Category Archives: Faith

Hopes for the New Year

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I Will Light Candles this Christmas

I will light Candles this Christmas:
Candles of joy despite all sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,

Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long.

by Howard Thurman

Just the other day one of my nephews asked what I hoped for the new year. At least I think he used the word “hope.”

After a brief pause I replied that I hoped the same thing I hope every day: shalom – the Hebrew word for peace.

As I understand it, it’s so much more than the absence of conflict. I hope that of course: the end of war between nations, the end of hostility between neighbors, the end of animosity within families.

I also hope for shalom/peace, in the sense of good health, healing, and wholeness. I hope for communities where all are truly welcomed and treated with respect. I hope for safe places where the gifts of each and every person are held sacred and celebrated. I hope for generosity and good will among all.

I hope that for you.

And I pray that after I light candles, I will have the integrity and courage to act in ways that further shalom/peace in our world.

Musing: Rainbows

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It was another gloomy day in central Iowa.
Dense fog warnings for commuters.
Thick clouds hiding any hint of sunshine.

It was the perfect day to go back to bed.
But I had to take the original copy of my best beloved’s will to the attorney.

On the way home, I detoured by the Greater Des Moines Botanical Gardens.
I had no intention of going in.
Just wanted to walk along the Des Moines River (the paved path had been cleared).

This rainbow colored sculpture caught my attention.
In a landscape of white and shades of dreary, I couldn’t help but smile.
The bright colors lifted my spirits.
And left me thinking about rainbows.

A sign of hope.
After the storm – between storms – the sun peeks through.
There is a moment of calm.
An opportunity to pause, to take a deep breath.

Time to remember.
The story of the Great Flood and the bow God set in the clouds. (Genesis 9:12-16)
A sign from God. A sign for God.
That God will see and remember the promise not to destroy all flesh with a flood.

But there are still floods. There are times of destruction.
Periods of being overwhelmed.
Some as a consequence of life, of living, of being part of creation.
Many a matter of our own making. (sigh)

Yet there are rainbows.
Reminders to pause, to take a deep breath.
Opportunities to be still, to remember, to give thanks.

God remembers.
Has been been with us through the storm.
Will be with us when clouds gather and floods come.
Is here now.

For today, that is enough.

After All Souls Day

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Monday was my first All Souls’ Day remembering my best beloved.

While I miss him dearly I am also grateful that for him all sickness and suffering is past.

John lived with metastatic prostate cancer for more than nine years and took time to consider a farewell.  As I establish a new rhythm of living and return to blogging (at least that’s my intent!), I thought I’d share his final word.

‘Biography’ by Shel Silverstein (from Every Thing On It, 2011):  ‘First he was born / And then he was warned / And then he learned how to swim / And then he was married / And then he was buried / And that’s all that happened to him.’

“I do not have any ancestors of note. My descendants are presently in the midst of busy lives and, should they distinguish themselves, it would be presumptuous to claim credit for their success.  I stand in death just as I did in life. To paraphrase the words of Sir Winston Churchill, I was a modest little man who had much to be modest about.

“Let it be said that I have had the companionship of an exceptional person over the last twenty-five years. She brought joy to my existence and there is no way that I can express my gratitude for her presence.

“I am also grateful to the countless bright, humane people who have shared my life’s journey. Thank you. May your lives be as rich as mine has been.

“Gerolamo Cardano (1501-1576, physician, mathematician, astrologer, gambler, philosopher) summed my life accurately when he wrote, ‘Although happiness suggests a state quite contrary to my nature, I can truthfully say that I was privileged from time to time to attain and share a certain measure of felicity. If there is anything good at all in life with which we can adorn this comedy’s stage, I have not been cheated of such gifts.’ (from The Equation That Couldn’t Be Solved by Mario Livio, 2006)

“As Lt. Colombo might say, ‘Just one more thing’.  Since life is not quite as simple as Shel Silverstein has put it, there is one last detail that must be added. Human relationships are complicated and messy. To those I have offended or treated badly, I apologize.”

– John M. Clark, “Final Word,” 2020

“Whatever Happens”

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Forest. Soft Pastels Drawing by Teressa L. Clark.

A poem for these times from Wendell Berry.

Whatever happens,
those who have learned
to love one another
have made their way
into the lasting world
and will not leave,
whatever happens.

