Grief in Advent: A five-minute reflection on Advent eve
GRIEF
Oof. 2020 has been one for the books. I think one of the best gifts we can offer in response to this year is to keep telling our stories.
It's natural for humans to remember the details surrounding global-scale tragedies and to tell the stories over and over for the rest of their lives. It's the stuff of family histories as well as the plotlines for society's retelling of itself archived in books, documentaries, and movies.
Where were you when it happened?
Where were you when the president was shot, the bomb dropped, the towers fell?
So, friends, where were you when coronavirus hit? It's a bit tricky to piece together these details into a shareable story, right? Especially since we're like 9 months in and the tragedy is still unfolding. We're still in the part of the story where we're frantically trying to find out if our friends and family are safe and if they've heard the news yet.
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GRIEF in Advent :: Five-Minute Friday
Oof. 2020 has been one for the books. I think one of the best gifts we can offer in response to this year is to keep telling our stories.
It's natural for humans to remember the details surrounding global-scale tragedies and to tell the stories over and over for the rest of their lives. It's the stuff of family histories as well as the plotlines for society's retelling of itself archived in books, documentaries, and movies.
Where were you when it happened?
Where were you when the president was shot, the bomb dropped, the towers fell?
So, friends, where were you when coronavirus hit? It's a bit tricky to piece together these details into a shareable story, right? Especially since we're like 9 months in and the tragedy is still unfolding. We're still in the part of the story where we're frantically trying to find out if our friends and family are safe and if they've heard the news yet.
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AHEAD :: Five-Minute Friday
Well, what do you know? 2020 could get weirder. I need to say that imagining the gazillions of ordinary people working behind the scenes to do the tedious work of counting ballots goes near the top of the list of "unexpected delights" about this year.
About mid-October this year I begin to feel the warm whisper of anticipation for Advent. It says "Good prayer time is ahead." in my ear. Every early summer I wait for Ordinary Time like the last day of school when I can throw off the structure of the liturgical calendar but by late autumn I'm so ready for the rhythms of prayer and worship Advent ushers in.
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VOTE :: Five-Minute Friday
There's a specific proper noun I've refused to use for the past four years. On Tuesday, I'll find out if I need to keep up my little private resistance for another four. That's the smallest scope possible to view Election Day in the United States, but the narrowness of my focus is helping me keep the whole thing in perspective.
I grew up in the Moral Majority, picketed health clinics as a high-schooler, watched my Dad get arrested for peaceful protest, and then visited him in jail on my eighteenth birthday. Recently, in a robust conversation about politics and theology with my son, I said "I'm not a one-issue voter, but if there were one issue I'd be willing to die for it'd be that one."
But the platform and the rhetoric and the hubris has become untenable. My scope for understanding what it means to be "pro" something has had to expand beyond all the false dichotomies I was taught in my political, social, and theological formation. I am politically homeless, voting one way so that I can give up my tiny resistance refusing to name those who don't deserve to be named.
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Updated: Cancelling Calling Conversations
Friends, I hope your Saturday is going well. I've decided to cancel the Calling Conversations scheduled for Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of this week due to low registration. I know your hearts and minds are full of many things right now and trust that you're finding all that you need right now for encouragement and peace. Know that I carry you and your stories in my heart and give thanks to the Father for you.
Peace, friends,
T
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BREATHE :: Five-Minute Friday
Has the word ever held more meaning?
In mid-September Brian and I took a four-day retreat to study and pray - an intentional time set aside to breathe, if you will, between the end of summer and beginning of a new ministry season. We've learned the hard way that this transition between summer and fall is particularly tricky. This year, the need felt wonky. After six months of living this bizarre "together but apart-ness" with our community it felt a bit strange to have to add further isolation by getting away to another place.
The solitude of the little kitschy cottage on one of New York's glorious Finger Lakes felt simultaneously welcoming and oppressive. We walked around a lot, looking at the water, trying to settle into the study projects we'd each brought along. The waves were too choppy to spend prolonged time on the boat. The weather snapped from summer to fall within twelve hours of our arrival and we took to walking along the shore with giant fluffy blankets cocooning our heads.
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YOUR :: Five-Minute Friday
What can you call your own these days?
I know many of you have found your schedules and personal space trampled by the unexpected changes of this pandemic. Our house was a bit fuller than usual throughout the past 6 months as well, but we're in the season of life where, slowly but surely, the capacity of our home has shrunk to just Brian and me. It's a day I dreamed about for years but then grieved at the way it felt when each of our children moved out. I've learned what lots of folks tried to tell me is true. The doorway to an empty nest is constantly revolving.
I'm terrible at transitions. I like to hunker down in one rhythm and live there until I decide to make the shift. That's not how the world works, of course, and definitely not how the world works for parents of younger children. Your time is almost never your own. And while the spaciousness of what feels like my own has expanded, I'm still figuring out how to move gracefully between what I consider my own and what I give away.
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Announcing Calling Stories & Calling Conversations!
In the past two autumns, I’ve hosted a series of guest posts called Work Stories. This year I've reimagined the series to embrace a wider vision of calling and to add some sweet bonus features for you. Keep reading for all the details!
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