because there is so much to be satisfied with in Hawaii. It’s a reflection of that culture, too – one that focuses on simple pleasures, one that accepts all shapes, sizes, cultures, and styles of people. A haole friend of ours in Hawaii used to snitch a few avocados from his neighbor’s tree now and again. She was an old Japanese-Hawaiian lady. One day he came home and there was a big sack of fresh avocados on his doorstep. On it was a note from the neighbor lady that said, “No need steal!” There’s pau for everybody.
The Bible itself contains a powerful meditation on the idea of “enough”:
“Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? (Isaiah 58: 5-6)
The prophet Isaiah is asking for balance here. For a day acceptable to the Lord, a day “lagom” for God, when, after it’s over, God can look at human beings living in harmony with themselves, with each other, and with the earth. And then God happily can say, “Pau hana” and roll over and sleep sweetly on Cloud 9.
So let us feast on simple pleasures, and fast from all that gets our bodies and souls out of balance.
Let us feast on kindness, and fast from sarcasm.
Let us feast on compassion, and fast from holding grudges.
Let us feast on patience, and fast from anxiety.
Let us feast on peace, and fast from stirring up needless conflict.
Let us feast on acceptance, and fast from judgment.
Let us feast on joy, and fast from jealousy.
Let us feast on faith, and fast from fear.
Let us feast on creativity, and fast from all that deadens our souls.
Let us feast on social justice, and let us fast from negligence of the most vulnerable.
Let us feast on service to others, and fast from selfishness.
Let us feast on delight, and fast from despair.
Let us feast on bread and wine in spiritual communion, and fast from all that keeps us from communing deeply with each other and with God.
So that our lives might be sufficient, fulfilled, complete, whole, enough.
So that we might have no less than lagom and no more than pau.
Amen!
READ ON ... 
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Events and Updates
Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL - November 18th and 19th
Don’t miss what the Toronto Star called “…a mesmerizing marriage of sight and sound…a guaranteed spellbinder” and The Los Angeles Times hailed as “…a triumph!”Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc
A Day of Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc this Fall at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.
GladdeningLight is pleased to announce two new special events as part of Voices of Light weekend this fall at Rollins College. Saturday, November 19, 2016 will be a day devoted to scholarship from world-renowned Joan of Arc medievalist Bonnie Wheeler and oratorio composer Richard Einhorn, among others.
At 2:00 pm, Professor Wheeler will deliver a talk, Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc, in the college’s Bush Auditorium. Bonnie Wheeler is a six-time recipient of SMU’s Outstanding Teacher Award, has been awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Perrine Prize for excellence in scholarship and teaching, and is founder of the International Joan of Arc Society.
Later that day at 4:00 pm, a forum of luminaries including Richard Einhorn, Bach Festival Society Artistic Director John V. Sinclair and Enzian president Henry Maldonado will be convened in the Bush Auditorium to discuss The Passion of Joan of Arc film, its rediscovery and restoration as impetus for the Voices of Light oratorio composition, musical aspects of the score, and Joan’s spiritual place in history. Both events will be offered free-to-the-public.
GladdeningLight in partnership with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park will screen The Passion of Joan of Arc, a masterpiece of silent film with live accompaniment from one hundred voices and period orchestra under the direction of John Sinclair. This will represent the Central Florida premiere for Voices of Light, Friday & Saturday evenings, two performances only, November 18 & 19, 2016 at the Knowles Memorial Chapel.
Much more than a movie, this special event will acquaint the audience with a mix of opera and oratorio chronicling Saint Joan, divine feminine hero and founder of modern France. The Passion film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer in 1928 is considered by many critics to be one of the ten best movies ever made. Composer Richard Einhorn’s contemporary oratorio elevates the film to transcendent heights with orchestration played on instruments authentic to the period and vocals that harken to medieval French.
Voices of Light tickets for the general public go on sale today at the Bach Festival Society box office or by calling (407) 646-2182. Reserved seating is priced at $35/$45/$65, and both performances are sure to fill quickly. Discounted hotel rates* are within walking distance at The Alfond Inn and Park Plaza Hotel.
Don’t miss what the Toronto Star called “…a mesmerizing marriage of sight and sound…a guaranteed spellbinder” and The Los Angeles Times hailed as “…a triumph!”
Images
Start:
November 18, 2016
End:
November 19, 2016
Location:
Rollins College
Winter Park FL
Google Map
Organization:
Voice of Light
Website:
http://gladdeninglight.org/voices-of-light/
Telephone:
(407) 646-2182
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Events and Updates
Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL - November 18th and 19th
Don’t miss what the Toronto Star called “…a mesmerizing marriage of sight and sound…a guaranteed spellbinder” and The Los Angeles Times hailed as “…a triumph!”Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc
A Day of Special Events Exalting Joan of Arc this Fall at Rollins College, Winter Park, FL.
GladdeningLight is pleased to announce two new special events as part of Voices of Light weekend this fall at Rollins College. Saturday, November 19, 2016 will be a day devoted to scholarship from world-renowned Joan of Arc medievalist Bonnie Wheeler and oratorio composer Richard Einhorn, among others.
At 2:00 pm, Professor Wheeler will deliver a talk, Fresh Verdicts on Joan of Arc, in the college’s Bush Auditorium. Bonnie Wheeler is a six-time recipient of SMU’s Outstanding Teacher Award, has been awarded the Phi Beta Kappa Perrine Prize for excellence in scholarship and teaching, and is founder of the International Joan of Arc Society.
Later that day at 4:00 pm, a forum of luminaries including Richard Einhorn, Bach Festival Society Artistic Director John V. Sinclair and Enzian president Henry Maldonado will be convened in the Bush Auditorium to discuss The Passion of Joan of Arc film, its rediscovery and restoration as impetus for the Voices of Light oratorio composition, musical aspects of the score, and Joan’s spiritual place in history. Both events will be offered free-to-the-public.
GladdeningLight in partnership with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park will screen The Passion of Joan of Arc, a masterpiece of silent film with live accompaniment from one hundred voices and period orchestra under the direction of John Sinclair. This will represent the Central Florida premiere for Voices of Light, Friday & Saturday evenings, two performances only, November 18 & 19, 2016 at the Knowles Memorial Chapel.
Much more than a movie, this special event will acquaint the audience with a mix of opera and oratorio chronicling Saint Joan, divine feminine hero and founder of modern France. The Passion film directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer in 1928 is considered by many critics to be one of the ten best movies ever made. Composer Richard Einhorn’s contemporary oratorio elevates the film to transcendent heights with orchestration played on instruments authentic to the period and vocals that harken to medieval French.
Voices of Light tickets for the general public go on sale today at the Bach Festival Society box office or by calling (407) 646-2182. Reserved seating is priced at $35/$45/$65, and both performances are sure to fill quickly. Discounted hotel rates* are within walking distance at The Alfond Inn and Park Plaza Hotel.
Don’t miss what the Toronto Star called “…a mesmerizing marriage of sight and sound…a guaranteed spellbinder” and The Los Angeles Times hailed as “…a triumph!”
Images
Start:
November 18, 2016
End:
November 19, 2016
Location:
Rollins College
Winter Park FL
Google Map
Organization:
Voice of Light
Website:
http://gladdeninglight.org/voices-of-light/
Telephone:
(407) 646-2182
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