Friday Reflection: Stories Matter

Jesus was a storyteller.  

When he walked this earth, he told stories and he delighted in and lifted up the stories of his people.

• When he wanted people to know about God’s activity in the world, he told a story (Luke 8).

• When he sensed that people were showing favoritism that did not reflect how God created them to be, he told a story. (Luke 14)

• When he wanted to share about God’s extravagant love, he told a story (Luke 15).

• When he wanted to help people learn about prayer, he told a story. (Luke 18)

• When he wanted to encourage people to share of their God-given gifts, he told a story.  (Luke 19).

Jesus told stories within the Jewish culture that revolved around storytelling. These storytelling traditions are captured throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  It is important to reflect on ways our modern culture, influenced by enlightenment thinking of reason and deduction, has lost the art of storytelling that is actually foundational to our faith in God:

Parker Palmer, educator and activist, writes:

“Instead of telling our valuable stories, we seek safety in abstractions, speaking to each other about our opinions, ideas, and beliefs rather than about our lives. Academic culture blesses this practice by insisting that the more abstract our speech, the more likely we are to touch the universal truths that unite us. But what happens is exactly the reverse: as our discourse becomes more abstract, the less connected we feel. There is less sense of community among intellectuals than in the most 'primitive' society of storytellers."

The late Sir Jonathan Sacks, Emeritus Chief Rabbi, has quoted the late Ellie Wiesel who said,

"God created Man because God loves stories." Sacks goes on to say "We are the stories we tell about ourselves.... We come to know who we are by discovering of which story or stories we are a part."

Learning To Tell Our Stories

On 4th Sundays, some of us have been learning how the tool of storytelling can help us as we learn more about ourselves and each other.  We invite you to learn with us on Fourth Sundays between now and July. Here is information.  

During this season of Lent, we take time to receive the life altering story of the cross – a story of love poured out to heal us individually and communally.  The love story of the cross is our story of hope:

Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.  Ephesians 2: 16-18

During this time of Lent – as we walk together toward the Cross, we invite you to take time to explore your own story and pause to hear others.

• What is the story you cannot help but tell?

• As you listen to others, what are the stories (sometimes underneath what is being said), that they are longing to tell?

May we grow as a community that listens and tells our stories.  We are all walking stories. Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2) is with us as we learn to tell our stories and learn to hold another’s story.

Invitation

Spend time with your story; spend time with Jesus’ stories, listen to the stories around you. During this season of Lent, receive your part in God’s big story of gracious love.

A prayer by Caroline Lu

Guide me Jesus, the Christ
Who knows so much
Remembers from where I’ve come
The stories that I hold

Guard my thoughts, actions, and ways
That easily run astray
Give me your peace
That knows none other

 Be my wise voice
Attune my ears to you
As I sit in quiet
Amidst the whispering breath 
--
Caroline

Eco-act 21-04: Garden Calendar!

We’re starting a community garden…but dispersed! As you may recall, we are aiming to get our community gardening at home (in any form!). Our hope is that tending to the earth would reconnect you to God and all of Creation, and that any surplus you grow could contribute to Union’s robust food ministries. (For more info on our vision for Eco-Faith in this next year, read more here).

Union Gardens

Read on for a nifty planting calendar

To start you off on your way, we’ve developed a Planting Calendar detailing the kinds of produce you can grow, when, and how to get them going. Additionally, in the “Union Weekly Use” column, we’ve listed the quantity needed for our weekly burrito roll, with current recipes in mind. Obviously, there are some blanks in that column! We would welcome any and all produce that you contribute and can either add them to burritos or distribute fresh produce to Compass House or LUV.

If you would like access to the spreadsheet itself, click here. Otherwise, feel free to download this picture to print out for your reference.

Let us know what tips or tricks you might have in the way of starts and prepping your soil for a fruitful harvest. And, we will be starting a What’s App group to share ideas and/or a monthly zoom chat on a Thursday night — stay tuned!

We’ll be prepping our gardens right alongside you. Happy planting!!

* Useful references: Food Grown Right, In Your Backyard, McCrate and Halm; The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide, Seattle Tilth

** Assuming approximate last frost date of April 15th, per Sky Nursery

Friday Reflection: Journey toward the Cross

First Friday of Lent Refection from  Renée                                   2.19.21

Let’s journey through Lent together. For Jesus is our peace.

We journey together toward the cross. For the cross is for you, for me, for your neighbors, for our city, for our nation, for our world. The cross is for those you know by name; and for those who are strangers to you. The cross is for those in whom you delight and for those with whom you struggle.

Ephesians 2 says boldly:

The cross of Christ Jesus breaks down our barriers of hostility and enmity; the cross of Christ Jesus builds bridges for healing and new relationships where was none or only divide. The cross of Christ Jesus.

We are people that are quite aware of the reality of divide in ourselves, in our families, in our society. We know our tendency toward “othering” another human being. This season of Lent let us journey together toward that which brings us together. The cross of Christ Jesus. At the foot of the cross where we humbly bow to our Prince of Peace, there is no “othering.” There is only a new humanity in need of grace.

