Where have you seen expressons of passionate spiriutality n your life, and in the life of the parish?
Julianne Day:
I actually think about passionate spirituality every time I drive past St. Andrew's now. "Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come." In the last few weeks, it's struck me that passionate spirituality often shows in our everyday interactions with one another b/c these are ways we express our faith just as much as how we respond in worship. Several people in the congregation have suggested where I should look for a job or people for me to meet with, and I think this urge to help is evidence of passionate spirituality.
I was also impressed a few Sundays ago by Sergei Guider's actions while helping to serve breakfast to homeless/jobless/foodless people at St. Mark's: he spent most of his morning sitting and talking with them (instead of preparing food in the kitchen) and then lined up WITH them to receive his breakfast. Instead of simply serving them, he tried to become one of them. I was so impressed.
Has your personal prayer life been effected by our NCD involvement?
I'd say the only thing I've done differently was signing up to pray for the Easter Vigil this year. Since I don't usually spend much time in structured prayer, I had second thoughts after I signed up -- what if I couldn't pray for a whole hour? But it wasn't as hard as I'd feared. Something about walking into that quiet chapel space, where two of my fellow parishioners were already kneeling in prayer filled me with peace and allowed me to focus. The tag team aspect of the vigil reminded me that we "relieve" each other in the work of the parish; not one of us is expected to meet the needs of the world (or even of ourselves) alone.That's all that comes to mind at the moment. What are everybody else's experiences?~Julianne
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Passionate Spirituality: Barb Visota
Where do you see expressions of passionate spirituality in your life or in the life of the congregation?
From Barb Visota
I have been thinking about passionate spirituality and asking friends what it means to them. What I have realized is that it is completely personal and different for everyone.
I keep remembering what Clark said at one of our early meetings about quiet devotion. That makes me think about the story of Martha and Mary. One expressed her passion by working hard to meet the practical needs of others as a way to serve. The other chose to be passionate about listening for the voice of God. One expression of passion is every bit as valid as the other.
What I have to remember is not to get perturbed with anyone because the way they choose to express their spirituality is not the way I would choose.
For me, being passionately spiritual is a choice. I don't wait for passion to strike like inspiration, I choose to be passionate. And once I've made that choice God keeps it going. There is a thought that runs through my day, a feeling that there's always someone walking next to me and that keeps me making the choice every day to continue to be passionate.
Last week I was at a memorial service for a friend. The priest was talking about the ways we practice Christian values in our lives and he said that "we follow as we know". Maya Angelou says "we do what we know and when we know better, we do better".
Just by contemplating the meaning of passionate spirituality I am beginning to "know better" which is bringing me and keeping me closer to God.
I was surprised that people in the focus groups were surprised that we scored lower on passionate spirituality. They saw very plain evidence of it all through our congregation. Maybe it was always there, we just weren't expressing it openly. And maybe just contemplating that will help more people "know better" and follow as they know.
I'm praying that God will release our potential and our faith.
From Barb Visota
I have been thinking about passionate spirituality and asking friends what it means to them. What I have realized is that it is completely personal and different for everyone.
I keep remembering what Clark said at one of our early meetings about quiet devotion. That makes me think about the story of Martha and Mary. One expressed her passion by working hard to meet the practical needs of others as a way to serve. The other chose to be passionate about listening for the voice of God. One expression of passion is every bit as valid as the other.
What I have to remember is not to get perturbed with anyone because the way they choose to express their spirituality is not the way I would choose.
For me, being passionately spiritual is a choice. I don't wait for passion to strike like inspiration, I choose to be passionate. And once I've made that choice God keeps it going. There is a thought that runs through my day, a feeling that there's always someone walking next to me and that keeps me making the choice every day to continue to be passionate.
Last week I was at a memorial service for a friend. The priest was talking about the ways we practice Christian values in our lives and he said that "we follow as we know". Maya Angelou says "we do what we know and when we know better, we do better".
Just by contemplating the meaning of passionate spirituality I am beginning to "know better" which is bringing me and keeping me closer to God.
I was surprised that people in the focus groups were surprised that we scored lower on passionate spirituality. They saw very plain evidence of it all through our congregation. Maybe it was always there, we just weren't expressing it openly. And maybe just contemplating that will help more people "know better" and follow as they know.
I'm praying that God will release our potential and our faith.
