Friday Five: Five Perks of Ministry

1.  Undoubted one of the greatest perks is the privilege of sharing in the congregation’s greatest joys and sorrows. Being in ministry means I am part of the family of God … an extended family which nurtures and cares for one another… and for the most part that has been true.

2.  The flexible schedule afforded by ministry is a blessing.  I may work longer hours but it is possible to juggle my responsibilities as a wife and mother.

3.  I get paid to read – what a concept. I can curl up with a good book and honestly call it work.

4.  Excellent health benefits – with a husband on disability and a daughter prone to accidents – this perk has been a tremendous blessing.

5.  The opportunity for continuing education and travel experiences including travel to our sister congregation in Blantyre, Malawi, Africa.

The Call Comes to You in the Midst of Life

The Call comes to you in the midst of life

The Call comes to you in the midst of life

The Call comes to you in the midst of life

The presence of the Holy Spirit

I’m starting 2011 as sick as I’ve been in many years … probably since high school when I landed in the hospital sick as a dog for some undiagnosed reason … Whatever the symptoms, the real culprit is definitely stress – it was then and it is now.

This past year has been a roller coaster of emotions … in my personal life, in corporate worship, and in my family. And I’ve been begging to get off the ride.

Two things have made me face reality:  a trip to Disney with a friend over New Year’s Eve which found me facing my fears and going on rides … which I found oddly not nearly as frightening as I anticipated because I was facing them with a friend… and preaching about the baptism of Jesus and realizing that even Jesus didn’t get to escape the roller coaster of life … in one pericope he’s hearing, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,” and in the very next pericope he’s in the wilderness facing temptation and loneliness. And the presence of the Holy Spirit is found in both places.

I really wanted to hear that I had spent my year on the roller coaster ride and would be allowed to jump off in 2011. But if anything, the heights seem much higher and the drops seem much steeper.

May the Holy Spirit be present and may I continually claim the calm assurance that Jesus still speaks, “Peace, be still.”

Come …..

We ask for all
In trouble
Not knowing where to turn
We ask for a miracle
Come break through
Come dawn
Breath
Deep peace
Love diving
Grace unbound
Relieve your children's
Burden and pain
Come fill us
Center us in
Prayer
Silence
Companionship
Shared space

by
Annette Joseph
Strong, Maine

Joseph, Annette. "Come." Lifting Women's Voices: Prayers to Change the World. Ed. Margaret Rose, Jenny Te Paa, Jeanne Person, Abagail Nelson. NY: Morehouse Publishing, 2009. 264.

Christmas Eve

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2)

Contemporary Mother and Child

Several contemporary images of Mary and the baby Jesus have surfaced on the web recently …this is one of them.

Letting the mud settle …..

Artist Melanie Weidner says of this painting that it is "Based on a quote from the Tao Te Ching: "Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?" (By the way, if you havent been to her site yet, check out Melanie's other beautiful work here.)