– Wendell Berry, 1998 I, in This Day: Sabbath Poems Collected & New 1979-2013 (Berkeley: Counterpoint, 2013), 183.

The note I wrote in the margin is “love one another.” It’s the new commandment Jesus gave after washing the disciple’s feet.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

– John 13:34-35, NRSV

Today I’d circle the phrase “whatever happens.” The pandemic has made life seem surreal. A month ago my best beloved said, “We are living in a science fiction story.” He’s right. Whatever happens isn’t likely to be what we might have expected two months ago.

I wonder…
Are we learning to better love one another?
Are we discovering the lasting world?
Have we experienced love that will not leave?

Whatever happens, dear friends, may you know you are loved.
And may you make your way into the lasting world.

+++

Note about the illustration: We have been doing art (or maybe just playing) with colored pencils, watercolor, soft pastels or acrylic paints every Tuesday and Thursday since social distancing and stay-at-home orders started. But not on our own! We’re following Facebook Live Instructional Art Videos by Paula Rotshafer. Look for The Creative Quarantine public group on Facebook or click here.

Colored Pencils for Praying and Playing

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Broken Colored Pencil Tips. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.
Colored Pencil Shavings in Trash. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.

After getting out the colored pencils on Sunday, we’ve used them everyday this week! So grateful to have found FREE RESOURCES to help us pray and learn and simply pass the time during this period of staying home for the good of all. Note: click on the name of the each organization below for more information.

Praying with Mandalas. Photo: TLClark, 3/16/2020.
  • Tuesday: Watching and Learning to Draw with Paula Rotschafer in her public Facebook Group The Creative Quarantine – my cow just makes me laugh!
Drawing a Cow with The Creative Quarantine. Photo: TLClark, 3/17/2020.
A Prayer from Illustrated Ministry. Photo: TLClark, 3/18/2020.

Be well, Friends!

Musing: Worship in the Time of COVID-19

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Sunday Morning Sun on Roses. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.

The roses had graced the kitchen table for more than a week.
On Sunday they became altar flowers.

In this time of physical social distancing
and with a householder in a high-risk category,
we opted to worship God at home.

Come, let’s sing out loud to the LORD!
Let’s raise a joyful shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let’s come … with thanks!
Lets shout songs of joy…!

Psalm 91:1-2, Common English Version

There were plenty of options to watch worship.
But I opted to create something a bit more hands-on.
(It might have something to do with the ministerial training in me.)

After Worship, 3/15/2020. Photo: TLClark.
  • SINGING using a keyboard and the songbook Songs & Prayers from Taize;
  • READING from a Bible, the Revised Common Lectionary passages for the day (can be found online at the Vanderbilt Divinity Library);
  • PRAYING for others using an intercessory prayer from The New Century Hymnal;
  • LISTENING and humming, and singing along to the “Lord of Light” CD by the St. Louis Jesuits (Bob Dufford, S.J.; John Foley, S.J.; Tim Manion; Roc O’Connor, S.J.; and Dan Schutte);
  • and PRAYING as the Spirit led with paper and colored pencils.
John Praying with Colored Pencils. Photo: TLClark, 3/15/2020.

But the time is coming–and is here!–
when true worshippers will worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:23a, Common English Bible

In ordinary times we gather on Sunday morning with other Christians.
For now, this works.

Be well, Friends.

Please wash your hands
and keep a physical distance from others.

And, if it’s in your spirituality, offer a prayer today for patients and their families,
for the the many, many people working to care for those who are sick,
for researchers and lab workers,
for decision makers,
and for everyone who’s regular routine has been upended.

Musing: “Bear Traps”

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Shoes on Rug at Front Door. Photo: TLClark, 3/8/2020.

Everything in its place.
A place for everything.

It’s not just about being neat.
It’s about being safe.

You must not insult a deaf person or put some obstacle in front of a blind person that would cause them to trip. Instead, fear your God; I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:14, Common English Bible

I led a memorial service not so long ago for a man who became blind at the age of 18. He participated in programs at Iowa Commission for the Blind and quickly learned to read and write Braille. He also learned to cook, do laundry, keep house, get around on his own, be independent.

One day he arrived home to discover his mother had rearranged the furniture. She’d unwittingly designed an obstacle course which they quickly dubbed a “bear trap.”