Passionate Spirituality: Will Campbell
Where have you seen an expression of passionate spirituality in your life or in the life of St. Andrews?
From Will Campbell:
I love to sing, making a joyful noise as it were. I sing in the car, in the shower, along with the radio; and sometimes I make up my own songs. I’ll sing Broadway Show tunes, pop, ballads, country, you name it.
If memory serves me well (and let’s just face the truth, sometimes it doesn’t) I’ve been with St. Andrew’s choir since the fall of 1995. In that entire time, I’ve never sung a solo. I had been asked to do so, but decided it wasn’t for me. Now there have been one, maybe two times, I’ve had to sing my tenor part alone, but everyone else was singing their part also. So that really doesn’t count.
I was asked to sing the Exultet for Easter Vigil this year. At first, when I got the e-mail, after reading it, I ignored it. Then, after a day or so, I looked at the words and listened to a recording of a real life Cantor. It was frightening to think I might actually do this. You see, it’s sung a cappella, or singing without instrumental accompaniment. And, it’s about seven minutes long. There was no way I was going to do that. Then, the call came. “Did you get the e-mail?” “Are you going to do it?” After having a week to think about it, I blurted out “YES!”
When I reflect on why I said yes, I grasp that the Holy Spirit was weaving in and around my life. Our church family was in the midst of learning about Natural Church Development (NDC). I am a contributor to the Health Team. Through a survey based on the experience of thousands of churches worldwide, we discerned that while we have a strong parish and passionate parish family, we could increase our spiritual passion. The many meetings, reflections, readings and sharing within the Health Team led me to say yes to singing the Exultant. I would say that the Holy Spirit moved me.
Was the singing of the Exultet perfect that night? Was I on pitch throughout? No. But that doesn’t really matter. I did practice singing it through the weeks leading up to the Easter Vigil, and I did my best. That is all that God asks of me, of any of us. I left it in God’s hands to work out the details.
Will I sing another solo? Funny thing about that, I already have. Again, I was nervous. Would I be able to remember the words, the notes, the timing? While discussing these fears with a close friend, she said to me, “Just hand it over to God,” which is what I did. I let go of the fear of making a mistake. And God led me through it. It’s said that God moves in mysterious ways. Actually, God moves through those who love him. He continually puts friends in my path who challenge me, who love me, who support me.
Learning about Passionate Spirituality, what it means, how it can positively affect me, has been the catalyst I needed to push the envelope of my comfort zone. Thanks be to God!
From Will Campbell:
I love to sing, making a joyful noise as it were. I sing in the car, in the shower, along with the radio; and sometimes I make up my own songs. I’ll sing Broadway Show tunes, pop, ballads, country, you name it.
If memory serves me well (and let’s just face the truth, sometimes it doesn’t) I’ve been with St. Andrew’s choir since the fall of 1995. In that entire time, I’ve never sung a solo. I had been asked to do so, but decided it wasn’t for me. Now there have been one, maybe two times, I’ve had to sing my tenor part alone, but everyone else was singing their part also. So that really doesn’t count.
I was asked to sing the Exultet for Easter Vigil this year. At first, when I got the e-mail, after reading it, I ignored it. Then, after a day or so, I looked at the words and listened to a recording of a real life Cantor. It was frightening to think I might actually do this. You see, it’s sung a cappella, or singing without instrumental accompaniment. And, it’s about seven minutes long. There was no way I was going to do that. Then, the call came. “Did you get the e-mail?” “Are you going to do it?” After having a week to think about it, I blurted out “YES!”
When I reflect on why I said yes, I grasp that the Holy Spirit was weaving in and around my life. Our church family was in the midst of learning about Natural Church Development (NDC). I am a contributor to the Health Team. Through a survey based on the experience of thousands of churches worldwide, we discerned that while we have a strong parish and passionate parish family, we could increase our spiritual passion. The many meetings, reflections, readings and sharing within the Health Team led me to say yes to singing the Exultant. I would say that the Holy Spirit moved me.
Was the singing of the Exultet perfect that night? Was I on pitch throughout? No. But that doesn’t really matter. I did practice singing it through the weeks leading up to the Easter Vigil, and I did my best. That is all that God asks of me, of any of us. I left it in God’s hands to work out the details.
