Blog

Free to Be...on a Snow Day in April!

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:23:01 -0500

Who would have thought we'd be gifted with a snow day on April 23rd? An unexpected gift for students who need a bit of time to buckle down with their studies (Speak for yourself, O doctoral student!) or have some time to catch up on those leisure time activities which easily escape us in the hustle and bustle of life!

Back in my prep school days, those were called "Free Days".

I have this sense that God provides us with the freedom to use the unexpected times in our life for the purposes which God would most love to see us use them! If we need rest, rest. If we need study time, study (The Word, homework, nature, music, etc.) If we need creative time, be creative (in the kitchen with a new dish, with a new class at an arts place, with a time-honored hobby such as gardening.)

One thing I am sure of: God love to give us freedom to be!

Be God's and enjoy your freedom!

Walking in the Lord through Holy Week

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:35:01 -0500

The Seniors sponsored a trip to walk the labyrinth at Asbury Church, and I found myself walking in a deep, meditative way through the path. I have walked the labyrinth before - I've seen the one at Chartres in France, at Watson Homestead in Painted Post, and at various conferences.

As one walks, the Lord is there. As one walks, each time is a different experience. I am not in exactly the same spiritual space I was years ago.

What is amazing is the walk's ability to transcend the mind's propensity for hopping around - sometimes called "monkey mind." God provides focus and the ability to be released happens throughout the walk.

The journey continues, and I look forward to Holy Week as I reap the benefits of that wak.

How about you? Where will your walk take you as you journey through Holy Week?

Praying Through Lent

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:27:01 -0600

A recent trip to Wendy's has me thinking. I was just sitting down for my Chicken wrap, and the guy about three tables away happened to catch my eye. I saw him bow his head and offer thanks before he ate. Mind you, this was not a case of someone calling attention to himself. He didn't make noise about this gesture of thanksgiving. He just did it.

I have no idea what the person's faith background is who prayed. He might have been any number of religious traditions in this pluralistic world we live in.

The point is- he took time in his day to give thanks. A table grace is a simple and yet so profound gesture of gratitude.

Lent is a journey towards thanksgiving to God for all God gives us.

Whether you say grace, and/or a word of thanks during the day, may you find blessing this Lenten season!

What Not to Travel With on the Journey

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 14:47:01 -0600

When I think about vacation, I get giddy! I love vacay - a time to kick back, relax, and be with loved ones.

Travel without heavy items is key for me. I generally travel light for both business and pleasure, with just a carry on. That's it for the spiritual journey as well. When I recreate, renew and meditate I am in a place of renewing spirit as well as body and mind.

I am discovering the benefits of the journey in which I don't have to carry much, because God carries me. How about you?

MLK Legacy

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:00:01 -0600

I was at prep school when I heard about the assasination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The news hit me hard then, and still does. Here is someone whose life embodies that which is so much part of the life of Christ: justice, freedom, and peace. Some 44 years later, I am a changed woman in many ways - what has remained a constant in my own life is desire for my children to inherit a world in which they will find themselves regarded and honored for all they are

As a young mother of bi-racial adoptive children, I wanted to give them and pass on to them their inherent worth as children of God. No matter what color their skin or eyes, no matter what abilities or strengths or weaknesses, this is their true identity.

My kids have been able to weather the storms of their life all right, and they have grown into adults who can navigate the world independently. Thank God, they have built lives for themselves and I am proud of them

The legacy for me is that I have been able to bring them up in this world and that there have been more times than not when they have been able to be , as King dreamt, " judged on the content of their character not on the color of their skin." They have been able to withstand the world's assessment of them and created their own.

Discovering Christmas blessings

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 14:25:01 -0600

Each year, I find new Christmas blessings are mine. This year, the time apart for Advent retreat allowed a blessing to flow in my soul. The rythmn of the Christmas tea, the women's Christmas Dinner, the Christmas pageant by the Sunday School, and Christmas Eve services as well provide new blessings for me in this new parish. God opens the way for discovery of riches of blessings over and over at this holy season.

May this Christmas be one in which you, too, discover the ways in which God comes down to earth, bringing particularly wondrous blessings as we receive them and give them back in our lives at this holy season!

