St. Andrews by the Lake

GRAINS OF SAND

Mid-Lent 2008

VICAR’S THOUGHTS

          Any time of year is a good time to focus on our spiritual practices, but it always seems even more so in Lent as we prepare to celebrate new and resurrected life in Christ at Easter. Spiritual practices are threaded through our lives in ordinary gestures. For example, when we have guests visit our home, I usually stand at the door or outside waving goodbye as they pull away following the visit.  I have always made it a practice to do this as a way of extending my love and care to family and friends – blessing their coming and going.  I remember my mother doing this whenever we came home to visit.
There is often a poignancy in waving goodbye. Sometimes its just a ‘see you later’ or a ‘thanks for stopping by’ wave. Other times it is with the knowledge that we might never see that person again.  I recall times like this when I am leaving someone’s hospital room or a nursing home – and a person is on the edge of death.  Whether it’s a ‘see you later’ or a longer goodbye, mindfully and prayerfully waving goodbye reminds us that when we part, we place one another in God’s hands. We remember that our human relationships are connected with and through our relationship with God in Christ.
I have come to view many ordinary acts, practices or tasks I do as spiritual. Sometimes we light a candle at our dinner table to remember a loved one’s birthday. That loved one may be living far away, or even have died. But the simple act of lighting the candle in their remembrance brings them closer.  The act of turning off lights in a room not being used or unplugging some of our electrical appliances so they don’t draw unneeded energy is a spiritual practice of conservation and sustainability.  Combining our errands to make good use of driving time is a spiritual practice, and so is conserving water when we brush our teeth or take a shower or bath.  Not flushing old medications down the toilet keeps drugs out of our water supply, and it is recommended that we take those unused medicines to WLSSD on February 23rd to dispose of them. That is a spiritual practice.
By mindfully turning my mind and heart to God, I consciously seek to include God in all I do in a natural and relaxed manner.  There are many moments of our life that can become sacred through living it in communion with God by simply seeing what we do as connected to the Holy.  I see no separation or distinction between ordinary (seemingly mundane) acts of living – and purposeful, meaningful practices that invoke the holy – when all are done with God and in God.
So here is a question to carry with you through the rest of Lent:  What are some spiritual practices in your life that have gone unrecognized? By simply calling these to mind and seeing them as a spiritual practice, you can bring a sense of God into the tiny corners of each day.    Blessings, Cindy

CHILDREN’S SPIRITUAL LIFE
Children begin life with an internal sense of wonder and awe about their world. They are naturally intuitive and open to spiritual matters. Over the next four newsletters, I will share a dozen ways to nurture your child’s (or grandchild’s) spiritual life. These suggestions come from:  “Developing Your Child’s Spiritual Life” by Victor Parachin.
1) Tell yourself, “It’s never too early!”  Among some Christians it is common to recite the Lord’s Prayer to a child before he or she is an hour old. Other Christians quietly whisper a simple prayer-affirmation to their children in the earliest moments and months.  While gently holding an infant or very young child, offer a simple prayer: “God made you. God loves you. God keeps you.”  Remind yourself that a child’s spiritual education can, and ought to, begin at the earliest stages.
2.) Model the spiritual life for your children. Recall what St. Paul writes to Timothy, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” (2 Tim. 3: 3-4) Be the best possible role mode you can be for your children (and grandchildren). Let your values and virtues be seen by your children through your words and actions. Children will often talk, eat, walk, think, respond and act like their parents. Give them a pattern that they can clearly see, and you give them something priceless.
3) Institute quiet time.  In Psalm 46:10, we read, “Be still and know that I am God.”  It is important for children to learn how to cultivate silence and stillness in order to become more spiritually aware. By the time a child reaches age four, very small sessions of quiet time can be begun.  The first quiet time should run no more than thirty seconds to one minute. Most four year olds can handle that.  Do this several times a week and keep at it.  This way the meditative habit becomes incorporated into a child’s life in a natural way.
And how wonderful to have these quiet moments outside in the midst of God’s world. Make sure these quiet times in no way reflect ‘time outs’ given for discipline. They are not one and the same.
(to be continued)

IMPORTANT PARISH MEETING – SUNDAY, MARCH 2nd
After worship on March 2nd, we’ll meet to look at the last plans for the building. We have an important decision to make as a faith community: do we want to push out the Mission Hall wall (to the south east) to provide more space for community event seating and storage?  This would be the wall with the three windows on it. If we want to pursue this, it would cost an additional $74,387. To do it now would be less cost than in future years. At the same time, our capital fund drive may determine whether it is even feasible to consider this now – as well as the level of pledging to come in for our mortgage. If we choose to go in this direction, it would mean seeking a variance, as it would increase our footprint by 1.5%, or so. It also takes away some of our green space. These are all things we need to consider and discuss together before a final decision is made to go forward. This is not something just a few people can decide. So please, make every attempt to be at this meeting if possible to voice your opinions.

