Beloved:
     The little golden retriever, Rosie Cotton, has learned a new trick and I am sure it holds a lesson about sin.  She is in deep denial about her debilitating addiction to tennis balls.  Convinced there is a tennis ball in the powder room, she searches the room over and over, shutting the door behind her in the process.  Stuck, she sings like a heartsick coyote until someone lets her out.  
At first she’s joyful, but the cravings soon return and she is powerless over them.  If I keep the door shut, she cries to get in.  
     Of course Rosie has no desire to change. She doesn’t know how the door got shut.  She only knows she’s stuck and release requires crying for help. 
Her crying is positively mournful.  
     How many times a day do I find my mind trapped in a web of negative thinking; deprecating to self and others?   Or turning to habits and appetites that numb against the ordinary stresses of living?  Or conversations that edify no one or nothing, but taste so delicious in the moment?   Worse among them, the conviction that by my own will I can break the cycle – that I am not powerless, I don’t need help?  When help is as close as the sound of my turning toward it.  
     Epiphany! The lesson isn’t about sin, but grace.  As our powerlessness grows, so we grow ever nearer to the Loving One who is on pins and needles, delirious with the desire open the door and escort us to the divine reality of our helplessness and God’s grace.   
       I pray this day finds you living fully in the grace of God.  peace & prayers, ~ pastor annette 

       

 

Beloved:

     I’ve begun a new quilt, a pattern called Broken Star Log Cabin; 64 blocks made of 17 slivers of fabric.  The largest sliver is 5”x1”.   The smallest is 1”x1”.   That’s 1,088 pieces of fabric to be cut, sorted, marked and sewn together.  I intend to hand piece and quilt it so I figure it will take at least two years, possibly 10, to complete. Numbering the blocks as I go, I will see my stitches improve, hopefully getting tinier and straighter over time. 

     Because it’s fun, that’s why!  The focus required, the slow progress, the quiet, the fabric and the simple tools; it’s a project deeply satisfying to some part of my spirit.  My hands crave the work and my mind the relief from bigger thoughts.  It’s restful and productive and all for me.   It can sit in it’s shoebox for months, waiting patiently, without judgment. I can neglect it indefinitely and nobody cares whether I finish it or not.

      The rest of my life is the very opposite.  Projects done well are done on time, or early.  Expense is a constant consideration;  time and money are always tight.  Improvement happens in the short term.  One item crossed off the to-do list is replaced by two more. Mission creep, I think it’s called, when the project keeps growing. 

       How strange that such meaningless activity can create so much space in a life. Could it be the design of Sabbath; the very practice of being set aside for awhile; absent, idle and aware of how little space I occupy in the world?  I return not only refreshed but a little more humble and grateful for the reminder that God has everything in hand.

      I pray this lovely, rainy, fall day is full of gratitude among God’s people.  peace & prayers, pastor annette

        
If you're interested, here's the quilt pattern:

        http://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=3375818516413375&Store_id=421&page_id=23&Item_ID=1796
 

    

    

September 18, 2011

Beloved:

     I just finished my oatmeal; a very precise concoction I invented myself.  I put one cup skim milk, half a cup old fashioned oats and 1/4 tsp salt on to cook.  While it simmers I prepare my mix-ins; one packet of splenda, half an apple cut up, two tablespoons of dried cranberries and 14 dark chocolate chips.  When the cereal is done, I stir it all together and sit in my chair to look out the window and eat.   Simple, healthy and so yummy!

       But it wasn’t always so.  Until about two years ago, “I don’t like oatmeal,” was a standard I kept.  Then, in a conversation about all its benefits, I thought to myself, “When did I get to be someone who never has to do anything I don’t like?”  So I decided to make myself like oatmeal.  Once I added dark chocolate, I was hooked.  Now I can eat it any number of ways, although plain oatmeal is still a bit of challenge.   The McDonald’s version is really good too.

       This fall, I hope to coax UBC to imagine doing all kinds of things; things we believe we won’t like, things that seem too difficult, even things that seem impossible.  I intend us to put God’s to the test (Malachi 3) and discover that all things really are possible for those who believe (Mark 9:23).

     For now, I plead with you to pray for hearts and minds that are wide open, totally receptive, without resistance or defense against what God might want to say through you.  Now is the time to imagine that God can do anything within and among those who truly desire to know and to do his will.

      peace & prayers, ~ pastor annette

September 6, 2011

Beloved:

“How very good and pleasant it is it is when kindred give together in unity!”  Okay, so technically the lyric is live instead of give but good and pleasant definitely describes the way UBC’ers have given together the past several weeks.  Just over $18K was given in July and August.  Combined with recent spending reductions, our undesignated cash balance has returned to solid ground.  Should this giving pattern hold, we will be on track to fulfill our 2011 financial commitments.  Maintenance is always the more challenging part but I have every confidence in your renewed and continued faithfulness!

Alas, all this talk of money.  Many people, including me at times, find it anxious, frustrating and wearisome.  “It’s not what I come to church to hear, do, think about . . . .”  are the honest sentiments of some; sentiments I often share and to which I am sorely tempted to cater.  But I can’t ~ and we can’t.  Truth be told,  I suspect that deep down all of us want to be different, to live differently.  We want to give more or give more consistently.  We want to do church well.  We want to reach new people and grow in faithfulness, in service and in numbers, hopefully in that order. 

Can people change the way they live?  By their own wit and strength – probably not.   With confidence in God’s promises and dependence on God’s  word?   Absolutely!  

My prayer for our church these days is for WILLINGNESS; that each and every one of us and all of us together will grow more and more WILLING to do whatever it takes to be the best, most faithful community of believers we can be.  That friends, is not fundamentally a financial goal but a spiritual goal with financial requirements.  These financial requirements are the avenue by which we have arrived at a new opportunity and invitation to grow into a new way of being and doing church.  I am so excited and energized about our life together.  My prayer is that you are too. 

         Don’t forget!  Potluck Wednesday Night Supper tomorrow at 6 pm.  Everyone is invited!  Bring something yummy to share.  peace & prayers, ~pastor annette

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