September 3 for 3: the Consolation and Desolation edition
What I've been up to lately plus work from other creators and cultivators who are helping us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty - all arranged in lists of threes.
Tamara’s Note
Thank you, September!
We had hoped for resolution on a few critical needs we’d been waiting for God to meet. In September we lived with the ebb and flow of rest and unrest waiting and watching and walking with Jesus. The month started hard and ended hard with so much overwhelming goodness throughout.
As I shared some of the particulars with my spiritual director, Elizabeth, I began to imagine consolation and desolation less as a linear line pointing up or down depending on what a day reveals, but more like swimming in the ocean. Sometimes the wave crests and delights as we bob and float on the surface and sometimes the wave catches us unaware and we hold on for dear life until we reach the shore. When I think about the moments of rest and unrest, love and unlove, presence and absence in my life as a growth chart it’s too easy to believe the outcome is supposed to keep moving upward and to the right.
I’m learning that to walk with Jesus, to live in his unforced rhythms of grace, is to surrender myself to both ascending and descending. Both lead me deeper into the heart of Christ.
How was September for you? I’d love to hear what you’re reflecting on from the past month.
As we head into October, friends, may we recognize that we are held by close to the great heart of Christ.
xo,
Tamara
p.s., Here are a few moments of consolation in September
1. I’m sure I’ve mentioned how our Anglican congregation rents space from this beautiful, historic synagogue in Bridgeport? It’s one of the best gifts we’ve ever been given as a church family - not only the space to call home but also the rich friendships we’ve found in Congregation Rodeph Sholom. In September, they welcomed us to lunch in their sukkah (hut) during their celebration of Sukkot (Booths or Tabernacles). Our friend Sue shared the Sukkot ritual of gathering four types of plant material: an etrog (a citron fruit), a palm branch, a myrtle branch, and a willow branch. She showed us the traditional method for shaking the lulav ([lu'lav]; Hebrew: לולב) in celebration - to the right, left, behind, in front, above the head, and below the feet - to symbolize the presence of God all around us. What a beautiful way to be together!
You can see how our congregations picnicked and created chains to decorate the sukkah together in September here.
2. Speaking of our congregation, we welcomed the Marees into our church family this month and it was very good! It took more than a year from the point of being hired for our new Associate Rector and his family to get to us from South Africa and more than three years from a chance visit to our church to meet again in person. We are celebrating and giving thanks! In the words of a beloved church member about his experience arriving at Apostles, we are hoping to “gather them up and pour them into our church family”. Isn’t that something we all need right now?
3. Each year in September, ever since our children have grown, we find a little place to hunker down for a week of prayer and ministry planning. There’s never been a year we needed it more. We’re so thankful for LeTourneau Christian Center on Canandaigua Lake, NY for their hospitality. Also, kayaking is something I want to enjoy a lot more in the future!
Favorite Links
Monthly picks to help us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty!
Worship God
A Sacramental Life Categories: Spiritual Direction & Practices | Liturgy & Church Calendar | Daily Work & Callings
September includes the Feast Day for St. Michael the Archangel (also known as Michaelmas). Do any of you celebrate?
Get a head-start on Thanksgiving: 30 Day Gratitude Challenge for October by Kaley Ehret (that’s my sister!)
Do you ever feel caught in the tension between fruitful work and refreshing rest? Spend a couple of hours with me in October to listen and pray for both.
Love People
A Sacramental Life Categories: Family, Friends, Church & Neighbors | Peace & Justice | Wholeness & Healing
Loving the gospel + loving people + loving hospitable conversation = my latest review for Englewood Review.
I want to read every book on this list. (Truly. I can’t pick just one.) via Hearts & Minds Books
Hispanic Heritage Month began on September 15. Here are some ways to engage, read, listen, and invest in the voices of our Latina/o brothers and sisters is a step toward this Kingdom vision. via Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others
(Related: 7 Ways to Celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage Month)
Enjoy Beauty
A Sacramental Life Categories: Look, Listen, Make & Do | Creators & Cultivators | Reading & Writing
14 things I learned this summer (trying to figure out how to make #7 happen on the regular.)
The rhythm of nature from Henri Nouwen.
“… autumn as a time of plenitude, a time of fulfillment in which the richness of nature becomes abundantly visible, but also a time in which nature points beyond itself by the fragility of its passing beauty…”
Christie Purifoy’s most stunning work yet
“It’s just another day in the garden. Just another ordinary miracle.”
Member Areas
The welcome mat is out. Come on in!
$17/mo. level
On October 14 we’re opening our community retreat for guests! We’ll gather to spend time listening to the Holy Spirit, scripture, and our own lives on the topic of enjoying both work and rest. Join us!
“I attended the first retreat in the series live and I used the materials from the second retreat on my own when I was able. I found both ways led me into the presence of God and gave me a sense of community on a shared journey. Using the retreat materials on my own provided me with structure for a prayer time when it was convenient for my schedule. It allowed me to stop the recording at points that struck me as important for me. Attending ‘live’ allowed me to hear others’ responses and reflections, and to share what I was hearing. I left the second retreat feeling like a weaned child...comforted and stilled and hopeful.”
$5/mo. level
Each Sunday morning I send a devotional post for the coming week that dovetails Sunday’s lectionary readings with art, music, prayer, and readings for the rest of the week.
The weekly devotional posts pair well with retreat #3 for Ordinary Time: Enjoy Work & Rest.
“This is so very powerful. Thank you for your ministry of speaking truth and arranging it in such beauty and easily accessible.”
$3/mo. level
I’m continuing to dive into the Stories deep end, sharing some of the most formative memories of my early life. My mom offered us a story in September and it’s one of my favorites!
Become and member and read it here: Just an Old Letter
“Your writing resonates so deep within my soul. Thank you for sharing so honestly with truth and grace! ”
Currently Reading
From the Book Pile 2021 | See my giant reading list here.
Bonus Feature
A playlist for your next autumn walk.
Here’s to another month of worshiping God, loving people, and enjoying beauty, friends!
Thank you so much for your continuous support. Every time you mention my spiritual direction offerings, retreats, writing or devotional guides to a friend, or engage on my social media accounts, you're helping to support my work that reaches beyond the scope of this website. I am grateful for your help!