From the Rector
The Grief & The Gifts
A practice that I have taken up in recent weeks is to reflect each day on both the grief I’m feeling and the gifts I saw in the midst of everything. It’s a slight shift away from the standard gratitude journal, but one that I think is very important for all of us right now. Because as much there is value in finding the good and looking for the silver lining, as a whole our society doesn’t grieve well – to our detriment.
When we don’t grieve, all those big feelings still have to go somewhere. My experience and observation is that they usually get funneled into anger and fear. Sadly these are emotions that society as a whole are much more comfortable holding on to, and in fact often seems to encourage.
But our faith tells us a different story. Feeling anger and fear are normal, but they are not places to set up camp and live. How many times in scripture are we told by God not to fear? How many stories in scripture serve as examples of what happens when someone lets anger rule their decision making?
But grieving is another story. We have many examples in scripture of people expressing their grief instead of running from it. Think of the compassion Jesus had when Lazarus died, the way he comforted Martha and Mary and wept himself at Lazarus’ grave before raising him from the dead. Remember the way Peter wept bitterly when the cock crowed for the third time and he realized his fear had led him to deny his friend three times. Recall the promise of the Beatitudes in Luke’s Gospel: Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Naming and acknowledging our grief is a faithful and healthy response. It is balanced out when we also seek out the gift, those things we can be grateful for. This practice is all about trust, kind of like the practice of lament. When we lament we offer up to God in prayer all those things that make us sad, angry, frustrated, confused – the things that make us shout WHY? And then, having given those over to God, we assert our trust that even in the midst of everything we’re feeling, we trust that God is with us and God will see us through it.
And that’s where I am this week. The last few days have found me with deep sorrows and heavy grieving. I have sat and prayed with it all, and it isn’t magically better, but I feel God’s presence in the midst of it. And by also seeking out the glimmer of good, I have found myself further fed with God’s love.
My hope is that you too will take the time to feel all your feelings, to pray, and to find some balance in this time of uncertainty and change.
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+
At Home Worship/Formation
Virtual Worship
- Join us for Zoom Morning Prayer at 9:30 am followed by Coffee Hour this Sunday, or watch the livestream on YouTube. A printable bulletin is available here. Click here to download a children’s worship bulletin.
- Virtual Compline services on Facebook are Monday through Friday at 8:30 pm. You do not need to have a Facebook account to “attend” – just click here to participate. While your at our Facebook page be sure to “follow” and turn on notifications so you will be alerted when we go live or post updated information. Compline order of service
Resources:
For a complete listing of resources visit our At Home Worship/Formation page.
- Compline order of service
- The popular daily devotion Forward Day by Day is posted each day online, and it too is available as a podcast.
- Lectionary Readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter: Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14
- Next Week’s Commemorations:
| 10 | Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf, Prophetic Witness, 1760 |
| 13 | Frances Perkins, Public Servant and Prophetic Witness, 1965 |
| 16 | The Martyrs of the Sudan |
Book Discussion Group Gather to discuss Ann Lamott’s Almost Everything – Notes on Hope. Our meeting has moved to Zoom on Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 pm.
WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Parish Administrator Hours for the week of May 10, as needed from home.
Prayer Rotation Please join the Daughters of the King in praying for each parishioner in rotation during 2020 by taking this notice home and by posting it where it will remind you pray to on a daily basis for the needs and blessing of:
Richard and Susan Straus
Maureen Suckling
Scott and Margaret Swetz
A member of the Daughters of the King will be contacting you this week for special prayer requests.