‘Tis the season, for busy schedules, hustle and bustle and weather concerns. I am feeling the pressure of finals and assessments culminating the end of my third semester of graduate school. As I sit to write this blog post, I realize I need motivation. I have a desire to express myself artistically yet an inability to motivate myself to do so. Where is that coming from? I am realizing that in the midst of all that is going on in my life I am outside of my window of tolerance. The window of tolerance is a term coined by mindfulness master, Daniel Siegel, who describes it as an area of arousal in which we can function. Certain stressors can push us outside the window’s threshold either above the threshold causing anxiety or strong emotions or below the threshold causing us to shut down or become passive. Continue reading
Author Archives: Elizabeth Richardson
Letting Go
I had a poignant interaction with a woman last night during Art and Spirituality that has left me in deep reflection. After our opening circle at the prison, where we each say our names and a prayer is read, participants began moving around the room to find their necessary supplies and identify a seat. Without fully knowing why, I had a keen intuitive sense that I needed to sit next to a specific participant who was one of the first women seated. The other participants were still shuffling around, locating the various art supplies they were intending to use and perusing the black and white images for coloring. I recalled that the woman that I sat next to entered the space in seemingly high spirits, but as soon as I sat down next to her and turned to greet her, I noticed that there were tears in her eyes. She explained to me, in a low voice, that she found out early in the day that her mother was just diagnosed with terminal bone cancer and was in the hospital. She continued to share the enormous pain that she felt not knowing if she was going to get to say goodbye to her mother due to her incarceration. Her pain was palpable. Knowing that there was very little that I could do to console her, I simply placed one hand on her shoulder and offered her my steady eye contact and fullness of presence. I said very little to her as she continued to share about the pain of not knowing. Continue reading
The Mystery of Love
Fourth Sunday of Advent, 4B, December 21, 2014; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 I have not lived in a house…but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. Romans 16:25-27 According to the revelation of the mystery. Luke 1:26-38 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. – or Here am I.
O God of impossible possibilities, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
Many of you know that I grew up in a household where wrestling with Holy Scripture was one of the things we did as a family for exercise. I didn’t know that some families went on ski vacations until I was well into college! I will confess that that discovery made me feel a little jealous, but over the years my gratitude for my dad’s insistence on Biblical engagement has grown and grown. Our Gospel story this morning has been calling people to wrestle – with paint, with poetry and prose, with music, with drama since the beginning. In fact, so many have wrestled with this text before us that we might not think we have to – we might think that we must either accept or dismiss the truth of the annunciation or accept or dismiss the truth of the virgin birth. Did this happen or not? (I think the answer is yes — sometimes.)
The town of Nazareth, in the Galilee is built on a hillside in the southern Lebanon Mountains. It’s a bustling Palestinian city now with a population of about 65,000. In the mid-nineteenth century, a French order of nuns built a convent in Nazareth. The Sisters of Nazareth have exercised their ministry there ever since. When I visited in 2007, they told a story of calling a plumber to repair a leak, who, in the course of his work, fell through the floor of the convent into a well-preserved first century courtyard house where there is evidence of 1st century Jewish occupants; there is also an animal feeding trough (a manger made of stone, not wood); and a burial chamber with a huge stone disk that can be rolled to cover the opening. Continue reading
Reasons to Rejoice
The Third Sunday of Advent, 3B, December 14, 2014; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 66:1-4, 8-11. To give them a garland instead of ashes.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
John 1:6-8, 19-28. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.
John 1:6-8, 19-28. This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
O God of hope, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
One of the benefits of sharing sanctuary and programs, families and friendships, with a synagogue is that we are regularly called out of theological complacency when it comes to our Christian scripture and Church tradition’s references to Jews – or Levites, priests from Jerusalem, high priests, Sadducees, scribes, or Pharisees. I changed the word Jews in our Gospel lesson to Judeans by way of putting a speed bump in our path, not because Judeans is necessarily the best translation of Judaios here, but because I want us all to slow down a little bit when we listen to this reading. John the Evangelist (that is, John, the Gospel writer) begins his version of the story of Jesus with tension between “the Jews” and Jesus in a way that the other three Gospel writers do not. For John the Evangelist, the tension started before Jesus even appeared on the scene. It’s not exactly clear to scholars who John means when he writes Judaios. He’s certainly not talking about all Jews or all Judeans even at the time, since Jesus and his followers were all Jewish. He may be contrasting Judeans and Galileans, but most likely he’s writing about some of Jerusalem’s religious authorities.[1] He clearly has an ax to grind that the other Gospel writers do not have. The Gospel of John uses the term Judaios some sixty-four times compared with six in the Gospel of Mark, five in Matthew, and three in Luke.[2] It seems that John, who was writing in the late first century, is caught up in a late-first-century conflict, which he is applying retroactively to the first part of the first century. I wonder if John is using the word the way some of us refer to “the police,” “the military,” or “the government,” when we are angry or despairing in the midst of struggle. I don’t know John’s intent, but I do know that we cannot let it slide. Continue reading
See, love, and behave accordingly!
