“One of the most concerning consequences is that we not only are seeing declining attendance but also declining giving and volunteering which is undercutting our ability to reach out to our neighbors as we race into Advent 2021.”
“Loving like that is simple and ordinary. Maria and her friends are doing it every time they build something of quality for a customer. I hope that I am doing it whenever I sit down to listen to one of my spiritual companions in spiritual direction and when I put together the worship aids and communications materials that my church needs.”
“This week what would happen if we choose not to honk at the person who cuts us off in traffic? What would it be like to give up a place in line to someone who might really need it? What if we gave a cup of hot coffee to a person begging on the street corner?”
“I would rather shelter with you, rootless
under the cold light of foreign stars,
wandering without a doorway of our own
than be parted from you, ever.”
“Yes, George Bush parachuted out of an airplane on his 90th birthday. Did the jump draw him closer to God? Who knows, perhaps. After all, trying new things, getting off one’s duff in a holy way formed the basis of Jesus’ call to his disciples: stop fishing for fish and start fishing for people!”
“In the dark I’m given the chance to rely on my other senses: feeling the coolness of the air, listening for an owl’s screech, the scent of burning leaves, and the taste of hot tea…”
“I loved the part about sewing clothes, particularly since I don’t and can’t. I can however use my hands in other ways. Let me tell you why that’s important to me.”
“Regardless, people continue learning throughout their lives. Our minds change a thousand times on things both great and small. Sometimes the changes are drastic, but more they are small. We know so much more than we did when we were six, or sixteen, or even thirty-six, and we will be wiser still when we become the elders.”
“Maybe all these items, people, places, and events are not gone. They are treasures stored up for me in heaven. I can pull them down into my heart—hold them again in my memory.”
“Holy, holy, holy, the hand of the Almighty One,
that brushes away the cares of the troubled
and stands guard over those who sleep.”