Will I sing another solo? Funny thing about that, I already have. Again, I was nervous. Would I be able to remember the words, the notes, the timing? While discussing these fears with a close friend, she said to me, “Just hand it over to God,” which is what I did. I let go of the fear of making a mistake. And God led me through it. It’s said that God moves in mysterious ways. Actually, God moves through those who love him. He continually puts friends in my path who challenge me, who love me, who support me.
Learning about Passionate Spirituality, what it means, how it can positively affect me, has been the catalyst I needed to push the envelope of my comfort zone. Thanks be to God!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Pentecost Sermon
Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-16:15
Some months ago, as we were beginning our Natural Church development process here at St. Andrews, I was trying to gain some understanding about the meaning of Passionate Spirituality. As part of the effort, I began to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. My prayer was quite simple….I would just repeat the words, “Come Passionate Spirit Come” again and again….Come Passionate Spirit Come, Come Passionate Spirit Come. Come passionate Spirit. As I prayed this simple prayer, I noticed, that these same sounds, with just a bit of a change in rythm also produced a different prayer: Compassionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come.
This morning, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, would you please join me in this prayer. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come………….
16 times a minute. 960 times an hour. 23040 times a day. Over 8 million times a year. In a lifetime of 80 years, over 670 million times. We breathe. Each time we breathe, we capture oxygen from the air. As we breathe, we bring energy to our cells. As we breathe out, carbon dioxide, waste gas is removed from our cells. We breathe to bring life’s good energy into our bodies. We breathe to remove poison, bad air from our bodies. When we breathe we are alive. When we stop breathing we die.
The spirit of God is described as the wind, the breath of God. In the beginning, God breathed her breath into the void, and creation was born. God breathed his spirit into Adam and Eve and they came to life. God breathed over the waters of the Sea, and the people of Israel were freed. God breathed through the prophets and the Israel heard God’s word. God breathed over Mary and Jesus was conceived. God breathed over Jesus at his baptism, and Jesus began his ministry of healing the sick, feeding the hungry, freeing the captives, and raising the dead. At his death Jesus breathed his last, and handed over his breath to God. God breathed into the tomb and raised Jesus from the death on Easter. Easter night Jeus breathed his gift of Peace over the Apostles. On Pentecost, God breathed the spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus over the followers of Jesus and sent them out to then ends of the earth.
Every time you breathe, the spirit of God comes into your body. That’s how close God is to you. Every breath you take, Gods energy fills you. 16 times a minute, 23 thousand times a day. Hundreds of million times in your life, the breath of God, the Spirit of God fills you. Every breath you take is filled with the energy of God. Every breath you take is filled with the power of God.
When we breathe, our cells are cleansed of poisonous carbon dioxide. To breaths is to be cleansed. God’s Spirit is a cleansing Spirit. What are the poisons that you need to exhale. God’s spirit sanctifies. She fills us with good air, as she removes the bad. What bad air needs to be removed: The poison of jealousy, lust, hatred, division, greed, despair, fear. As you ask for God’s life giving spirit to come. What poisons do you wish the spirit to cleanse.
What power from God do you need this day. Is it the power of courage. Is it the power of forgiveness. Is it the power of hope. Is it the power of truth. Is it the power laughter. Is it the power of wisdom. Is it the power of humor.
Pleae pray with me. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come, Compassionate Spirit Come.
In the letter to the Romans, Paul says that creation is in agony. Creation is groaning.
Floods, fires, droughts, famine, disease, earthquakes, and storms, violence and war, poverty and racism, and hatred, terrorism, countries spending billions and trillions on the latest weapons of mass destruction while thousands die each day for lack of clean water. Creation is groaning in agony. Reports this week state that climate change will kill 300,000 people annually. This number will rise in the years and decades to come. Creation is in groaning in agony, as it waits for redemption. The Spirit of God has been poured upon us to bring creation to new birth. God has given us the Spirit of Jesus, the power of Jesus to bring redemption to the world. God wants to recreate the world through us, God wants to recreate the world through you. We are the midwives of the new creation. The word compassion means, to feel with. I know absolutely no hebrew, but I am tolkd that in hebrew, the word for compassion comes from the words "to feel in the womb". To feel compassion is to feel another's pain, in our womb, in our gut. God feels the pain of the world in his womb. And, it is from the womb of God that a new world is born. God's compassionate spirit is bringing a new world to birth through you. Do you have the courage to bring that world to life. Do you have the courage toto dream God’s dream, to see God's vision of justice and peace? Do you have the courage to hope for what you cannot yet see. Do you have the courage to be God’s instrument in redeeming the world? Do you have the courage let the Spirit work through you?
