Posts by tablemanna (Page 13)
Swim Freely
After years of practice one learns to swim freely. This morning in worship Matt’s message will focus on how we might find Grace through swimming. We would love to see you there! Swimmers and land lovers welcome. All means all.
The Swimmer
by Mary Oliver All winter the water has crashed over the cold the cold sand. Now it breaks over the thin branch of your body. You plunge down, you swim two or three strokes, you dream of lingering in the luminous undertow but can’t; you splash through the bursting white blossoms, the silk sheets — gasping, you rise and struggle lightward, finding your way through the blue ribs back to the sun, and emerge as though for the first time…
Something New
This is my son Harrison. Harrison has been swimming since he was about 5 years old. He has always loved the water. As a young person he joined a swim team and this has continued into his life as a college student where he still swims competitively. He is a certified life guard and swim instructor. He knows a lot about the water. Take time to examine this picture, taken on the day he learned to wake board at…
Swim Strong
Swim Strong is a program in New York City. Watch this short video to learn about the joy of coming alongside another who needs your help. Consider your life this week. What is something you could teach another person to do? How might reaching in love with a skill you have save the life of your neighbor? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3BO2Ki85Vg]
Toward Sunday
We continue our summer worship series, Notice Grace All Summer, with reflection on swimming lessons this Sunday and will root our time together in Psalm 82. The Psalmist begins with God arriving at the “council of the Gods”. This concept of a “council of the Gods” is common in both the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. God arrives to the divine council and announces the Gods have ruled unjustly because they have failed to recognize the needs of…
Communion
Sometimes movies make things easier for me to understand. One of the best moments in my movie going life happened in the movie “Places in the heart”. This movie is set in the Depression in the 1930’s in the South. A widow (played by Sally Field) and 3 children struggle to make a living from their cotton field. The film has many complex relationships that reflect the cultural, racial and gender struggles of America. The Grace of God is made…
Blockbusters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9DCAbPmvHQ I saw this movie in the summer of 1975. We were on our annual family vacation in Lake Tahoe and we drove all the way to Reno to see it. I didn’t get in the water for the rest of the week. Seriously. The images coupled with the soundtrack terrified me. My imagination went wild. It was the classic summer blockbuster movie. Great story, threatening yet powerful music, dramatic action and a hero (or 3). Favorite line? When Brody…
Mighty.
“Superman does things we can only dream of doing. His exploits have enchanted us for 75 years, in part, because they invite us to imagine revealing ourselves as mighty men and women ready to soar skyward to save the day as an awestruck world looks on.” (from Ministry Matters) What would it be like to imagine yourself as mighty? What makes you mighty? How could you use your power today to “do good, do no harm and stay in love…
Toward Sunday
We continue our summer journey that will take us from Yoga to Crossfit, Baseball to Knitting, Picnics to Movies! We hope to rest in the assurance of God’s dynamic presence while we seek to identify the way in which God’s Grace comes to us. By focusing on Grace all Summer Long we intend to practice “noticing and naming” the ways Grace appears so that we will improve our skills in this area. This week our worship will be rooted in…
Picnics are process
“The picnic philosophy is one of flexibility, of leisure, of carpe diem. The sun is shining. Pack up, head out, give in. Heed the Slow Food manifesto: ‘savor suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure.’ And for goodness sake, enjoy. Picnics are process, or should be.” (from Urban Picnic by John Burns & Elisabeth Caton) What is your faith process? Do you savor suitable doses of doing good, doing no harm and practicing the spiritual disciplines?
Picnic pests.
“I do not like to eat al fresco. No sane person does, I feel. When it is nice enough for people to eat outside, it is also nice enough for mosquitoes, horse and deer flies, as well as wasps and yellow jackets. I don’t much like sand in my food and thus while I will endure a beach iconic I never look forward to them. My idea of bliss is a screened-in porch from which you can watch the sun…
Open Communion
Theologian Jurgen Moltmann in his book The Church in the Power of the Spirit sets out the theological rationale for “open invitation” to the Lord’s Supper (pp. 244-246): “…It is the Lord’s supper, not something organized by a church or a denomination. The church owes its life to the Lord and its fellowship to his supper, not the other way around. Its invitation goes out to all whom he is sent to invite. If a church were to limit the…