Your heart breaks for British soccer player, Laura Bassett, she, who kicked the ball into her own team’s net --- an “own goal,” a mistake seemingly too hard to shoulder.
Watch the reply of the game and you too break a little over Bassett’s bad break. It lost the game. For England. In the semi-final. Of the World Cup.
She is weeping….so much more than tears….she heaves as she sobs. One of her teammates holds her, cradling her teammate’s head that is buried in her chest as she walks her from the pitch.
Her coach comes to her and wraps his arms around her.
The announcer keeps repeating, “What can you say to her?”
Nothing.
She’ll hear it. She’ll read it. She’ll watch it ---- all kinds of messages of well-wishes and pick-me-ups. Yet, what she needs is space and support and knowing persons are there.
For most of us we have been on both sides of this moment ---- needing comforted and wanting to offer comfort. Why do we always feel we need to say something? We’re nervous and not knowing what to say so we too often resort to worn-out cliché’s.
Stop.
One does not need to say anything. What matters is that you are there....in the midst of it... with and through. That is enough.
sj;
Friday, July 3, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Sanctuary
When I was serving as pastor at an inner-city congregation in Erie, a frequent sound was the yells and loudness of children. Play in the inner-city seems to have a rougher edge than it's more pastoral cousin of rural rough-housing. One night while leaving the church, a young girl came running up the sidewalk to the church door and said, "I'm safe." I asked, "From what? You OK?" She replied, "I am now. I always run to the church because it's a safe place."
I remembered this moment as I reflect upon the murders at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. I've always loved the concept of sanctuary --- the safe place where persons run to and are sheltered and protected. I grieve the loss of this and even more that in many places of faith it was lost long before a troubled young man with a .45 caliber gun entered a church prayer and bible study meeting.
The deep disquiet over Charleston is because it was such a common, frequent occurrence. I have sat in many a church meeting space on many an evening leading a Bible study and joining with persons in prayer. I have welcomed the stranger who showed up and joined the circle of study and reflection. If we are who we say we are, we must continue so to do.
After the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States, congregations all over the nation were posting various slogans and quotes on their sign boards. Many were of the "God Bless America" variety. At the congregation where I was the pastor (also in Erie), I put "NO FEAR" on our sign board.
Of all the places in our society, communities of faith must remain open, hospitable places of peace. All talk of having the ushers carry guns or mace and installing video surveillance equipment to check-out who is coming to our locked doors must be denied and stopped. Remember who we are and what we have been given --- we are a people of peace whom have received a spirit of love -- this was made abundantly clear in the mercy-filled responses of the family members of the nine persons killed while attending a Bible study and prayer circle open to all.
I remembered this moment as I reflect upon the murders at the Mother Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. I've always loved the concept of sanctuary --- the safe place where persons run to and are sheltered and protected. I grieve the loss of this and even more that in many places of faith it was lost long before a troubled young man with a .45 caliber gun entered a church prayer and bible study meeting.
The deep disquiet over Charleston is because it was such a common, frequent occurrence. I have sat in many a church meeting space on many an evening leading a Bible study and joining with persons in prayer. I have welcomed the stranger who showed up and joined the circle of study and reflection. If we are who we say we are, we must continue so to do.
After the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the United States, congregations all over the nation were posting various slogans and quotes on their sign boards. Many were of the "God Bless America" variety. At the congregation where I was the pastor (also in Erie), I put "NO FEAR" on our sign board.
Of all the places in our society, communities of faith must remain open, hospitable places of peace. All talk of having the ushers carry guns or mace and installing video surveillance equipment to check-out who is coming to our locked doors must be denied and stopped. Remember who we are and what we have been given --- we are a people of peace whom have received a spirit of love -- this was made abundantly clear in the mercy-filled responses of the family members of the nine persons killed while attending a Bible study and prayer circle open to all.
Friday, June 12, 2015
Trademark "Good"
"I think we're creative all day long. We have to have an appointment to have that work out on the page. Because the creative part of us just gets tired of waiting." ~ Mary Oliver
Sometimes one needs a nudge...often one needs a series of nudges....ok, more often than not one needs hit over the head with a sledgehammer before one realizes, "O, that's what I should be doing....." As all of us can attest, one's days can quickly become a litany of to-do's and try-to-pleases and have-to-do-this-cause-it-will-make _______ (add whomever fits this space for you)happy. Faithful blog readers have read it before....ok, many times before....I need to commit to writing. I need to commit to speaking. Take this any way you wish, yet, I've had myself committeed to the task of daily writing.
