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We are in the story.

3/25/2015

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We just finished First Communion instruction at Faith. It is a time of mutual learning more than "instruction". This was evident to me once again when I read the comments on the worship notes the 5th graders handed in. To the question of how she sees herself participating differently in all of worship once she receives Holy Communion, one of the students wrote, "Instead of just listening to the story, I will be in the story."

Wow.

This is why I sometimes bristle at using the word instruction for their preparation time. I am not giving them new knowledge. I am helping them notice in a new way what God has already written on their hearts. Receiving the Lord's Supper helps us all participate in the story of God's redeeming love with more than just our intellect. Worship is a full-on sensory experience.

In Sunday School we concentrate our efforts on helping the students move from thinking about God and Jesus as history (ie: facts and story details) to studying theology- who God is and God's relationship with us and all creation.
We don't just hear the story, we are in the story.


Now we are days away from Holy Week, the most profound part of Jesus' life and our lives together as the Body of Christ. We walk with Jesus to Jerusalem. We feel Jesus' betrayal and pain because he feels ours. We hold our breath from Good Friday to Easter morning because we also live in the paradox of death and new life.
We are in God's story of love and redemption for the whole world.

That 5th grader and her classmates remind me that our journey of faith is not done. We are always learning and growing together. As God's story continues, so does ours in it....forever and ever.
Amen


~ Pam

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Thoughts on Spring and Lent

3/13/2015

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Today was a beautiful 65 degrees. The sun was out. At times there was no need for a jacket.

We crave these first few warm days of spring in Chicago. People emerge from their homes, stretching and nosing around like bears from their dens after their long winter sleep.
I decided to walk in the prairie at the Morton Arboretum. It wasn't exercise. I didn't follow the educational path. I meandered. I took pictures. I stopped and listened to the water running in the stream. I looked up and stretched towards the sun. Ahhhhhh........
One of my favorite sensations in the spring is feeling the soft ground give under every step. After months of walking on the hard frozen earth, sinking into the saturated soil feels like a homecoming. It is like I am being welcoming back into creation.

I love seeing those remnants of the fall that have hung on all winter. The pods and grasses that still look the same after months of snow, ice and wind. Then upon closer inspection, you can see the new growth starting to peak through.
All of this is happening today as we are right in the middle of the season of Lent. We are still on the long road to Jerusalem with Jesus. We do not yet have those long warm days that signal the wind chill and the bitter mornings are not quite done for the year. And it is not Easter morning. It is March 13. It is the third week of Lent.

And yet...we live in the joy of resurrection now. We live the promise of new life each day. Glimpses of green hidden in the dry grass give me hope. Knowing that our Easter Alleluias are coming does not diminish the rest of the Lenten journey. In walking with Jesus during the dark and somber days of Lent, we also look ahead knowing that our reconciliation is made complete in Easter joy.

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    Pam Voves

    On my own journey as a dabbling artist, a lover of stories,
    and grounded by my call to accompany people on their journey of faith.

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