Shoes by the front door are a bear trap.
Throw rugs are bear traps.
Moving the spices in the cupboard makes a different sort of bear trap, but a bear trap all the same.

Any obstacle that might trip one up is a bear trap.

The more I consider the verse from Leviticus (above), the more I think that it’s not just about the physical stuff that might block another’s way. It’s also about the obstacles we set up that, intentionally or not, make life more difficult for another.

Steer clear of bear traps, friends.
Don’t set up obstacles that cause another to fall.
And remove bear traps for others.
It’s not only kind. It’s faithful.

Musing: Be Salt

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Salt Shaker. Photo: TLClark, 2/26/2020.

“You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:13a, CEB

I’ve been thinking about salt.

It started with a call from a funeral director. He had a family who was not connected to any church but wanted “prayers said for Craig.” I met with the family the next day and led the memorial service a few days later.

Salt Shaker with Box and Spilled Salt. Photo: TLClark, 2/26/2020.

Everyone who knew Craig knew that he always carried a bottle of Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. When asked why he’d say, “Everything tastes better with Lawry’s salt on it.”

It’s one of those quirky things remembered when someone has died. Having never met Craig, I would have forgotten it except for two sermons I heard the following weekend.

Salt Shaker with Poured Salt. Photo: TLClark, 2/26/2020.

A retired Catholic priest talked about throwing salt around. Be generous with it. Everywhere you go, fling it out into the world.

I’m still not sure about throwing salt at anyone. But I really like the image of indiscriminate extravagance. Spreading goodness and joy, love and laughter and kindness – anything that makes life a little easier or a bit more pleasant.

Salt Crystals. Photo: TLClark, 2/26/2020.

My pastor talked about being salt. Be seasoning. Add flavor wherever you are, wherever you go in the world.

The challenge: be salt even when it’s hard. Shake up a conversation when it turns negative. Speak up on behalf of one is marginalized or oppressed. Stand up for what is right no matter the cost.

Salt Shaker – Color. Photo: TLClark, 2/26/2020.

May you be salt, dear friends.
May you share salt with indiscriminate extravagance.
May everything taste better because of you and your salty goodness.

Photo Challenge – Rest

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Rest: the silence in music that makes the music music.

Rest and Rhythm. Photo: TLClark, 2/8/2020.

Rest: asleep, safe and secure.

Rest in Grandpa’s Arms. Photo: TLClark, 9/25/2019.

Rest: quilts made with love and a prayer for sweet dreams.

Pick a Quilt! Photo: TLClark, 2/8/2020.

Rest: relaxing with feet up.

Fuzzy Feet Resting. Photo: TLCLark, 2/8/2020.

Rest: eternal peace.

Rest in Peace. Photo: TLClark, 9/27/2019.

Posted in Response to Tuesday Photo Challenge – Rest by Dutch Goes the Photo!

Musing: Baptism and Buttons

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Bowl of Water with Blue Buttons. Photo: TLClark, 1/12/2020.

For local churches who follow the Revised Common Lectionary last Sunday was “The Baptism of Christ.” It is one of those holy days on the liturgical calendar that I rather like. Not only does it go without notice in the wider world, it has few – if any – expectations associated with it.

Remembering Baptism. Photo: TLClark, 1/12/2020.

Since I was leading worship for a colleague, I wanted to use water in some way to help us remember our own baptisms and the promises we have made to follow Jesus.

Plain bowls of water seemed boring (i.e., not visually interesting). Buttons have no liturgical significance. But I wanted something in the water and was reluctant to buy blue “stones.” And I have plenty of blue buttons on hand!

Blue Buttons. Photo: TLClark, 1/12/2020.

One image of baptism is to “take of the old and put on the new” – symbolized by the baptismal candidate wearing a white gown. I refrained from suggesting it Sunday, but maybe the buttons could be used to secure the new.

On a more serious note, here is a prayer from the Confirmation liturgy adapted for use on The Baptism of Christ Sunday.

By your Spirit, almighty God, grant us love for others, joy in serving you, peace in disagreement, patience in suffering, kindness toward all people, goodness in evil times, faithfulness in temptation, gentleness in the face of opposition, self-control in all things.  Then strengthen us for ministry in your name.  Amen.

Adapted from Order for Confirmation: Affirmation of Baptism in Book of Worship, United Church of Christ.