Rev. Valerie's Reveille

No, I am not becoming a druid or forsaking the birth of our Savior.  I have always been fascinated by astronomical time and how we humans keep track of it since I was in second grade and saw a play trying to explain why we have leap years.  (Where did that extra time come from?)  The scientific age is ever-ready to explain all celestial phenomena, but there is an element of mystery that still eludes us.  The days are a bit more than 24 hours and the years are a bit more than 365 days long, but it all seems to work, so we make the adjustments we need to order our lives and carry on. The element of mystery was obvious to our ancient ancestors. They understood the significance of tracking time to know how to order their lives and built temples to sun gods to acknowledge its importance.  It follows that feasts and festival would be established to celebrate such important occasions.  What better way to get through the longest night of the year if not with a...

December 17, 2015 is the 10 th anniversary of my priestly ordination. I am amazed that a decade can feel like a blink of an eye.  It is still a privilege to offer myself in God’s service and I am exceedingly grateful to share this ministry with others who love God just as much as I do.  There are always challenges, which are really opportunities to see what God is up to and where God is calling us to be. I do believe we all have a calling from God – to use the gifts and talents we have been given to bring about God’s kingdom on earth. The secular world tries to convince us that those talents should be exploited to make as much money as possible in order to be fulfilled.  That is a false idea of vocation.  There are too many people in this world who “make a comfortable living” and are completely miserable while doing it. Others purse their passions and while living hand-to-mouth. In his book Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC , Frederick Buechner offers, “...

2015 has been a difficult year at St. Barnabas.  Two of our beloved members, Bill Eldred and Helena Hrinkevich, died and entered into eternal glory. Many members have also experienced loss of close family and friends.  Several members are dealing with major health issues, their own or those of family members.  Each of these events are significant on their own, and as a whole they can feel overwhelming.  It was only year ago that Bill was diagnosed with cancer.  His absence has been deeply felt this year.  Helena had not been able to come to church for a while, but we all knew it was important to have her “spot” ready for her in the back of the church when we replaced the pews.  It is ready for someone else now. We have cause to feel blue this holiday season for one reason or another, and it is important that we recognize the reality of how our circumstances have changed over the last few years. Things are different because people we love are n...

I have been saddened and overwhelmed with news about the Syrian refugees.  It is difficult for me to fathom being in a situation where the only choice is to flee everything one knows – home, family, culture, country – with only what one can carry into an unknown and uncertain future, except for the hope that it will be safer.  It is mind boggling to me that millions – MILLIONS – of people around the world (not just Syrians) make that choice every year due to civil war, autocrats and oppression. From my safe tower in the west, I could easily judge or turn a blind eye, but I can’t.  As a follower of Jesus Christ, I have promised to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself.  There is nothing in that statement that says I must vet them before loving them. The rhetoric around this situation is deep and thick, pitting one side against another of whether or not the USA should allow refugees into our country.  Fear, rage and judgement rule a...