Snow Daze and Lenten Ways

  I heard it reported this morning that a church, somewhere in Columbus, Ohio, changed their sign out front to read, "Whoever is prayer for snow-STOP!" With three major snow storms in the past two weeks, the most recent and current one dumping upwards of nine inches on us, the call for a little relief is a welcome one. At the same time, the optimist would say we should have thousands more children in church soon as they come to understand that, their prayers for snow and school cancellations having been answered, they realize that God does answer prayers!
   As we prepare to enter the season of Lent, a time of reflection, of self-study (not self-absorption) and a time of turning our lives in new directions (repentance) I am challenged by the need to re-think what we will even do with worship this week as the weather forces changes in schedules, worship events and other Lenten activities. At Easton Community Church (UMC) we were planning to begin a Lenten Study called "Who is this Jesus?" about the different ideas and images of Jesus present in the gospels, scholarly writing, and within our own lives. Alas, week one has been postponed due to the overzealous prayers of some nine year old who didn't get his or her math homework done!
   But next on the horizon is Ash Wednesday. If the snow stops in short order and the "road warriors" are able to clear enough of the streets, as well as our parking lot, we will have Ash Wednesday worship tomorrow night. But with all of this "re-thinking" going on I have to wonder whether or not the church needs to re-think this as well. I'm not opposed to Ash Wednesday, don't get me wrong, I think it is can be one of the most beautiful and spiritually and emotionally touching worship experiences we have throughout the entire liturgical year. No, the point I'm making is that we often fail to communicate the meaning, the purpose of Ash Wednesday outside our four walls so that it might be accessible to those outside the church who might feel the need-you know, the "spiritual but not religious" (sbnr) crowd. Anecdotal as they are, in my conversations with folks who lean this direction and have no need for "the church" a common perception is that services like this are for the "insiders" who know the code words, who like the routine ("we ALWAYS" have this service-we ALWAYS do it this way) but who don't really go deeper than going through the motions. Oh, some might give up chocolate for the Lenten season, or coffee, or even facebook, but really-does that make a difference in the world? True, giving up something like that might be better for the individual, but is Jesus' message about the individual so much as it is about the community?
   So, how do we take the routine service of Ash Wednesday, or even any of the other Lenten and Easter worship experiences, and frame them in such a way that they might be inviting to those who aren't a part of "the church," but desire to express their faith in a way this is enriching, fulfilling, and mindful of Christ's call to servanthood? Open question, leave your comments, maybe we can all emerge from this snow daze with some new ideas on how to share the good news to those who won't be there otherwise.
  

Sabbath, Seashores, & Shells

  I just returned from a very restful vacation spent in a warmer climate than my Central Ohio home provides at this time of year. Sometimes when we vacation it is a very organized, highly scheduled affair, but this time it was totally without an agenda. Having received invitations to visit from two different friends who were in the Tampa, Florida area, we took them up on their offers and spent 8 very peaceful days just unwinding from work and the holidays. Waking to no alarms, hot coffee and no appointments to hustle to was a nice diversion from normal operating procedure for both my wife and I and was an amazingly relaxing part of our time away. Eating what and when we wanted, napping nearly every day, watching little television, reading extensively, picking up shells on the beach-all contributed to the "get away" feeling we both needed.
   So what made it Sabbath time? I don't know about you, but for me, I feel closest to God when I am near water, especially large bodies of water. I know for some the woods or mountains provide a similar connectedness, but for me the ocean (along with perhaps gazing into the stellar universe) is the most tangible example of the unimaginable power and vastness of our God. In the continuous sound of the surf I sense God's constant presence, in the white beaches I think of God's words to Abraham and my relationship to all of God's children-my brothers and sisters in Creation. Walking along, picking up shells-the handiwork of God, surf crashing around my feet in some sort of perpetual baptism celebration I feel closer to God than anywhere I go, including church. There, in the breeze coming of the ocean or, in this case, the Gulf of Mexico, there are no pretenses or presuppositions about what it means to be a child of God, there are no assumptions about what is "right religion" and what is "wrong," there is no orthodoxy, doctrine or dogma, there is only you, face to face with God's Creation AS God's creation IN God's Creation. There is nothing for me that is any holier than that.