Night Prayer

I found this prayer on a blog I go to for clergy. It is a good reminder for all of us to let things go at the end of the day. We are promised a new start, a fresh start each morning. We are made new each day by God through our baptism. We do not have to be perfect, we just have to belong to God and trust in God's grace and love.

I hope you will pray this tonight and let God's peace surround you and renew you as you sleep.

Night Prayer (source The New Zealand Prayer Book)

Lord,
it is night.

The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.

The night is dark;
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,
all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.

In your name we pray.
Amen.

the body of Christ

oh my goodness gracious...it's been a long time since my last post! i'm sorry- these first couple months of the "program" year are very busy for us at Grace! i hereby renew my commitment to blogging!

yesterday we talked again about being the body of Christ-and how we all have different gifts and abilities. we are all different but we all belong- in fact we all belong because we are different. as challenging as it is sometimes to live together with all our differences, it is good to read (sometimes OVER and OVER again) 1 Corinthinans 12.

as the church we aim to be Christ's body in the world. we can't say to anyone that we don't need them. we can't think that we are better than anyone else. in fact, we should treat those we may think that we are better than with more honor and respect than anyone. we always should be looking to care for and lift up those among us who are hurting.

during the adult education hour, we talked about what parts of the body we don't lift up enough- people who do work that goes not unnoticed, but unthanked. we talked about rod wilterdink who sharpens all the pencils and takes care of the font (when it's not busted!), AIM ruth and larry scheibach who set up furniture for sunday school and confirmation, jan harpt who waters the plants, and the dartball team when they set up tables for the quilters. there is so much to be done, and when we all work together, it all gets done.

i had the first part of chapter 12 read at my ordination to remind me that everyone has different gifts and talents- that it's not all the job of the pastor to do everything. i have been reminded lately that i really can't do everything (darn it). i am surprised how hard this is for me to accept. but i have to learn to lean back on the rest of the body to do the things i can't do.

so today, take a moment to think about what you are good at, and appreciate yourself! then, think about something you can't do so well on your own, and appreciate whoever helps you with that. and remember- no part of Christ's body can exist on it's own, but together, we come alive.

A question...

My sermon this week is on what we GET from worship. So I'm wondering...what do you get from worship? What keeps you coming back week after week? I'd love to hear from you! I think it would be great to include some of your responses in the sermon- if that's okay with you! They will be anonymous- I won't announce your name.

Make a comment on this post or just email me at pastorheidi@gracegrafton.com

God bless you all on this beautiful fall day! See you Sunday (or tonight)!

Perspective

A little perspective for you today from Archbishop Oscar Romero...

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts; it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is the Lord's work...

Nothing we do is complete, which is another way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us. No sermon says all that should be said. No prayer fully expresses our faith. No confession brings perfection. No pastoral visit brings wholeness. No program accomplishes the Church's mission. No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant the seeds that will one day grow.
We water seeds already planted knowing they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that affects far beyond our capabilities...

We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very, very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the Master Builder and the worker.

We are workers, but not master builders, ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future that is not our own. Amen.

In the beginning...

of the educational year at Grace we had 30 people in the High School Youth Group Sunday morning class! Yay!

We've got even more signed up to do the "Generation Change" study for the next 4 weeks. This is the teen version of the "Financial Peace University" class that many adults have done. I am really, really excited about this study for several reasons- it's a very well-done course, it is going to get our high schoolers really involved in youth group, and it uses video, journaling, and other things to engage the kids.

But what I'm most excited about is what it is going to teach them- the dangers and emptiness of materialism, that they have TRUE value to God, the importance of saving and the gifts of giving to others.

God blesses us with so much. Our culture always tries to point us to what we DON'T have, distorting our priorities and our "needs." But the earlier we learn to focus on what we DO have rather than getting swept away in the rat race of materialsim, the better off we are.

Today, take some time to think about your blessings (material and spiritual) and thank God for them. And if you have children, talk to them about being financially responsible because the habits they make for themselves now will carry over into adulthood. It's never too early to start! Fill your offering envelopes together, tell them about the dangers of debt, and make it clear to them that you love them more than all the money in the world. Consider your finances and how they reflect who you are. And don't forget- prayer can help us make "change" (haha...get it!) inside and out.

God be with you and bless you with many kinds of riches!

Happy Things

Whew! It's been a while! It's been a month full of trips and vacations and planning for next year. But I feel excited about what's coming up and am looking forward to my second year at Grace. Summer has been Wonderful (yes, with a captial W) weather and I am soaking it up as much as I can. This has inspired me to make today's post...

Things that make me happy:

• Gorgeous summer days
• Worshipping God in a church community and on my own
• Talking to my mom and dad
• Spending time outside
• Taking walks at night
• Singing great hymns
• Good songs on the radio
• The wild raspberries and blueberries we ate in the Boundary Waters
• Being with good friends
• Praying- especially Lectio Divina style.
• Lake Michigan
• Good coffee!
• Laughing
• Jonah

I could go on.

If you heard my recent sermon on lists, I now realize I left something out. It is good to make lists of our blessings, not just lists of what we need or want or have to do. So I encourage you to make a list of the good things in your life. Share it if you want, by leaving a comment to this message. I'd love to hear what makes you happy. May God bless you with many good things.

Mission Trip

On Saturday I leave for a mission trip to the Boundary Waters with 14 high school students and 2 other adults. I am excited for the trip but anxious about the long drive up there! Keep us in your prayers for safety and lots of fun!

I am really looking forward to spending time with the kids and being in the beautiful setting of the North Shore (on Lake Superior). I've never been there but spending time outdoors always does good for my soul. And being away from our normal, everyday lives somehow makes it easier for us to be open to other people and more honest about what's going on inside ourselves.

I was reading an article the other day that said on our "sabbath" day, we should do the opposite of whatever we normally do. If we are busy, we should not do anything. If we are normally indoors, we should step outside. Sabbath is a break from our daily routines, a change of pace. I hope that the trip to the Boundary Waters will be a good Sabbath for everyone, that even though we will be working hard, we will be refreshed by spending our time doing something different. We spend so much time focusing on ourselves- it can be renewing to focus on others for a bit.

Have you found Sabbath time this summer? What do you do to renew your body and spirit?