Tag: Prayer
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Blessed are the Autumn Daisies
Long after the trees have dropped their leaves, and the canopy of green becomes a jagged collection of branches reaching upward toward the disappearing sun, long after the geese have ceased honking and the birds have stopped their morning songs, long after the bushes begin to blaze but are not yet consumed, long after the…
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When you can’t find the words
My calling is centered around language, as language is the way to communicate, to express. In my pastoral role, it is my charge to speak to the community and for the community — to express the experiences and life of the community and to help us all find meaning in our individual and shared experiences.…
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Stepping Into the Unknown
My sermon from this past Sunday. Text was Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16. Faith. Hope. Assurance. Christianity has its own language, its own vocabulary, and for those who are new to the Christian faith or new to the church, the vocabulary can be somewhat confusing, with terms that are used so often and so frequently and…
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Hump Day Hymns: Welcome, Sweet Day of Rest
Welcome, sweet day of rest, That saw the Lord arise; Welcome to this reviving breast, And these rejoicing eyes! The King himself comes near, And feasts his saints today; Here we may sit, and see him here, And love, and praise, and pray. One day amidst the place Where my dear God hath been, Is…
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Deep seated pieties
As I closed my eyes, I felt moved to a different time, and a different space. In becoming familiar with our denomination’s new hymnal, Lift Up Your Hearts, there was a hymn sing at the annual gathering of delegated Ministers of Word and Sacrament and Elders from the entire denomination from around the United States and Canada.…
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A Fresh Start
The lure of a fresh start is ubiquitous. The idea that we are not tied to our past, that we are not destined to repeat the mistakes we had made, the idea that change and redemption is possible, and if only we could make a fresh start without our past following us, we could live…
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Meeting God at Lake Michigan
The breeze was cool and the geese honked as they flew overhead. Right in front of the dock on which I am sitting, I listed to a rowboat quietly skimming across the surface of the water, the only sound to be heard is the oars dipping into the water to propel the small boat toward…
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“…With Sighs Too Deep for Words”
I had an out-of-town meeting yesterday, about an hour away. On my way to this meeting, the distance provided me with one full hour of unstructured alone time. I was not reading, I was not making telephone calls, I was not having people stop by my office, and I was not writing. I had an…
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Earnestly Praying for Peace
“Pray for peace.” This is a common thing to say. I pray for peace. Mostly, however, I’ve prayed for the idea of peace, I’ve never had to actually earnestly pray for peace before. The Milwaukee area is still on edge from the massacre at the Sikh temple in one of the south suburbs. We have…
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The Idea of Brokenness is Great…
I like the idea of brokenness. I like thinking and talking about the fact that the church is a place for broken people, where broken people can be accepted and loved. I like Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and all that. I say that I like the idea of brokenness, because the…
Matthew van Maastricht 