Dear Friends,
Blessed 2023. While the new liturgical year began a little over a month ago, but we measure time in so many ways. I think, for example, of our morning worship some months ago at the Godly Play trainer gathering. Bringing together the stories of Creation and the Circle of the Church Year, we considered how we measure our time, how different elements of that time match up. So, even if 2023 is a secular time marker, we can still be intentional about it. Here in the midst of Christmas, in the still waiting, we can enjoy the space for reflection the world makes.
So, how are we being intentional around here?
I’ve recommended the Cobbleworks’ mini Examen book before, and her illustrated Examen cards are great for use with kids. That being said, for big picture reflection, I want to remind you that you should totally get on her newsletter list because then you get bonuses like Jen’s annual Examen guide for thinking about the previous year.
I LOVE planners. I am sitting here writing with my Passion Planner next to m, and a pile of stickers to go with it. I’m making decisions about what I want to track in the months to come. For me, that looks like a lot of health information because I find that makes my abundant medical appointments go a bit more smoothly, but it might also include prayer practices and other spiritual tools. The Passion Planner has pages for specific types of reflection on your accomplishments, memories, and lessons, but last year I used the Sacred Ordinary Days planner that specifically used the examen to structure weeks and seasons. Find what works for you! This is, I dunno, the fifth different planner type I’ve used in 5 years. I change planners about as often as I change addresses.
Clear the (mental) clutter. Okay, yes, we’re clearing the normal clutter, too. Boxes of my possessions will be migrating to my new office right around the time this lands in your inbox. We spent New Year’s Day watching our cats figure out our new Roomba, which was endlessly entertaining. But I also spent part of the day unsubscribing from emails that are creating mental clutter. Having 2000+ unread emails in my inbox doesn’t make my life feel good. Where are you contending with mental clutter that’s holding you back? How is that clutter keeping you from being present to your family and to your faith life?
Stay human. Yeah, I know, this one is unavoidable, but I think we’re all trying to avoid it in some way. This mode of pause speaks to the ways I’m constantly drawn to Kate Bowler’s work and I’m looking forward to hanging my two book pennants in my office: “No cure for being human” and “Bless the lives we actually have.” Kate consistently blesses the things we’re trying to avoid, the things that make us feel like we’re falling short, but here’s the thing: we worship a God who knew our humanity matters. Who knew that so much that God came to us as a baby who grew into a boy and then a man. Who was fully human and fully divine. Because how we live in these bodies, these difficulty, broken, messy bodies, matters. Isn’t that amazing?
Enjoying Epiphany
Here we are on the cusp of Epiphany. Are you ready to welcome the Magi?
Growing up, no one walked about how the Magi arrived later, that Christmas wasn’t “all at once.” I always envisioned that quick succession of figures arriving around the Manger the way we built the nativity during our Christmas pageant. Later, as a teen, I remember an interim Pastor who took our Magi on a slow journey through the church to reach the creche scene, but that event stands alone in my mind. Even as I was part of a family that rarely missed a Sunday in the pews, Epiphany didn’t seem to stand apart.
Right now, in our house, the Magi are the only figures who are safe. Often, I fall asleep to the shepherd or Joseph being kicked around the living room by one of my cats. The Magi, as they travel, are a shelf higher and a bookshelf over from the final location. They are taking the time they need.
As an adult, I love the time it takes the Magi to arrive. Over the last few years, Christmas Day has arrived with my gifts to my family in Florida still in transit. Last year those were actually the only gifts I wrapped because moving and church work consumed all of my time, so that my wife and I didn’t even exchange gifts. Even the extra days it takes the Magi to turn up weren’t enough for me that year.
God and the Church have conspired to offer us so many lessons in patience and preparedness, and the travels of the Magi remind me of the song “Not in a Hurry” by Will Reagan and United Pursuit. They sing, “I’m not in a hurry when it comes to your spirit, when it comes to your presence, when it comes to your voice. I’m learning to listen, just to rest in your nearness. I’m starting to notice you are speaking.”
Let’s be honest. When it comes to waiting on God, most of us aren’t very good listeners. We often subscribe to the God as magician school where, when things don’t happen the way we want, we assume God isn’t listening or doesn’t care. But maybe we’re not being patient, not listening. And if that listening is hard for us, how then do we model it to children?
Last week I had the opportunity to chat with Rev. Mary Balfour Dunlap and Rev. Alan Bentrup on the Bible Love podcast about the Book of Job, a chat that begins with a glimpse back at my early days as a children’s formation leader, and during this conversation, we considered this same art of waiting and listening. Job offers us so many great lessons about our prayer lives and while his suffering is often misused, talking about Job’s experience of suffering was a powerful way to think about relationships, particularly our relationship with God, as we enter this new calendar year. It’s a short podcast - about 20 minutes - but packed with reflection on how Job can lend itself to our work with children.
All Things New
It’s never the wrong time to think about how God makes all things new, but the new year is certainly it’s own invitation. I hope you’ll continue on this walk with. me, as Wiggles & Wonder enters its fourth year this spring. And don’t forget to tell me what you want to see more of and what’s helping you thrive. God’s mercies are new every morning, and being in community with all of you has been a great blessing to me.
Peace,
Bird