Being one who always looks for a cool celebration or anniversary or special date to start anything new, today, 12 June, is perfect as it is the birthday of Anne Frank. Thanks be to the designers of high school curricula who deemed it important that students should read THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and kudos to Ms. Ruth Bird who assigend this book to my sophomore self. We're familiar with the story. On her 13th birthday, Anne received a diary that she named Kitty and on whose pages she confided. Anne and her family who fled Germany for the Netherlands went into hiding in response to the Nazi occupation and would eventually be captured and sent to a concentration camp where, except for Otto, the father, they would all perish. An acquaintence of the family, found Anne's diary and returned it to her father who had it published in 1952.
It is the dark backdrop of war and holocaust that brings even more gravity to, perhaps Anne Frank's most well-known quote: "Despite everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." I remember debating in seminary classes if humans were innately good or innately evil. I landed on the innately good side and so do still believe.
I recieved my call to ministry while working as a summer program staff for two summers at Jumonville, the biggest of the three church camps run by the Western PA Annual Conference. I remember working an elementary kids camp that included several little cherubs that would bring me to question my belief that we are innately good. Johnny, please don't wear our identifiable orange bandana as a loin cloth. Jennifer, the fire is to help us cook our supper, please don't pile on one more log as you yell, "Camp Inferno!" It was during this week circling through the woodsy version of Dante's levels of hell, that I recall the camp dean repeating over and over to the youngsters, "Remember, make good choices." Sounded good, yet, where was the instruction of what would happen when their choices were not good and bordered on destructive?
As we know, every action has a consequence, or, as I am fond of saying, every action creates a ripple ---- good or bad. Every person can list moments when we've made terrrible choices, created really bad ripples. For many of us, the consequences were lessened by a strong support system of family and friends and community. What about those persons who lack any support system? Who's responsible? As members of a shared community, what is our role? Do we have one? What happens when we refuse to play it?
A few points to ponder as the days grow hotter, the sun shines brighter and the grass gets greener.
More to come.....nudged worked;
sj;
Sometimes one needs a nudge...often one needs a series of nudges....ok, more often than not one needs hit over the head with a sledgehammer before one realizes, "O, that's what I should be doing....." As all of us can attest, one's days can quickly become a litany of to-do's and try-to-pleases and have-to-do-this-cause-it-will-make _______ (add whomever fits this space for you)happy. Faithful blog readers have read it before....ok, many times before....I need to commit to writing. I need to commit to speaking. Take this any way you wish, yet, I've had myself committeed to the task of daily writing.
Being one who always looks for a cool celebration or anniversary or special date to start anything new, today, 12 June, is perfect as it is the birthday of Anne Frank. Thanks be to the designers of high school curricula who deemed it important that students should read THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK and kudos to Ms. Ruth Bird who assigend this book to my sophomore self. We're familiar with the story. On her 13th birthday, Anne received a diary that she named Kitty and on whose pages she confided. Anne and her family who fled Germany for the Netherlands went into hiding in response to the Nazi occupation and would eventually be captured and sent to a concentration camp where, except for Otto, the father, they would all perish. An acquaintence of the family, found Anne's diary and returned it to her father who had it published in 1952.
It is the dark backdrop of war and holocaust that brings even more gravity to, perhaps Anne Frank's most well-known quote: "Despite everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." I remember debating in seminary classes if humans were innately good or innately evil. I landed on the innately good side and so do still believe.
I recieved my call to ministry while working as a summer program staff for two summers at Jumonville, the biggest of the three church camps run by the Western PA Annual Conference. I remember working an elementary kids camp that included several little cherubs that would bring me to question my belief that we are innately good. Johnny, please don't wear our identifiable orange bandana as a loin cloth. Jennifer, the fire is to help us cook our supper, please don't pile on one more log as you yell, "Camp Inferno!" It was during this week circling through the woodsy version of Dante's levels of hell, that I recall the camp dean repeating over and over to the youngsters, "Remember, make good choices." Sounded good, yet, where was the instruction of what would happen when their choices were not good and bordered on destructive?
As we know, every action has a consequence, or, as I am fond of saying, every action creates a ripple ---- good or bad. Every person can list moments when we've made terrrible choices, created really bad ripples. For many of us, the consequences were lessened by a strong support system of family and friends and community. What about those persons who lack any support system? Who's responsible? As members of a shared community, what is our role? Do we have one? What happens when we refuse to play it?
A few points to ponder as the days grow hotter, the sun shines brighter and the grass gets greener.
More to come.....nudged worked;
sj;
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