Spiritual Work

In a monthly email I receive from "Friends of Silence" I read the following and wanted to share them with you here on my blog.

A spirituality of work is based on a heightened sense of sacramentality, of the idea that everything that is, is holy and that our hands consecrate it to the service of God. . . when we care for everything we touch and touch it reverently, we become the creators of a new universe. Then we sanctify our work and our work sanctifies us.

A spirituality of work puts us in touch with our own creativity. . . Work enables us to put our personal stamp of approval . . . the autograph of our souls on the development of the world. . .

A spirituality of work draws us out of ourselves and, at the same time, makes us more of what we are meant to be. Good work . . . develops qualities of compassion and character in me.

My work also develops everything around it. There is nothing I do that does not affect the world in which I live. In developing a spirituality of work, I learn to trust beyond reason that good work will gain good things for the world, even when I don't expect them and I can't see them.

~ Joan Chittister, in "Vision and Viewpoint," an e-newsletter

The least of these

On Tuesday, September 18, 7 teenagers joined myself and a co-worker on a trip to the local Rescue Mission in Roanoke, Virginia. That evening between the hours of 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm we served 350 people. Since we began serving in January of this year this number surpassed our record of 324 in January. On this particular night we saw a noticeable increase in the number of families and the size of each family. Parents came to ensure they and their children had a meal to eat and a roof over their head to sleep under. We also served people under the age of 30, middle aged men and senior citizens(those who would qualify for Social Security). And as always it included veterans. I don't know their personal stories but I do know the feeling of not being able to put food on the table. During 2011 there was a period of time where I did not have enough money to buy groceries after rent, prescriptions and utilities were paid for. I can tell you from personal experience that food, housing and health care are not an entitlement in life but a necessity FOR life. We all need food to sustain our bodies so it will work to keep us breathing, we need a roof over our heads so that we can reasonably live a long life and yes, we do need health care so when we have the unexpected cold or illness or have to mange a chronic illness the money is there to pay for it.

My life has changed dramatically since 2011, from struggling to put food on the table to now having a job that actually affords me to have money at the end of the month. Because the lord has blessed me I want and should bless those who are in need. In Matthew chapter 25 we read of the passage about a King (the Son of man) who says to the people,

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

As Christians we are called to serve the least of these. To feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned, we are actually serving our Lord. This seems like a simple and a reasonable thing to do in light of the cross.

I invite all to step outside your homes and your churches and volunteer at your local Rescue Mission, food bank or soup kitchen. For when you do, you will look into the eyes of your brother and sister and acknowledge their humanity. I believe we can use a lot for of this than we can of the marginalization we are currently creating in America.

Altruism

In Memoriam

On this day eleven years ago, it was a Tuesday and one of two days I had class. I was sitting in the student lounge @ the Divinity School @ Campbell University. I had arrived to school early to finish a paper for my afternoon class. I wanted to complete it before our weekly chapel service @ 10:50 am. A classmate came into the lounge and said, "Did you hear that a plain crashed into one of the twin towers?" My eyes went wide opened and my jaw dropped. I couldn't say anything, I was unable to say anything. Someone found a radio and we turned it on. As we listened to reporters we learned of the 2nd plane hitting the other twin tower. At that point we all new this was more than and accident. I remember feeling scared and numb all at the same time. As all of us went to chapel there was an Erie silence that was deafening. Our Director of Admissions stood before the student body and said, "Our nation has been attacked." As I write these wrods it is still sobering to think about.

I imagine if I asked everyone I see today where were you 11 years ago today most could recall it as clear as I have. It has been 11 years, one year more than a decade and it still affects me. I don't think it will ever NOT affect me.

Last week when I was on vacation someone hit my bumper while I was parked in a grocery store parking lot. I called my insurance company and the next day a claim representative called me to say she had scheduled an appointment for my car to be seen and the damagesbe  assessed. She told me where I was going and that the appointment was on Tuesday, September 11. I paused. I always pause when I here September 11. I know people whose birthday is September 11. They have never said how they deal with that and I wonder how I would.

All I know is that I am thankful for all the firefighters, policemen and port authority employees who went they day to save whomever they could. I will remember all the lives who died that day and the people they left behind.

Take time to remember and honor those who sacrificed that day and those who are no longer with us because of the events on that day.

God Bless us All.

Grace Emerges: Let It Go

Can we learn to "let go"?

Grace Emerges: Let It Go: by Brad Duncan I was considering the phrase "let it go".  It seems like such wisdom, compared to the alternative which is to hold on to so...

A Future with Hope

Today I write as myself, NOT Adele the minister, NOT Adele the Christian, but the Adele who seeks to find hope in this world but struggles after all she has witnessed and experienced in her life.

Last week God helped me to see a glimmer of hope for the future. For almost 4 weeks now I have been leading a Back 2 School bible study with some of my youth. Last week we looked at "Sharing God's Love." In the Discussion portion of the study we had three scenarios to discuss how we would show God's love. The two we discussed were:

                     1. Will is a 16-year-old high-school dropout. He often smells of cigarette
                         smoke, wears tattered and torn clothes. Will doesn’t know where he fits
                         in at church.

                    2. Ben openly tells other youth that he is bisexual. He is bullied because of this.

The responses to each scenario included: talking to the person, inviting them to hang out, standing up for them, telling them it is okay to be who you are. One person even added that you might have to change yourself if you are the one that is being the bully.

The age range in this group of youth is 14 - 17. Listening to these responses gave me hope in the midst of the world I live in. My prayer is that this small group of youth is a reflection of the youth that make up this world and that the hate that persist in this world will start to die as this generation gets older and the love and compassion that was demonstrated in this group will become more and more the norm and way of life for all.

The Value of a Life

If you are a regular watcher of CBS Evening News: On the Road segment then you have probably seen the video below. I still hope you will read this post.

It is not often that movies or stories make me cry, but this story touched me where God's love always breaks me. (In a good way) You see, I have successfully managed to build a wall just thick/thin, (depending on how you describe it) enough to be moved by a persons story but not show any sign of weakness. As a minister, chaplain, pastoral counselor this can be healthy but also unhealthy when I lose touch with the people around me. But no worries, God always brings me back to reality where humanity is undeniable and I am changed in that moment. The story of Woody Davis is one that has changed me.

The part in the story that caught Steve Hartman by surprise is the same part that caught me too. It blew my mind that this man, Woody Davis was blessed that he was dying slowly. "Really, it is a blessing to die slowly?" Well, in this case it was. But what overloaded my emotional system was the obvious, apparent and overwhelming love of God that was on a pine box in the form of signatures. God's love can be found in signatures.

Most people don't have the same benefit Woody had in seeing how much people loved him before he died. While our families and friends are still living we should show our love now before they die. Let us show others the value of their life before they die. Just like the town of Corbett, Oregon did for Woody before he died.