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Messenger by Mary Oliver
My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever.
Recalibration LIVE!
featuring Melissa Tidwell
Shaped by Story: Understanding and Sharing the Arc of Our Experience
May 15, 2021 on zoom — The event will last an hour and a half.
- 12 noon Eastern
- 11 a.m. Central
- 10 a.m. Mountain
- 9 a.m. Pacific
Storytelling can seem like a tidy and tame art form — like the gentle way we soothe our children to sleep. But stories are powerful. They activate awareness, reveal truths, heal wounds. Storytelling can be prophetic and profound.
As we try to make sense of our experience, we often look for a narrative thread. We talk about our spiritual journey, we talk about seasons of growth or seasons of wilderness. Using the frame of a story can help us see ourselves as others might see us, get a longer view, and find hope that God has been in the midst of our days even when we weren’t aware of the divine presence.
In our time together, pastor/storyteller Melissa Tidwell will lead us into an appreciation of how stories help us make meaning from experience and how we can faithfully mine the gifts of story in our work as spiritual leaders/directors/companions.
Melissa Tidwell has written about metaphor, music, maps, and zombies. She is the former editor of Alive Now magazine, and the author of Embodied Light: Advent Reflections on Incarnation. An ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA, Melissa is the pastor of the Trinity Presbyterian Church in Stockton, California.
Registration is coming soon!
Save the Date!
RETREAT with Carrie Newcomer
July 17-22, 2022
at Christ the King Retreat Center, Buffalo MN
The Fountain by Denise Levertov
Don’t say, don’t say there is no water
to solace the dryness at our hearts.
I have seen
the fountain springing out of the rock wall
and you drinking there. And I too
before your eyes
found footholds and climbed
to drink the cool water.
The woman of that place, shading her eyes,
frowned as she watched — but not because
she grudged the water,
only because she was waiting
to see we drank our fill and were
refreshed.
Don’t say, don’t say there is no water.
That fountain is there among its scalloped
green and gray stones,
it is still there and always there
with its quiet song and strange power
to spring in us,
up and out through the rock.
Gateways to God
A two-year Certificate in Missional Spiritual Direction
Beginning in February 2022
This is being offered by our partner, Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in MA. Learn more about the event on the Rolling Ridge website
Hearts On Fire Membership
Please consider joining, or renewing your membership.
Zooms are being held every other month throughout this year.
We will hold a retreat in 2022 – in person!
Words of Inspiration
Now the green blade riseth, from the buried grain,
wheat that in the dark earth many days has lain;
Love lives again, that with the dead has been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
…
When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,
Jesus’ touch can callus back to life again,
fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:
Love is come again, like wheat that springeth green.
(from UMH #311, “Now the Green Blade Riseth,” by J.M.C. Crum)
Book Suggestion
Are you looking for a book for your own spiritual growth, or for use with a small group? Here is one you might consider.
The One Life We’re Given: Finding the Wisdom that Waits in Your Heart by Mark Nepo.
Chapters are short, and there are reflection prompts at the end of each chapter that can guide personal engagement and/or small group sharing.