Pastor Annette's Blog
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"OF ALL THE THINGS GOD HAS SHOWN ME, I CAN SPEAK BUT A LITTLE WORD NOT MORE THAN A HONEYBEE CAN CARRY AWAY ON ITS FOOT FROM AN OVERFLOWING JAR."
~ MECHTHILD OF MAGDEBURG, 13TH CENTURY MYSTIC |
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November 27, 2018 Beloved: I can see seven squirrels’ nests in the treetops out my study window, but only in the winter. Each is about half-bushel size, made of leaves and sticks. Watching the little fellows go in and out, I got interested in their lifestyle and learned a couple of things. A family of squirrels is a dray, and an unrelated group of squirrels is a scurry. A scurry of squirrels is about the most fun thing to say ever. Seven nests is no indication of how many drays or scurries might live in these woods, since the nests aren’t homes, just motels. A squirrel naps in whatever nest has room when she’s tired. The interior is tiny. A big nest has room for two squirrels at most. They rest here and there as needed and then go back to work. Apparently, they aren’t especially social and don’t care whom they sleep with, which I suppose is both convenient and a little lonely. But I still have so many questions! How many nests are really out there and do they ever run out of room? Who decides it’s time to build another? And, who cleans the rooms? Who does all that motel maintenance? Is there some bushy-tailed siding & roofing specialist out there, keeping all those nests warmer, safer, drier? On the one paw, that’s just silly. On the other -- the nest closest to my window has been there for at least two years. Someone must be maintaining it, some genius engineer whose buildings stay put when every other leaf in the woods blows down. For all my questions, one thing I know for sure. Of all the things invented by a human, none surpasses the perfection of the window. ~ peace & prayers, pastor Annette Picture I took at my daughter’s house -- Elvis & Lando watching the world 
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 November 20, 2018
Beloved: Thanksgiving. The week I only work Tuesday and Saturday. Today it takes all my energy to stay in my chair and still I fail, running down to the kitchen to check on bread dough rising or turkey thawing. I’ve been getting my house ready for weeks and almost made it. The powder room is half wallpapered and I’ve no living room curtains, but who cares? My kids are home. The pantry is jammed. The rooms are clean-ish, and the first wave of out-of-town company is en route. Family. Home. Food. To be so rich overwhelms my heart and mind sometimes. People I know live without enough of one, the other, or all three. By choice or default, such poverty is so extra sharp this season I wonder if it’s cruel for me to speak of such things. At the very least I can resist claiming them as blessings. I have been especially lucky. I have the opportunity to be extra generous. The space between is where faithfulness is chosen. (Luke 12:48) So, much love to your house this season. I pray you have enough of all you need. If you have extra, I pray you also find the space to be generous. ~ Peace & prayers, pastor annette November 13, 2018
Beloved: The roof below my window is dusted with snow and the leaves are down. On sunny days I can see junked cars on the ridge beyond our house. Today it’s cloudy, so there’s no sparkle through the trees. From this sweet perch in this warm house, it would be a sorry choice to complain about one’s life. Still, I feel extra weary lately, craving flannel, tea and bed. Given half a chance I believe I could sleep a week. I’m not sleep-deprived or sick. I’ve nothing particular to avoid at work or home. Honestly, I think I’m overwhelmed with news. Depressing news. Hateful news. Trouble and division and doomsday kind of news. Information overload of the wrong sort of information. Then my Bible time is in the prophets, who are hardly better. They’re mad about everything! But then this morning’s Richard Rohr reading proposed a different slant on things. Regarding difficult situations, e.g. my current gloominess, ask yourself, is this problem something that I truly cannot alter or is it caused by something I am choosing? It’s true I cannot much alter the state of world affairs. But I need not choose hopelessness, either in attitude or behavior. How I feel need not be how I act. What I fear need not drive me to my bed. Jesus talked endlessly about the choice to see or not to see, concluding that blind people are those who refuse to see (see John 9). To that end, I’ve decided to change the day by changing what I look at. No News November is my plan. Or maybe, No National News November. Instead, I’m going to live locally, as locally as possible. Keep head, heart and hands to the most immediate moments and to the life within them. My darling girl almost home from college and old people at the grocery store. Downtown dogs on leashes and the FedEx man at my door. Woodpeckers in the trees out back and dog videos on YouTube. What news they bring will be the news I choose, then see if the news doesn’t fill me up like some grand Thanksgiving feast, instead of wearing me down to nubbins. Speaking of Thanksgiving, I pray a perfect one for you and yours. Don’t forget our annual Potluck Thanksgiving meal this Sunday, following the worship service. Also, please note that the November Church Council meeting has been moved from this Sunday, November 18, to the following Sunday, the 25th. We hope to see you for both important events! ~ peace & prayers, pastor annette  November 6, 2018
Beloved: We’re burying spring bulbs today, those of us who gather for Global Women, along the sidewalks and in the beds where they will sleep all winter. The ones the squirrel and moles don’t eat will return the favor in every shade of yellow. Just in time for Easter, which comes late next year. Because Global Women’s Gathering isn’t a religious program doesn’t mean it isn’t holy. Friendship, family, food and nature are our constant themes, each of which is sacred. Micro-diplomacy, better known as hospitality, is our chosen strategy for peace. Besides, it’s prettier, calmer, more fun, and it tastes so much better! Every time you pass a stranger is a moment to cross a border. To reach out in kindness. To smile. To bless someone’s child with your eyes and attitude. To offer help if it looks like help is needed. Or pray. We can always pray. Praying, seems to me, will have us carry ourselves through this world like the people God hopes for us to be. I love you. ~ peace & prayers, pastor annette |
I write a Tuesday morning devotional to members and friends of UBC. It is also posted here.
Enjoy! Pastor Annette Copyright
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