The Second Sunday of Advent, 2B, December 7, 2014; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 40:1-11 Cry out!
2 Peter 3:8-15a Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
Mark 1:1-8 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 3:8-15a Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
Mark 1:1-8 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
O God of the prophets, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
Every year at this time, the church gives us a new advent – a new beginning — a new season of longing to hear and respond to lessons of prophetic wisdom and calls for repentance writ large. These calls are not for personal repentance, but for national repentance, for corporate repentance, and for ecclesiastical – that is Church — repentance. And the good news is that this year is no exception! The most magnificent sign of this kind of prophetic action can be seen in the large numbers of people rising up in Boston and all around the country to protest the status quo of racism and injustice. It’s good news. People are watching and waking up and demonstrating anger and calling for change. Continue reading
Squinting
The First Sunday of Advent, 1B, November 30, 2014; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 64:1-9 Now consider, we are all your people.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Grace to you and peace from God our [Author] and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:24-37 Keep alert…keep awake…and what I say to you I say to all: keep awake.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Grace to you and peace from God our [Author] and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:24-37 Keep alert…keep awake…and what I say to you I say to all: keep awake.
O God of new beginnings, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
Today marks the beginning of a new church year. Thanksgiving to God was our last act of the year that is now past. Baptism is going to be our first act of the year to come. I love baptisms! Hadley and Piper Stuart have come to us to receive the sacrament of baptism, an official welcome to the family called Christian, in the branch called Episcopalian, and in doing that, Hadley and Piper are giving us all a reason to renew our own baptismal promises. What a blessing! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Advent. Continue reading
Curve Balls
This week I’ve been reflecting on my experiences with curve balls in my internship. At Common Art I was asked to facilitate a framing group. I aided the artists in locating matting and description cards for their art, took note of supplies needed and held space for anyone who desired to prepare their work for display in the upcoming show. It warmed my heart to have one of the participants take the lead in the framing workshop. She has an eye for presentation and really supported another participant in his efforts. Having no experience in matting or framing art, I felt relieved to have this woman participant share her abilities with the group. Continue reading
Bad News and Good News
Last Sunday after Pentecost, Christ the King, Proper 29A, 1B, November 30, 2014; The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 64:1-9. Now consider, we are all your people.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Grace to you and peace from God our [Author] and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:24-37. Keep alert…keep awake…and what I say to you I say to all: keep awake.
1 Corinthians 1:1-9. Grace to you and peace from God our [Author] and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:24-37. Keep alert…keep awake…and what I say to you I say to all: keep awake.
O God of New Beginnings, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
Today marks the end of our liturgical year in terms of Sundays. Today marks the end of our reading of the Gospel of Matthew (I know some of you are thanking God for that). We have reached the end of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel narrative. This passage is the conclusive teaching before the Passion. It’s combined in our lectionary with another great sorting prediction from the prophet Ezekiel, and an interlude from the letter to the Ephesians.
When I was growing up, my parents were fond of prefacing announcements with: “I’ve got good news and bad news.” There was a household expectation of asking for the bad news first. Whatever the bad news, presumably, it would be balanced out by the good news (it didn’t always work). That trope kept coming back to me as I reflected on our readings for today. It’s probably not coincidental that I was anticipating my brother Rob and sister-in-law Anna being in church today! Continue reading
Compassionate Presence
Since beginning at Emmanuel and participating now numerous times in Art and Spirituality, Café Emmanuel, and Common Art, I have often found myself seeking a theoretical framework for myself to work within. What am I doing here and how is it rooted in my value system? What words do I use to describe it that fit me and can be applicable to all three of the communities that I work with as a part of my internship experience? In pursuing this interest I have been able to identify one word that I cannot get behind. That word is help. Continue reading
Intention vs. Perception
Do you ever wish there was a way to watch your interactions with others from an outsider’s perspective? Lately I’ve been keenly aware of what an asset it would be to have that reflective ability. I wish to gain an understanding how I am perceived within my interactions at Art and Spirituality, Common Art, and Café Emmanuel. When I was very young I was told by my father that it doesn’t matter how pure or good your intentions are if someone perceives them poorly. Clearly this issue is far more complex than “good” or “bad”, and I’ve found that it holds true for the most part. Understanding perception is something I will be working and reflecting on probably for the rest of my life.