We are people who are overwhelmed by the sorrow and suffering of our world. We journey toward the One who “bears in his heart all wounds” (Edith Sitwell). The writer of Hebrews affirms in 2:18: “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.”

The Old English word for Lent (lencten) literally means “lengthen” and is translated to mean “spring” because spring is the lengthening of days as the sun’s light lingers in the sky.

During this season of Lent, we invite you to lengthen your vision toward the cross of Christ Jesus and to take time to meditate upon and give thanks for the centrality of the cross.  We are centering our Sunday messages upon Ephesians 2 while also reading other passages that bring our attention to the saving grace of Jesus.

You may want to read Ephesians 1-3 and spend time in various translations.

Walking Partners

As we journey together we also encourage you to reach out to a “walking” partner. Jesus never sent people out alone.  Who is someone you can connect with for a few minutes each week to share thoughts from your walk? You may want to physically meet up for a walk  or simply talk on the phone. Can’t think of a partner? Email jamesb@unionchurchseattle.org and he will make a connection.

Connections

We also will provide multiple times to connect throughout the week that you will find on our webpage:

Monday Midday Prayer | 12:15 pm
Wednesday Morning Prayer | 8 am
Wednesday Guided Reflections | 7 pm | March 3,10, 17, 24
Friday Movie Nights
Neighborhood Meals in Parks

If you have an idea for how to connect, let James B know.

Let us journey together in Lent, for Jesus is our peace.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride. 

--Isaac Watts

Ephesians 2:14-18
For Christ Jesus is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body[c] through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Eco-Act 21:03: Preparing and Waiting—Ash Wednesday & Union Gardens

Lent is widely recognized as “a period of penitential preparation for Easter,” often marked by fasting and somber contemplation intended to focus our thoughts on Jesus’ impending death—and our own mortality. Gardening offers supporting images for this: the garden of Gethsemane, for example, or the reminder that our lives originated from the earth and will return to it.

But Lent also invites us to wait and prepare for resurrection and rebirth, and gardening offers rich imagery here: seeds placed into the earth emerging as new life … John 12:24 reminding us that “if the [kernel of wheat] falls to the ground and dies … it produces many seeds”—the plants which returned to dust in the fall return to life in the spring … and, as Hannah Brown notes in an article for Living Lent, Jesus was even mistaken for a gardener, in the garden by the tomb.

Brown links our climate crisis to the “lament-and-Gethsemane” aspect of Lent, but she also links it to rebirth and new life. And she observes that “Since the middle ages, it has been tradition for church communities to create an ‘Easter garden’ during Holy Week.” Hmmm… sounds a bit like Union Gardens!

Three final items to mention:

• Don’t forget the Bill Gates-Anderson Cooper conversation on climate change, Thursday night, February 18th

• You might enjoy this reflection on The Vegetable Garden and Lent (thosecatholicmen.com)

• · Stay tuned for more news on Union Gardens in the coming weeks!

Monday Post for February 15

For Jesus is Our Peace: Walking in Lent Together

The season of Lent, the forty days of preparation for the celebration of Easter, is a gift of time in a world that pulls upon our attention in myriad ways. Lent begins this Wednesday, (the day the faith community calls Ash Wednesday).

 Here is a question to help shape this season: Where have I gotten away from God, and what are the disciplines that will enable me to find my way back to the One who is already turned toward me?

Lent 2021 Focus

For Jesus is Our Peace: Walking in Lent Together

During Lent the focus of our communal worship on Sundays will be:
For Jesus is Our Peace and we will explore the intimacy and expanse of the cross. We invite you to spend time meditating on, marinating in, and even possibly memorizing Ephesians 2.
We are highlighting the devotional The Way of Shalom prepared by Presbyterians Today. and will provide daily readings for you beginning Wednesday.

  For Jesus is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. Ephesians 2:14

The season of Lent, the forty days of preparation for the celebration of Easter, is a gift of TIME in a world that pulls upon our attention in myriad ways. Lent begins this Wednesday, (the day the faith community calls Ash Wednesday). Throughout history followers of Christ have discovered all kinds of way to enter further into the new reality created by Jesus’ death and resurrection such as solitude, prayer, fasting, pilgrimages, singing and many more.

However you spend these next 40 days of Lent (46 counting Sundays), we pray you will take time to walk with open eyes and at a pace of life that gives you space to be with GOD.

Here is a question to help shape this season:

Where have I turned away from God, and what are the disciplines (the letting go and taking on; the changing of focus and priorities) that will enable me to turn to the One who is already turned toward me?

Eco-act 21-02: Abundantly Overflowing

As we heard last week, Eco-Faith is growing in an exciting direction in this next year. And we want you along for the ride! Again, three focuses you can expect from us this year are: (1) occasional ideas of personal action that you can take to move toward climate healing; (2) climate-focused legislative initiatives that Union could actively support/engage in; and (3) Union Gardens, a socially distanced community garden that aims to grow produce to share with others in our wider community.

