My Sabbath Day

relaxed
lazy
limp
riding the waves
carried gently away
far from the shore
floating
weightless
held by a force greater than I

I am content
not to think
or plan
or worry
just to be today
as I am
in all my glorious sloth.

I am open
ready to receive
whatever you have for me.

Blow gently, my love
lest I topple over.

10A and My Church

I was used to the pastor meetings on the subject of gay ordination
quiet, calm, respectful.
so I brought the issue to my church.

There's a difference between dialogue and debate.
Debate seeks to persuade another.
It's closed to other opinions.
It's more interested in championing a point of view.

Dialogue involves listening to another.
It seeks to understand
and to find common ground.

I thought we would have a dialogue last Wednesday night.
I was wrong.
Gay ordination is a subject of debate in my little congregation.
Some people may leave the PCUSA over it.
Here's why they tell me:

We've strayed too far from the clear mandates of Scripture.
From now on General Assembly will force this down our throats.
There's no such thing as a monogamous gay.
We are encouraging sexual experimentation.

My son is gay, an elder told us.
He is the kindest, most gentle man you will ever meet.
He would make a fine elder.
And from others -
Every gay person I have ever known is kind and loving.
There is no difference. We are all God's children.
My gay friends are too scared to come to church.
A gay minister has spoken in this church and been well received
even though no one knew he was gay.

We are not of one mind on this issue.
We are divided within our congregation
as we are within the Presbytery
as we are within the entire PCUSA.

It's time to breathe
really breathe
the life giving flow of the Holy Spirit.
We dare not move forward
wherever forward is
without taking deep breaths
really deep breaths.

In life and in death we belong to God
In our struggles and fights we belong to God.
In our good times and tension filled times
God will never let us go.
I cling to that
as I take another deep breath.

Visual Prayer for Mother's Day

This morning I held my two little creations before me.
They are both visual prayers
cut from black card stock
and magazines.
One is liturgical
all purple with bright yellow spashes
a prayer for Easter to bloom in my heart.

The other is the bliss of mother love
mutual love
between a mother tiger and her cub.

missing my mom today
missing my son and daughter
and the times we held each other close.

asking God to hold me today
in strong mother love
and Easter joy
as we birth
yet another sermon.