Advent Attitude

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:38:01 -0600

It's all in the attitude, isn't it? In the midst of shopping at this busy time, I came across a cashier who had attitude. She smiled at me, made eye contact and even asked if I found what I needed. (The answer was yes!)

At the conclusion of the sale, she asked me if I would like to donate an item (a toy, etc.) for a needy child.

What a way to show Advent attitude - in God's love shown in a smile, in the way that God meets us eye to eye and heart to heart, and in service to others in God's world.

I'm wondering how you're doing in the Advent attitude department - as you wait with expectant heart?

Merry Thoughts - at Thanksgiving

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:42:01 -0600

I am thankful this year for many things - among them, a new place to call home, a new parish to serve, a new community to embrace since I sat around a Thanksgiving table last year.

What seems very sweet indeed are memories of Thanksgiving pasts, when I would sit at the table and watch with wide eyes as Dad carved the turkey - and my brother Scott would have a few lessons in the carving process. Mom would smile into the camera (back then, 8mm instead of vidcam, thank you very much!) and the bounty would be placed on the table. My fav would be the marvelous stuffing, Grandma Skove's recipe - and oh the joy of that time in the festivities when we would get out the wishbone and pull on it. Some Brits call the wishbone "the merrythought." The intergenerational patter would bring smiles, laughter and stories galore. Although my parents and grandparents are no longer living, thoughts prevail of the times which bind.

I think that is quite cool. For Thanksgiving, 'merrythoughts' of one another in the love of God are always in order - and how blessed I feel to be able to embrace the thoughts of loved ones, both living and those with God eternally.

I would ask God's blessings on those celebrating Thanksgiving - and to all , merry thoughts from the heart which gives thanks!

Containing God? Not so much!

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:41:01 -0500

There are two storage containers on church property now for the Super Sale. They are, in a word, humungous. Large monstrosities designed to hold lots. Lots...of....shall we say, items are in the containers ready to be sorted soon for sale. People are loading their items into the container daily at this point.

At night, I still my soul to receive the largesse the Lord offers: large, huge, humungous. The container I imagine is not large enough for the Lord of all. All Life and Love, all Justive and Truth, Compassion and Shepherd care.

I think of the large containers required to rid of all the excess garbage and things not really required for living. Not even one container holds the God who is limitless, beyond all measure.

I quiet my soul in the vastness of the Lord of life. How wonder-full that is.

How big is your God, by the way?

Patience: Sometimes Lost, Sometimes Found

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:53:01 -0500

As I left the hospital after visiting a parishioner, I stopped at the booth to give my parking ticket to the attendant.

It was a sunny afternoon and I had a meaningful time in conversation. After a long day, I was headed home. At least that is what I thought. Quite the contrary. The attendant, from what I could observe, was a bit rattled. She let me know that "It will be awhile, ma'am." I had no way to know if "awhile" would be seconds, minutes, or perhaps longer! She picked up an intercom to speak with a fellow employee who after some ten minutes appeared at the booth to assist. She peeked out of the booth to speak to the attendant across from her in a voice which my speech professor in Seminary absolutely would have been proud of - she projected! I could hear her from inside my car, and my windows were down! "My screen is frozen. It's never happened to me." Another five minutes passed. After rebooting the computer and settling herself, she finally turned to me and accepted my parking ticket, along with my clergy ID.

"Oh! You're a Reverend!" she said.

"You have the patience of Job!"

In those moments of waiting, my patience was clearly evident to her without speaking a word. My compassion for her was a ruling factor as I waited. The gate lifted up, and I drove out of the parking garage.

Indeed, sometimes patience can be found in my life. And other times, I lose patience. Such is life in the Spirit!

Walking in the Lord

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 16:39:01 -0500

So, I am learning to walk with a bit faster pace recently as I get ready for the Feet for Food walk on Sunday. The walking I do is a good thing for mind, body and spirit.

I use this gizmo called a pedometer, and those of us who are clergy in the Conference are encouraged to use our pedometers and walk for our health.

It is not only for physical health - it is also part of a spiritual discipline that I walk. I walk seeking guidance from the Lord.

To walk in God's truth, in the truth of the Lord, is a hard thing - good for me in every way as a believer. As I walk, I not only know the Lord's presence but also the chastening of God. These feet learn to go places they didn't think they could go!