Today, we’ll be focusing on the possibility and impact of #3, Union Gardens. With the pandemic and all of the physical distancing that has come with it, our community has had to pivot to continue feeding our underserved and at-risk neighbors. We’ve rolled ~300 burritos almost every single Saturday (which get distributed as a hot, nutritious, personally wrapped meal to up to 7 different organizations per week). We’ve channeled tons of produce, canned and pantry goods, Farestart meals, and other items to LUV, Compass House Dexter, and other places. Our community has also cooked ~60 meals per week for Compass House residents and 40 meals for ICS clients weekly. And yet, with the pandemic continuing to increase income loss, poverty, hunger, and the housing crisis, — with a disproportionate impact on BIPOC folks compared to white folks — our community is even more in need of fresh produce and accessible food.

Union Gardens

Growing for our community

This spring and summer, if each of us took some time to pray, prepare, and tend to some dirt (in the backyard, on the porch, on the windowsill, in 415’s garden boxes), imagine what we might be able to create together! We could include more nutrients and greens in our meals and more sweet and abundant fruit for families and individuals in our city. We could save on some production costs while also growing local and offsetting emissions! And, when we are able to deliver fresh produce and burritos with ingredients from our gardens, our tangible care in the form of food says, “We see you and we care” AND “We’ve been thinking of you since the winter…with every weeding, watering, and harvest”.

As you prepare your own gardens now, looking toward spring and summer, would you consider planting a little extra for Union’s food ministry?

Right now, we are working on developing resources for when and what to plant, as well as how much we need. We will have more specifics soon, but we know our ministries currently use/need: red bell peppers, onions, greens of all kinds, garlic, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, carrots, and celery.

Again, we’ll have more on quantities and planting/growing tips soon (and we welcome your help and input as you’re interested)! We envision this as a type of victory garden experiment, and as a way to do something together while apart. We look forward to planting and growing with you this year — stay tuned for more!

Friday Reflection: Sound of Justice

The Sound of Justice:  Amos 5 (from last Sunday)

Seek the Lord and live…
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amos 5:6, 21-24

What do we learn for our time and situation as we spend time with Amos 5 and 8th century BC Israel?

The music God loves to hear is the sound of justice.  It is the sound of a society where people of all sectors of life can come together and know they are welcome, encouraged, supported, championed, embraced. It is the sound of voices praying together, lifting our voices in song that brings healing and restoration where there is pain and division. It is the sound of shared stories that unite us to our Creator and the Maker of heaven and earth. This is  Worship. This is the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

God loves to hear the music of justice that, with the Spirit of the Lord seeks out injustice – ensuring medical bills can be paid, food can be shared, children can have access to wifi for education, relationships can be healed, the environment can be enjoyed by anyone.  …  What would you add is the music God longs to hear?

Amos 5 and the image of an ever-flowing torrential river, traveling to the lowest crevices to bring the healing waters of life, bring to mind another river in scripture.

Revelation 22 says:  “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb  through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life … the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No curse will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 

You would think that God’s plan for humanity would be to restore us to God-self and then bring us back to the GARDEN again…

Instead, God does what is beyond our imagination and brings together all of the people of all nations into… a city. Not a city like Babel or Jerusalem or Rome or New York, or Dubai or Seattle. But a city splashed with color, spacious and populated joyfully with people of all nations, from all the earth. Together.

There is no temple in this City, we are told because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, Jesus, the ONE sacrificed for our sake, are the temple – the gathering place.

It is a city of wholeness and healing, full of beauty and joy, and in the middle of the city —right down the center — is the ever-flowing RIVER of LIFE. It is a river in which all have access to it with the tree of life on both sides bringing healing. IT is the river of justice of Amos. It is the water of LIFE that Jesus offers.

INVITATION

We, who live on this earth, held in the in-between --in the middle— are invited to live as bearers of hope and as people who remember that God hates that which destroys creation, hears the cries of injustice and invites us to seek the Spirit daily that we might participate in the flowing work of justice NOW in our CITY. In our neighborhood.  In our world.

And, Jesus Christ, our Lord,  is at the center.

What the people of Israel missed, what Amos came to proclaim and the good news we share is that REAL WORSHIP combines our gratitude and praise to God that Jesus is Lord WITH our acts of justice and righteousness in our every day lives,  in our families, our neighborhoods, our city. In our world.  

Lets participate in  Jesus’ everflowing stream of water that brings healing – a healing for you, for us and for the nations

A prayer for you today

Dear God on High, thank you that you say there is space in your story for me. Forgive me for not trusting your Word that says I matter and for seeking my identity in false images to puff myself up in the world.  Help me to trust that your Spirit of Life flows through me to bring your healing to this world. Open my eyes to see the places where my gifts, personality, and story can be a blessing to others on this journey of life.

Thank you that in seeking you, I find whole, real life.

In the name of Jesus. Amen