Please pray with me. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. . Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come.
Most pictures of Pentecost show the tongues of fire on the disciples. Many show the Holy Spirit as a dove also hovering in the room. The dove is one of the images most of us has of the Holy Spirit. One of the images recently discovered for the Holy Spirit is that of a wild goose. Some claim that the image of the Spirit as a goose goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church. Whether or not it is centuries old or not it is still an image that has power. Wild Geese are not sweet and serene but raucous and loud. They do not fly away from the face of danger, but can be quite aggressive. They are annoying and uncontrollable. They make a mess. Wild Geese in flight are majestic.
How easily we try to tame and domesticate the power of God. We imagine God’s spirit to be gentle and soothing, someone that we can easily control. A spirit that is as passive as a gentle murmuringcooh. But the spirit of God is not always or only passive, or controllable, or quiet or gentle.
The Spirit of God can also loud, raucous and annoying. She bites at our heals to get us to move. There are times when she makes a mess of our well ordered lives and plans. As much as we would like to do so, we cannot control the Spirit of God. She blows where she wills. She howls when she wishes. There are times when she acts exactly as we wish she would not. The Spirit of God is not tame but wild.
In the midst of our worship each Sunday, we ask the Spirit to be with us. We ask her to cleanse us and gather us together. We ask her to come upon our gifts to make them body of blood of Jesus. We ask her to come upon us to renew, sanctify and unite us. We ask her to send us out into the world. As we pray for the spirit this morning, let us imagine not the gentle dove, but the wild goose. Picture that wild spirit coming upon us . Ask that spirit to make us wild and raucous. Ask that spirit to make us annoying and uncontrollable. Ask that wild spirit to blow through us. Ask that spirit to fill us with the passionate power of God.
This morning, we celebrate the Baptism of Charlie and Christopher. We aks that the Spirit be with them and us. We ask that the Spirit give us energy, we ask that she sends us into the world that the world might be recreated through us. There is no Baptismal hymn this morning, instead, I ask you to pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon the waters of this font. Ask that spirit to be unleashed through all who are baptized in the spirit. Ask that spirit to be renewed in us. Ask that spirit to be with us today and forever.
Pray, like thunder: Come Passionate Spirit. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit.
Acts 2:1-21
Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-16:15
Some months ago, as we were beginning our Natural Church development process here at St. Andrews, I was trying to gain some understanding about the meaning of Passionate Spirituality. As part of the effort, I began to pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit. My prayer was quite simple….I would just repeat the words, “Come Passionate Spirit Come” again and again….Come Passionate Spirit Come, Come Passionate Spirit Come. Come passionate Spirit. As I prayed this simple prayer, I noticed, that these same sounds, with just a bit of a change in rythm also produced a different prayer: Compassionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come.
This morning, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, would you please join me in this prayer. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come………….
16 times a minute. 960 times an hour. 23040 times a day. Over 8 million times a year. In a lifetime of 80 years, over 670 million times. We breathe. Each time we breathe, we capture oxygen from the air. As we breathe, we bring energy to our cells. As we breathe out, carbon dioxide, waste gas is removed from our cells. We breathe to bring life’s good energy into our bodies. We breathe to remove poison, bad air from our bodies. When we breathe we are alive. When we stop breathing we die.
The spirit of God is described as the wind, the breath of God. In the beginning, God breathed her breath into the void, and creation was born. God breathed his spirit into Adam and Eve and they came to life. God breathed over the waters of the Sea, and the people of Israel were freed. God breathed through the prophets and the Israel heard God’s word. God breathed over Mary and Jesus was conceived. God breathed over Jesus at his baptism, and Jesus began his ministry of healing the sick, feeding the hungry, freeing the captives, and raising the dead. At his death Jesus breathed his last, and handed over his breath to God. God breathed into the tomb and raised Jesus from the death on Easter. Easter night Jeus breathed his gift of Peace over the Apostles. On Pentecost, God breathed the spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus over the followers of Jesus and sent them out to then ends of the earth.
Every time you breathe, the spirit of God comes into your body. That’s how close God is to you. Every breath you take, Gods energy fills you. 16 times a minute, 23 thousand times a day. Hundreds of million times in your life, the breath of God, the Spirit of God fills you. Every breath you take is filled with the energy of God. Every breath you take is filled with the power of God.