LENTEN EVENTS

Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton – ongoing study group that meets Thursdays  at 3:30 pm at the Lakeside location.

PDPD (Prayer, Darts, Pool and Drink) – Meets at Mark and Ginny Berger’s on Tuesdays.
Begins with a short prayer and reflection time, followed by fellowship at the pool table.
Open to everyone. Feb. 26 (1 pm), March 4 (7 pm), March 11 (TBD)

CHUM IMMERSION – Saturday, March 8, 7:30 am to 1:45 pm.  Places we will go are: CHUM Food Shelf, Damiano, San Marco Apartments, CHUM Drop In and Shelter, Life House, Clayton Jackson McGhee memorial, and back to the food shelf. You must be willing to do the entire immersion and not come late or leave early.

LOAVES AND FISHES – Prepare meals for the residents at one of the Loaves and Fishes homes, then take it and eat with the residents. The senior high is working on February 24 and March 2nd.  Open dates are March 6 (Thursday) and March 13 (Thursday). We will need to gather to prepare the meal (probably at our Lakeside location), then transport it over. Each group can plan how they want to approach it.

THREE CUPS OF TEA – talk by author, Greg Mortensen.  This will happen at the DECC on March 19th (Wednesday) at 7 pm. You need to have a ticket to get in – and we have 30 tickets to offer. Sign up in the Undercroft. There are about five spaces open. Greg Mortensen has been inside Pakistan and Afghanistan building schools in villages. About 55 schools have been completed. Come and hear his amazing story – and think about whether it’s something we can become involved in. One of the Millenium Development Goals (MDG’s) is to provide elementary education to all people throughout the world. Village by village, this is beginning to happen. Did you know that for about $25,000, an eight room school house can be built in a village that has never had a school!

HOLY WEEK
A flyer describing our Holy Week worship will come out closer to the time, but for now, mark your calendars:
Maundy Thursday Agape Dinner, Eucharist and Stripping of Altar – March 20, 5:45 pm
Good Friday Liturgy – March 21, 7 pm
The Great Vigil of Easter – March 22, 7 pm (followed by the first party of Easter!)
Easter Sunday – 9:45 am

OUTREACH
Ever wonder what happened with the monies collected through wreath sales, cranberry sales and the St. Andrew’s Day auction? Well, it has been invested in the education of children in our city. As many of you are aware, transportation has been eliminated from the budget for Head Start families.  To help families overcome the transportation barrier, the Head Start Transportation Collaborative was created to support families with young children enrolled in Head Start by providing bus passes or gas cards to those in need.  The effort has been very successful, but the Collaborative is in need of more funds to be directed toward the effort. St. Andrew’s by the Lake has sent the proceeds from our fall fundraisers to help with Head Start transportation — $1380.
Nearly 30 families a month are accessing these services, which provide the assistance to ensure that they can get their children to school. Head start provides essential services to young children and prepares them for future educational success.  This is our own local
Millenium Development Goal (MDG) in action – providing elementary education to all! Thank you to all who donated to these fundraisers, and thank you to four very special people who organized them:  Bette Jacobs, Traci Reynolds and Mary Ellen and Bob Owens.

SABBATICAL TIME
About five years ago I began a sabbatical of three months, but only completed two of those months set aside for my time away. Things came up that needed attending to, and life has just kept rolling since then. While we have been in this building process, I have noticed that I am often putting in 40 – 50 or more hours of time a week into St. Andrew’s. I informed the Bishop’s Committee last time we met that I have decided to take the last month of my sabbatical time, spread out over the rest of this year and part of next. This is not a good time for me to take a whole month away at once (given the building program capital campaign and 100th Anniversary) but I can parcel it out. So beginning the week of February 25th, I will be taking ‘one week’ sabbaticals. They will happen between Monday and Fridays. I will be in church on Sundays. The weeks I have set aside are:  February 25-29, March 24-28, May 19-23 (I will be away at a preaching workshop then), Nov. 3-7. January 19-23, and one week in February of 09. If there is a crisis or death during any of those times, I will be available to respond to those needs and will make up the time at a later date in 2009. I don’t expect you to remember these dates, however, given that I am usually quite prompt in responding to people’s calls and emails – if you don’t hear from me for a few days, then you can probably figure I’m on a sabbatical week.
Some of my goals during these times are:  enhancing my preaching skills, catching up on some reading, and learning how to be more technologically literate – plus doing some things for myself that I’ve been setting aside. Thank you for the gift of this time. Cindy

St. Andrew’s by the Lake Episcopal Church
2802 Minnesota Avenue
Duluth, MN 55802