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The notion of knitters as grandmotherly and traditional women originated when knitting was a necessity, required to save money on clothing and, sometimes, to supply wartime needs for soldiers’ garments….(Today there is demand for knitted face masks to be worn underneath helmets for soldiers)  The memory of those times haunted women, who, in the 60’s and 70’s, took on new roles within the family.  2nd  wave feminists documented the changing attitude toward domestic work.  Women with paying jobs had less…

“I saw a scarf just like that at Walmart!”  lady at park. I think to myself:   “Actually no, you didn’t.  This scarf may look like it came from Walmart but actually it was made by hand.  My hands.  And it took approximately 180 hours.  It is handcrafted, stitch by stitch, and it exists because I put blood sweat and tears into this scarf and ripped it out over and over again until I got the pattern just right.  I…

“Sometimes I wonder about modern patterns.  I wonder whether, back when knitters devised their own, they didn’t learn more about knitting.  Truly, to knit a sock without a pattern you need a really, really good understanding of how knitting works.  It seems to me that having all the information handed to us at every turn means we don’t really  need to think too much.” (from Meditations For Women Who Knit Too Much by Stephanie Pearl McPhee) There is a ”…

  In her book Knitting Without Tears, mother of knitting Elizabeth Zimmerman writes:  “Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.  When I say properly practiced, I mean executed in a relaxed manner, without anxiety, strain, or tension, but with confidence, inventiveness, pleasure, and ultimate pride.” The same might be said of prayer. “Properly practiced, praying soothes the troubled spirit and it doesn’t hurt the untroubled spirit either.  When I say properly practiced,…

  In the coming weeks we will have 3 stand along worship celebrations. The first of these will center on Knitting and faith. Our Scripture this week is from the book of Psalms and is meant to inspire and to set the tone for our worship.  In Psalm 139: 13-15  God is portrayed  as a knitter. 13 For it was you who formed my inward parts;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am…

Olympic memories.  Many of us hold them.  This piece shows us that Olympics athletes themselves also look back on special moments.  Memory new memories.  Consider the memories that you hold dear.  What actions have you taken to fulfill your dreams? Click here to view a wonderful piece on Olympic Memories.

The writer of the Gospel of John uses “bread” and “truth” and “light”, all symbols from the common fund of religious experience and life of those ancient times.  Jesus claims these symbols as an alternative to the titles people would have expected such as “king’”.  Why does John put these words together for Jesus?  Might it be important that the reader understand the significance of ones own experience as a path to believing in Jesus? There have been many moments…

We wrap up our three-week worship series, Olympic Faith, this Sunday as we look at Olympic Memories. July 29:  Olympic Messes August 5:  Olympic Medals August 12:  Olympic Memories Our scripture  for Sunday is John 6:35, 41-51   John 6.50-51 reads:  “This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I…

Opportunities for reaching in love are often missed because we have a schedule to meet, or a deadline to pursue.  Sometimes we just get bogged down in the mess of words and opinions and can forget that God’s call to “love our neighbor” can be a simple meal around a table.  This week Matt and Eleanor shared God’s love on behalf of all of us at The Table.  See the story here:  Reaching in love.  

There is controversy over the actions of the Chinese Olympic Badminton team.  They have admitted to purposely playing poorly in the preliminary matches in order to secure a favorable spot in the quarter finals.  Some call this cheating. When swimmers “coast in” at the end of their qualifying heats, are they purposely swimming “less than their best” or are they saving their best for the finals? When runners don’t “go all out” during the early qualifying heats, are they cheating…

The ancient Greeks, whose Olympiads can be traced back to 776 B.C., did not give out medals but rather awarded olive wreaths upon their victors. The medal tradition began with the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, where winners got silver, seconds got bronze and third place got nothing. In the intervening 112 years, the awards have been rectangular, ridged, doughnut-like, gilded and uniquely shaped. The Olympic medals’ circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the…

We continue our three-week worship series, Olympic Faith, this Sunday as we focus on Olympic Medals and John 6.24-35. John’s Gospel invites us to wonder about “the work of God” and about belief in Jesus as the bread of life.  Jesus says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one God has sent” (6.29).  David Lose writes, “this scene provides something of a halting but progressive disclosure that in Jesus God is revealing God’s own self…