Storms and Seeds

I am mindful that as I write this, there are many in Haiti who are facing catastrophe on a scale which I am completely unfamiliar.  For those whose lives have been reduced to the core of simple survival, we pray you feel God’s presence. For those in the Bahamas and lands further north preparing for the storm, we pray you feel God’s mercy.  For those who are mobilizing to respond to the needs of all those affected by Hurricane Matthew, we pray for God’s speed.  If you feel prayer is not enough, I encourage you to offer a donation to Episcopal Relief and Development www.episcopalrelief.org or the Red Cross. 

Such a storm reminds us of the barest parts of our faith, seeking to find meaning that can sometimes disappoint.  Why would a loving God hit such a poor nation with yet another disaster in less than a decade?  Some will offer (erroneously, I believe) that sin caused such a situation.  I do not believe that the Haitians are any worse or better than another nation or people, nor should they be singled out as being recipients of God’s “wrath,” which is how some rationalized Hurricane Katrina. 

I believe the real test of faith comes after such storms and disasters, when humanity can raise above ourselves and help our neighbors, not just because it feels good, but because God requires us to.  By supporting our neighbor in any way we can, we are sharing God’s love and saving presence.  Out of disaster can come rebirth and new life. But we must get clean water to those in need first.

When our basic needs are met, then we can make the time to contemplate the “why” questions and begin to shape our understanding of who and what God is.  Unfortunately, many stop their pursuit of such inquires, so when events happen in life that bring into question their understandings, many give up on God. 

We need to make the opportunities to nurture our faith more plentiful and supportive, to seek and find God when we are not in crisis so that we have a solid and stable faith foundation.  We need to make time to care and tend to our relationship with God with intentionality.

As I have confessed many times, I’m not much of a gardener.  I’m lucky I keep my house plants alive. But I know the value of planting seeds and nurturing them, especially the seeds of our faith.  For many of us, they were planted long ago by a parent, priest or Sunday School teacher, and nurtured over the years by worship, study and experience.  What is critically important is that we don’t allow our faith to atrophy due to neglect or fatigue. 

I am disappointed that the retreat we had planned was not able to run, but the timing was not good.  I do apologize for that.  I am thrilled to say that we are working on making that program happen during the season of Lent – more on that later.  When I talked about the retreat, several mentioned that they miss being on retreat and want the opportunity to do so again.  I agree.  Making time to be with God, beyond worship and study, is crucial to our spiritual development.  It is really just time to be.  Too often we are so busy being busy that we don’t make the time to just be.

In light of this, I am going to offer a series of mini-retreats for the months leading up to Lent.  They will be on Saturday morning from 9 AM – 12 noon on October 22nd, November 19th, and December 17th (2017 dates TBD).  I’m still working on the topics, but the intention will not be doing but being. For this series of retreats, you do not need to sign up or come to all of them (although that is encouraged).  This is our opportunity to grow in the Spirit together, tending our spiritual gardens in order to be in a better relationship with God, so that when life gets messy, we don’t get lost. 

I hope you will join me on this journey. 

In Christ,

Rev. Valerie+

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