Dr. Wil Gaffney “I have come to appreciate Advent so much more without the light/dark binary. Rather, I see darkness as the generative space in which the light is conceived and form which it is born. Both holy, both life-giving.”
Out of the Deep the dark the womb …….
Out of the Silence the non-speaking the I-don’t know what to say
I have so many things to say but I know nothing will fix this ……………… ……………… ………………
When I sit in the Dark….. ……………… ………………
When I have no words…. ……………… ………………
When I cannot generate anything else… ……………… ………………
(the Nothingness)
………………
………………
I remember…
Jesus came from this
Light, Word, Hope
Created from the Holy Rest, Sabbath
………………
……………… In the midst of like circumstances ………………
………………
This is how God Conceives a Savior for us
Holy able to sit in the dark silence nothingness war….chaos….loneliness
And be unproductive
With us…..
holy, holy, holy Amen
Feel free to use/adapt/share with credit to Dr. Wil Gaffney and Pastor Katy Stenta “KatyandtheWord”
O Come thou mighty and find Ways to scatter the powerful n proud And show your strength through grace and mercy And exalt those who are humble and meek.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Those Who Seek
O Come O Comrade Emmanuel: Magnificat Version v. 2
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f you use this series you must credit Tricia Hersey’s authorship and Book, as it is foundational for all of the work you see here. Please credit Tricia Hersey “Rest is Resistance” and Pastor Katy Stenta for liturgy.
Can you encourage your congregation to rest? What is the culmination of this season? Is it going to be less committees? A period of prayer only? A shift to retiring/merging congregations? A decision to take every 4th or 5th Worship off to just rest? How can you be more sanctuary?
In some ways this work is the sequel to the Sermon Series This Here Flesh, if This Here Flesh is about Emobodied Liturgy (liturgy meaning the work of the people) then this is about, what do we do with our bodies, after we learn that they are in fact liturgy. (I am sure it works vice versa as well)
How are you going to model this in your Worship? Will you encourage pillows and blankets? Put moments for stretches in worship? Hopefully at least time to close your eyes and do nothing, to listen to the birds, music, to do nothing.
Cultivate rest–do what you can to encourage sleep, encourage Sabbath, sanctuary.
Who would come to Church if it was a place of Rest?
Less is more
Not because we need to work more, but because being is more important than doing
These Questions might help your preaching* But may be “too much” for your congregation, that’s ok, meet them where they are at. The political issues are real, try to address them as much as you can. Tricia Hersey talks a lot of being in the world but not of the world, this language works well in the church.
Week 1 “What would it feel like to be consistently rested?”p. 56 Come & Rest with Me Genesis 1:27-2:3 So God created humankind* in his/their image, in the image of God he created them;* male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude.And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. Psalm 46:10a Be still, and know that I am God Notes
Week 2“What does exhaustion look like for me?” p. 56 Broken Humanity: Scarcity & Hate Hosea 5:15-6:6 I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. Psalm 3:1-6 1 O LORD, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. 3 But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. 5 I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the LORD was watching over me. 6 I am not afraid of ten thousand enemies who surround me on every side. Notes
Week 3“What would it feel like to be consistently rested?” p. 56 Bounty Psalm 34:8-10 Taste and see how good YHWH is! Happiness comes to those who take refuge in YHWH. Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing. The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Ecclesiastes 4:6 Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind. Notes
Week 4“Who was I before the terror of the toxic systems? p. 56 (W)holistic Self Psalm 127:7 In vain you get up early and stay up late, sweating to make a living, because God loves us and provides for us even while we sleep. Isaiah 40:31 But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Mark 4:36-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’ Notes
Week 5“What have you been told about your worth and existence?” p. 56 Worth and Blessedness Isaiah 14:3-4 When the Lord has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased! How his insolence has ceased! Psalm 62:1 In God alone my soul finds rest, for my deliverance comes from God, who alone is my rock, my salvation, my fortress: I will never be shaken. Notes
Week 6 “How do you make space to transcend the confines of a system that prays to the call of ‘profit over people’?” p. 56 Grief & Healing 1 King 19:4-7 But [Elijah] himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” Romans 8:22:26 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; 23and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedeswith sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Notes
Week 7 “Who do I want to be?” p. 56 Restoration & Liberation Psalm 23:2 or Psalm 23:6 Surely Goodness and Mercy Psalm 23 John 14:(1-7)27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. Notes
Parenting Decolonization: Normalize not giving fuck what white folks think about how we get into spaces. Regal Picture of Toni Morrison with her gray hair pulled back in a black shirt with a purple sweater overlaying it. “The function, the very serious function of racism, is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaingin, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language, so you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly, so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Someone says that you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of that is necessary There will always be one more thing.” Notice NO TIME AT ALL FOR REST in Racism, for ANYONE, Most of all the Black people and POC. (Toni Morrison was known for not giving her time to White Academia, because she was trying to save as much of it as possible, she got up super early before her family to write)
3 yo daughter, pointing to a broke toy: “We can fix it?” Me: Of Cours.” Her: “Why do we fix it?” Me: Umm..to make it work again?” Her: “No. Because we love it.” Me: *silently contemplates the theology my toddler just taught me* Posted by @Kylebeshears
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A 1950s (?) Redhead luxuriating… reading a newspaper and drinking tea in bed. “They say follow your dreams..so I’m in bed. The signature looks like it is AHS
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Lord, it’s been quite a week: Elections and Infections and Insurrections. To say we are tired is an understatement. We are stuck, numb.
