Pray always

You may have been hearing about the ELCA’s new initiative for congregational vitality, and if you haven’t, you will be soon. Alesia and I attended a conference a few weeks ago that had a focus on congregational vitality for small churches. The idea is that a church of any size can be vital or can become vital. And the definition of a vital congregation, according to churchwide is: Communities of Jesus that nurture life-changing relationships with God, one another and the world.

One of the ways to nurture relationships is to communicate. How do we communicate with God? That’s right, we pray.

Since the Gospel for today talks about praying always, let me teach you a quick breath prayer. God’s name in the Hebrew Scriptures is Yahweh. Rabbi Arthur Waskow (and Richard Rohr has taken his teaching from this) teaches that the name Yahweh is pronounced as the sound of our breath. He explains that God's name is unpronounceable not because we're forbidden to say it, but because when we try to, "pronouncing these four strange letters (semi-vowels, semi-consonants; linguists call them aspirate consonants) WITHOUT any vowels, one simply breathes." The pronunciation then becomes, inhale "Yah" and exhale "weh." If we think of it that way, then the first thing we do when we’re born, as we take our first breath, is to speak the name of God. And the last thing we do, as we take our last breath, is speak the name of God. We come in to the world and leave the world with the name of God on our lips. Simply breathing allows us to "Pray always".

When we’re sad, we breathe heavy sighs, and that becomes a prayer. When we’re happy, our lungs feel almost like they will burst, and that becomes a prayer. When we’re anxious or scared, we hold our breath and have to remind ourselves to breathe slowly to help us calm down, and that becomes a prayer. When we’re about to do something hard, we take a deep breath to find our courage, and that becomes a prayer. The simple act of breathing becomes a prayer.

Maybe take a few minutes now and simply close your eyes and breathe with God's name and know that this quiet time out is a prayer. God is as close to you as your own breath. Nothing can every separate you from God. ~jane You can watch Richard Rohr explain the idea of the Yahweh breath prayer here:

Scrappy Congregations

On September 27th and 28th, Alesia and I were able to attend the Vital Leaders for Vital Congregations conference in Lenexa, Kansas.The conference focused on equipping and encouraging leaders of small congregations to foster vitality in smaller sized congregations.

We found ourselves in a room with leaders from small-sized congregations from around the Central States Synod. It was refreshing to see that everyone in the room was proud of their congregation and wanted to learn how to have a bigger impact on the members of their congregations, on the community surrounding their congregations and on the world at large.

The overwhelming feeling was, "We are tiny, but we are mighty! Our size doesn't define our worth as a faith community, and we're ready to learn new strategies and ideas about how to be spiritually vibrant, invitational churches for the sake of the world."

The main presenter at this conference was Rev. Dave Daubert. Dave is an ELCA pastor and the Lead Consultant and CEO for Day 8 Strategies, an organization which helps people live as creative and responsible partners with God at work in the world. He serves as a pastor at an ELCA congregation and is also an author and nationally recognized speaker.    

We have been put in a cohort with other small congregations in the St. Louis area and plan to meet with those folks to continue our journey to learn as much as we can about being a healthy, vital congregation.

Our first order of business is to read Pr. Dave Daubert's book, The Invitational Christian. We'll meet with our cohort after the first of the year to discuss the book. If you'd like to read the book and participate in the conversation (or just offer suggestions about things you'd like to try!), you can purchase the book from Pr. Daubert's website: https://www.day8strategies.com/. I know Alesia and I would love to hear your thoughts! God's peace be with you all! Jane

Blessing of the animals -- Oct. 6th!

Join us for worship as we bless and celebrate the animals entrusted to our care. Bring your dogs, cats, fish, birds, insects, reptiles, and any animal that is safe to be around other people and pets.

Worship will take place outside, rather than the sanctuary for this service.

Please consider bringing a donation for the Jefferson County Pet Food Pantry. They distribute pet food once a month to low-income families, seniors, disabled and homeless people in Jefferson County Missouri. Their aim is to offer resources so people can keep their animals instead of having to place them in a animal shelter.

Their wish list is:

-Gift cards in any amount to Walmart, Buchheit, Tractor Supply, Farm and Home or Lowe's.

-Small to large bags of dog food -- unopened or opened.

-Small to large bags of cat food -- unopened or opened.

-Small to large bags of rabbit food -- unopened or opened.

-Canned dog food -- puppy to senior unopened.

-Canned cat food -- kitten to senior unopened.

-Dog biscuits, cat and dog treats (no rawhide please).

-Small to large bags of cat litter -- unopened or opened.

-Cat or dogs toys new or clean.

(They are NOT collecting towels, blankets or any type of bedding.)

“All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures.” - St. Francis of Assisi