When we breathe, our cells are cleansed of poisonous carbon dioxide. To breaths is to be cleansed. God’s Spirit is a cleansing Spirit. What are the poisons that you need to exhale. God’s spirit sanctifies. She fills us with good air, as she removes the bad. What bad air needs to be removed: The poison of jealousy, lust, hatred, division, greed, despair, fear. As you ask for God’s life giving spirit to come. What poisons do you wish the spirit to cleanse.
What power from God do you need this day. Is it the power of courage. Is it the power of forgiveness. Is it the power of hope. Is it the power of truth. Is it the power laughter. Is it the power of wisdom. Is it the power of humor.
Pleae pray with me. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come, Compassionate Spirit Come.
In the letter to the Romans, Paul says that creation is in agony. Creation is groaning.
Floods, fires, droughts, famine, disease, earthquakes, and storms, violence and war, poverty and racism, and hatred, terrorism, countries spending billions and trillions on the latest weapons of mass destruction while thousands die each day for lack of clean water. Creation is groaning in agony. Reports this week state that climate change will kill 300,000 people annually. This number will rise in the years and decades to come. Creation is in groaning in agony, as it waits for redemption. The Spirit of God has been poured upon us to bring creation to new birth. God has given us the Spirit of Jesus, the power of Jesus to bring redemption to the world. God wants to recreate the world through us, God wants to recreate the world through you. We are the midwives of the new creation. The word compassion means, to feel with. I know absolutely no hebrew, but I am tolkd that in hebrew, the word for compassion comes from the words "to feel in the womb". To feel compassion is to feel another's pain, in our womb, in our gut. God feels the pain of the world in his womb. And, it is from the womb of God that a new world is born. God's compassionate spirit is bringing a new world to birth through you. Do you have the courage to bring that world to life. Do you have the courage toto dream God’s dream, to see God's vision of justice and peace? Do you have the courage to hope for what you cannot yet see. Do you have the courage to be God’s instrument in redeeming the world? Do you have the courage let the Spirit work through you?
Please pray with me. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. . Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come.
Most pictures of Pentecost show the tongues of fire on the disciples. Many show the Holy Spirit as a dove also hovering in the room. The dove is one of the images most of us has of the Holy Spirit. One of the images recently discovered for the Holy Spirit is that of a wild goose. Some claim that the image of the Spirit as a goose goes back to the earliest centuries of the Church. Whether or not it is centuries old or not it is still an image that has power. Wild Geese are not sweet and serene but raucous and loud. They do not fly away from the face of danger, but can be quite aggressive. They are annoying and uncontrollable. They make a mess. Wild Geese in flight are majestic.
How easily we try to tame and domesticate the power of God. We imagine God’s spirit to be gentle and soothing, someone that we can easily control. A spirit that is as passive as a gentle murmuringcooh. But the spirit of God is not always or only passive, or controllable, or quiet or gentle.
The Spirit of God can also loud, raucous and annoying. She bites at our heals to get us to move. There are times when she makes a mess of our well ordered lives and plans. As much as we would like to do so, we cannot control the Spirit of God. She blows where she wills. She howls when she wishes. There are times when she acts exactly as we wish she would not. The Spirit of God is not tame but wild.
In the midst of our worship each Sunday, we ask the Spirit to be with us. We ask her to cleanse us and gather us together. We ask her to come upon our gifts to make them body of blood of Jesus. We ask her to come upon us to renew, sanctify and unite us. We ask her to send us out into the world. As we pray for the spirit this morning, let us imagine not the gentle dove, but the wild goose. Picture that wild spirit coming upon us . Ask that spirit to make us wild and raucous. Ask that spirit to make us annoying and uncontrollable. Ask that wild spirit to blow through us. Ask that spirit to fill us with the passionate power of God.
This morning, we celebrate the Baptism of Charlie and Christopher. We aks that the Spirit be with them and us. We ask that the Spirit give us energy, we ask that she sends us into the world that the world might be recreated through us. There is no Baptismal hymn this morning, instead, I ask you to pray that the Holy Spirit will come upon the waters of this font. Ask that spirit to be unleashed through all who are baptized in the spirit. Ask that spirit to be renewed in us. Ask that spirit to be with us today and forever.
Pray, like thunder: Come Passionate Spirit. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit Come. Compassionate Spirit Come. Come Passionate Spirit.
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