The prayers that fall from our lips are entreating. Please God make a way for us. Clearly we are lost, squabbling in the desert.
Please. Let us not freeze in this moment. Help us to do justice, and remind us the the doing will take a while and a lot of work. Help us go love mercy—not cheap forgiveness carelessly given, but the deep mercy given to marginalized communities who need the mercy of equity.
And the mercy given to the oppressors after the truth is told.
And Lord if these lessons are what we need to learn to walk humbly, where we do the needful work of God’s without quid pro quo or expectations of reward.
Let us not freeze up—as we have done in crises time and time before, set our hands and minds and feet to do the work. Encourage and en-courage us to try. To move forward inch by inch. Help us not to be alone in the work but to find others, partners in Christ’s service, who are inching with us we pray.
Remind us that God knows we can only see a dim reflection of ourselves, and that we only see in part and know in part. His knows this, and still tells us to do the work.
Sing us to sleep at night, grant us some Sabbath and sanctuary so we can nourished and empowered for the work we pray.
In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Feel free to use/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy
With credit to Margaret Aymer Ogrt for her poignant call.
Let, the enemies of God be scattered, but let the righteous be joyful.
As smoke is driven away, wickedness perishes before God. God who created us and called us good.
Let us exult before God, let us be jubilant with Joy.
Call to Worship
Let God rise up. Can you hear the voice of God?
It is in the still, small voice of a prophet, the quiet crackle of the fire, the joyous shrieks of children.
When the world mutters and murmurs, calling on other things for help, let us call on you.
Because you alone are God, Let us worship you today.
Call to Worship
Do not limp with different opinions
If the Lord is your God, then call on God!
Remember the God who answers by fire is indeed God.
Light us up with the fire of the Holy Spirit we pray.
Call to Confession: When we are out of fuel and drowned in sorrow, this is the time to share the burden with Christ, so that he can remind us of who we serve and give us the energy to do it.
Prayer of Confession:
God who whispers in our heart of hearts, I confess that I cannot hear your voice over the mutters and cries of help. The world is full of the noise of injustice, and I have forgotten to seek your still, small voice. Speak to the embers of justice in my heart, and light me on fire to be a troublemaker for you I pray
Prayer of Confession: Lord, we confess that we are divided, we don’t want to upset anyone so we don’t express our opinions. We find we limp with two different opinions instead of seeking justice. We are too quiet in the face of injustice. Give us the spark within so that we can be inflamed with justice and goodness. Help us to act for justice for one another we pray.
Prayer of Dedication/the Day: O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.
Assurance of Pardon: The fire of the Holy Spirit never goes out. It is always inspiring us, energizing us and refueling us through the power of grace. The Holy Spirit tells the truth to our hearts: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
With Kids: This Little Light of Mine, Light candles and talk about fuel and the Holy Spirit (bonus if your are near all Hallow’s Eve/Halloween), Build a pretend Campfire. Play Whisper down the Lane: Talk about how hard communication is and how hard it is to listen for God, Practice Noise vs. Celebration: Talk about how we humans confuse the two, Invisible vs. Visible Church: Discuss the power of a cloud of witnesses vs a noisy here and now crowd, Practice Prayer: Discuss how Prayer is not a magic spell but feeding the fire/connection with God
Faith is opening oneself up to interpretation. Laying your whole being and existence of the line in order to interpret
the who of oneself
the why of existence
the where to now of being
These interpretations are done, usually, using a text, speaking from the Presbyterian perspective that text is the Bible, followed by the Confessions of faith and the Book of Order (our rules/discipline/consistituational documents)
But opening ourselves up to interpretation means being open to the interpretations varying, and interpretations themselves to change, because GOD is not a static being.
Consistent and faithful–God can be counted on.
Generally most people think God does not change, altho this does little for the times in scripture when God changes God’s mind (go figure).
But I say, if God can change God’s mind so can we.
If God is not static, neither should our faith.
If something is not growing, its not alive, we want a lively faith, we need to be growing in our interpretation and our understanding.
I have learned so much, by listening closely to all those people whose faith is especially different than mine. To my one best friend who never was churched but has a strong sense of God and Jesus. To my other best friend who was raised more Pagan than anything else and has a strong sense of the Greek & Roman Mythos of the world.
To my siblings all of whom are millennials, none of whom attend church regularly.
To all the fellow-clergy on twitter & Facebook who are feeling our way through social justice issues and the state of the world.
To my LGBTQUIA community who can interpret scripture in ways that are beyond my ken as a hegemonic individual.
To my brown sibs and and black sibs who are empowered, loving and honest in ways that need to be heard.
Here I am, open to interpretation, and my faith informs that, and the scriptures equally are being interpreted and re-interpreted.
And I read the Bible, and that is Canon, but I read the other texts too, Langston Hughes and Madeline L’engle, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Malala Yousafzai, Elias Chacour, and so much more.
If you are asking a questions of faith, be sure to be open to interpretation, hard as it is.
For you know, that’s the kind of faith that will change you.
katyandtheword 