Rely on the Lord as you walk with God, and may that reliance be blessing for you and yours.

Labor Day Weekend and Work in Progress

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 20:04:01 -0500

It's Labor Day weekend, and on my walk today I thought about our commmunity of faith and how God actually labors to see visions come to pass and dreams made reality. That God works with us is clear, and that God expects us to do work is crystal clear as well.

The work of the spirit is hard work, and there are times when it is easy enough to say "enough!" and rest awhile. That is well and good - both for body and mind, as well as spirit.

There are times as well when the work calls us and we are sent into places yet unheard of, yet undreamed of - yet to be explored on the journey.

What's the work God's asking you to do, here and now - and perhaps even in the days and weeks ahead and into the future?

What's the work God is asking us to do, in community?

I'm a work in progress - how about you?

Matthew 9:36-38

New International Version (NIV)

³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸ Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field

The Shaking of the Foundations

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:31:01 -0500

"God's wisdom is so deep, God's power so immense, who could take him on and come out in one piece? He moves mountains before they know what's happened, flips them on their heads on a whim. He gives the earth a good shaking up, rocks it down to its very foundations." Job 9:2-3

Job has it so right - God's wisdom and power do indeed shake up and rock us at times to the very foundations. The earthquake which hit the Northeast has done just that to many lives. Buildings not designed to withstand such an earthquake have felt the immensity of the impact. Particularly poignant is the fate of the National Cathedral. On visits there, I have been transfixed by the enormity of the architect's vision and the grace of the holy ground there.

My brother and sister-in-law live fairly close to the epicenter of the earthquake, and it is indeed with a heavy heart I heard the first breaking news reports regarding the quake.

God's way is certainly to at times provide a good shaking up in our lives, rocking our earth-ly life to its very foundations. The truth be told is that over all, God's power is providential and God's wisdom a guide in all our living.

I wonder how the Lord's been shaking up your life recently, and how you are finding that power and wisdom of God?

Waiting for Chicken, and on God!

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:02:01 -0500

Today was our long awaited chicken barbecue. We have waited awhile to go back to chicken from having beef dinners. We waited to get some key leadership for this event. And, we waited for weather forecasts so we'd know what to expect!

It was a day full of surprises. The clouds turned and yes, we had pouring rain towards the end of the serving time. The waiting for predicted intermittent showers over, several of the cooks even smiled enjoying the refreshing rain.

The chicken was superbly cooked, and the waiting began as the lines formed both in the "drive through" and "eat in" spaces for the sumptuous feast. We waited to see how many dinners we would sell - and we sold out. We learned together. We laughed together. We shared together the love of God in community.

Isaiah's vision is that those who wait, get God in the bargain. Full measure, overflowing mercy and justice, righteousness and peace.

Now that's worth the wait - just like the chicken - to be enjoyed in the here and now.

I'm curious - how's your waiting time going in your life?

"The Lord is waiting to be merciful to you, and will rise up to show you compassion. The Lord is a God of justice; happy are all who wait for him." Isaiah 30:18 (Common English Bible)

The First 100 Days: Day 38

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:10:01 -0500

A Little Bit of Soul - Pastor Kathy's Blog

I began ministry in Victor 38 days ago on July 1, and these first 38 days have been marvelous.

I have tasted fine ice cream at Abbots, seen the Erie Canal, sang songs of faith with congregants, and celebrated my first and second Communion services. I discovered a dryer definitely and positively needs a gizmo called an ignitor to get clothes actually dry, had a garage door spring sprung, weeded in the garden and gotten prickly marks on my body to prove it, and established myself with a doctor the day before someone rear ended me as I was driving in the area and saw for myself what excellent patient care the Emergency Department at the local hospital gives. I've had my first funerals and my first cup of coffee with the new Keurig coffeemaker I got for the office. Ahhhhh!

I have had friends visit to see where in world Kathy is now, I have had numerous phone calls with Sis Karen and brother Scott to keep them posted on life in my new home and church.

Through these first days, I have felt embraced by the gifts of God which are all about transforming life in all of its changes.

God's been right there in the midst of these days, and will be as I continue through those "first 100 days" of life here with incredibly gifted people of God.

How's God right with you these days?