First, I have to share waking up this morning to the sunrise over the mountains, amazing! I could just sit here for my 4 days and never tire of looking at this glorious creation.
Second, Morning Prayer was adapted from the Iona Community - which I will share always brings me to my knees and sheds my tears. If you have never had the opportunity to experience a Celtic Prayer service or any worship from the Iona community - find one! For me, there is something so elemental, so pure, so life giving about the prayers from Iona; they convict me and uplift me in one fell swoop. They fill me with love for my Creator and demand a passionate response and witness from me.
Later today I will share one of the hymns we sang - it seems a perfect hymn for any congregation about to enter the community in mission and also perfect for an ordination service.
I am not that good at math - I think I have shared that before, I recheck my timing and calculations ad naseum. I am also directionally challenged. I recheck and recheck my directions a thousand times and still manage to get myself passing the turn I just needed to make. I woke up this morning way too early - on VA time instead of CO time. I was fretting about which workshops to take, there are so many and I want to attend them all. So I got out my book of workshops and I prayed over it asking God to just tell me where I should go because I obviously couldn't figure it out on my own. And then I repeated the Lord's Prayer until I fell asleep. Interestingly my alarm clock did not go off - but I wake up on time! Thank you God!
I starred the workshops I wanted to attend - reread descriptions, double starred the ones I thought I really should attend. Heard an amazing plenary speaker and decided at the last minute to attend his workshop to delve deeper into what he was speaking about. I find the lodge name and room name, even stop a facilitator to get directions. I go to the appointed room, take a seat and the Facilitator of the Workshop says, "Welcome to ABCD 101" - oh seriously, I am in the wrong room! This is not the workshop I had planned on attending. What in the world - I can't get up and walk out, totally rude, but this is not one of the workshops I even starred.
Well go figure that being directionally challenged is a Gift from God and I was in the exact workshop God intended me to be in. Just this morning we talked about how the Holy Spirit is always ahead of us and expect the unexpected. Well Here I am Lord! I learned all about Asset Based Community Development - instead of looking at the needs of the community and being a "service provider" I was challenged to look at the gifts and assets of the community and Acknowledge, Affirm and Activate the gifts already abundantly surrounding me. There is so much more to share - but know this to be true "Your gift is the key that unlocks the door to community." If we want to grow our churches into the Kingdom of God on earth we need to stop just serving our brothers and sisters in need and we need to build relationship with them so that we might empower their God given gifts so that they might give and receive blessing! Powerful! And this is something I have already known, but didn't know how to practically apply in the ministry setting.
I could go on and on - but instead I am going to run to lunch ;-) I don't want to be late for the next plenary session. Hopefully I can find the dining hall and auditorium without too much trouble ;-)
"May Christ's warm welcome shine from our hearts And Christ's own peace prevail through this and every day, Till greater life shall call." Amen.
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