Salvation Oracles on Reading Isaiah 43:1-5

There is a long list of threats around us:
     terror,
     cancer,
     falling markets,
     killing,
     others unlike us in all their variety,
     loneliness,
     shame,
     death--
     the list goes on and we know it well.
And in the midst of threat of every kind,
     you appear among us in your full power,
          in your deep fidelity,
          in your amazing compassion.
     You speak among us the one word that could matter:
               "Do not fear."
And we, in our several fearfulnesses, are jarred by your utterance.
     On a good day, we know that your sovereign word is true.
     So, give us good days by your rule,
          free enough to rejoice,
          open enough to change,
          trusting enough to move out of new obedience,
          grace enough to be forgiven and then to forgive.
We live by your word.  Speak it to us through the night,
     that we may have many good days through your gift.
 
~Walter Brueggemann
     from Prayers for a Privileged People

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

I resonate with what W. David O. Taylor has to say in this Christianity Today article: "Each year, around the latter part of winter, Lent arrives. It nearly always surprises me. Here it is, once again, summoning me to change how I typically live." Some years, Lent sneaks up on me and I find myself ill-prepared. Other years, my life is colored by deep grief, and I can't imagine giving something up when it feels like my life is already barren. And still other years, I approach Lent with enough interior space to wonder about God's invitations for me in this important season of preparation.
 
I'm grateful that, whatever my participation (or disengagement) in Lent, each year brings a new opportunity. My appreciation for the church calendar and the rhythms of worship continues to grow each year. Even if I miss some of the richness of the season in a given year, I know that I will have another opportunity the next year. His mercies are new every morning—and every year! 

Like many things in the church, the church calendar is meant to help order our affections towards God. It doesn't mean that we somehow earn favor or special standing. It does not make us better or change our justification. However, these practices shape us, too — not in order to earn favor with God but as a way to be God's apprentices and follow how He says life works best. Dallas Willard reminds us: 

"We should not only want to be merciful, kind, unassuming, and patient persons but also be making plans to become so." (The Divine Omission, 29). 

Lent helps us make plans towards becoming more like Jesus.

This year, I find myself ready to engage in the season of Lent, which starts on March 2nd. I'm planning to read through Sister Wendy Beckett's lovely book, The Art of Lent. She describes and interprets forty full-color paintings for each day of Lent. Some friends of mine are committing to engage in an act of service each day as a family: picking up trash, bringing food to a neighbor, offering to help with yard work, etc. What does God have for you to do and experience this Lent?
 
Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

The family is God’s primary spiritual formation plan. It is in our households that we are taught what is most and least important and we begin to understand how we fit in this world that God has made. Parents, do you know the book Habits of the Household, by Justin Whitmel Earley? Earley is convinced that ordinary routines are extraordinary opportunities to live out the love of God in profound ways. He encourages families to reimagine and establish new habits and intentional rhythms (i.e. liturgies) around everyday routines in the daily chaos of raising kids. 

I was introduced to Earley’s ideas in The Common Rule, on developing holy rhythms of life that help us live more deeply rooted in God’s lifegiving Kingdom. We show what we love and value by our daily habits and we can place ourselves in a position to be transformed when we intentionally practice habits in our friendship with Jesus, individually and with others. Habits of the Household roots these ideas in the heart of the family. 

Can you think of our families as little “schools of love,” places where we have one vocation, one calling: to form all who live here into lovers of God and neighbor? In the many habits of a household, including waking, mealtimes, screentime, work, play, bedtime and conversation, we have the opportunity to “live liturgically” and practice the story of God over and over again. Deeply formed lives start in the family. We all need spiritual companions to help us to implement our desire to see our kids come to know, follow and love Jesus. Check out Habits of the Household.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

Scripture proclaims that human beings were created for in-person community (Genesis 2:18-24, Psalm 133:1-3), and that the presence of our Savior can be known as God’s people gather (Matthew 18:20, Hebrews 10:24-25). I have experienced that personally as our congregation has slowly and thoughtfully moved to meeting in-person again.

Unfortunately, reconnecting in the flesh does take effort and risk. It can be awkward or uncomfortable at first. And the rewards often arrive not right away, but over weeks, months, or even years. Pandemic days have forced us all out of the habit of gathering in person, and it is never easy to get back into a habit – whether it be exercise, practicing an instrument, or worshiping in a sanctuary. For many in our community, distance, health concerns, and other reasons will make remote participation at PasCov continue to be the best option.

So, we will strive to make the live stream of our worship service as robust as we can. Online options for ministry participation will continue to be available. But should health, mobility, safety, and travel plans allow, we hope you and your family will again take up the time-tested practice of in-person church. We believe you too will find a hunger in your soul answered. Christian community – it may be flawed, imperfect, and full of the foibles and failings of our broken humanity. But it is also an incredible gift. Come and receive it.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

Come. Holy Spirit! 

We pray to meet you in the depths of our hearts where we are so prone to fear and anxiety, so quick to forget that we are committed to Hope, to Love, intending to believe and acting on the principle that “all will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.” 

We pray to let you heal us—body and spirit—of those wounds and scars that are left over from old memories, early traumas and the hurts and slights that keep popping up in the course of our daily lives.

We pray to feel your energy surging in our declining bodies, in our brains that too often forget things these days, in our praying spirits that bog down with the enormity and complexity of this sad world.

We pray for the wounds of so many in so many places, with the accompanying fear that we can’t know where terror will break out next. We pray that you will keep up your powerful attack on the minds and wills of those who are heartless, greedy and self-serving only, and transform their hearts to ones of compassion and caring. 

We pray for your Presence in the created world, that as it struggles to survive and thrive, you will teach us how to cooperate with that healing, with your power to give us words and actions that will preserve and respect the beauty and sustainability of Earth’s resources. 

We pray that you, Holy Healer, will touch the bodies and spirits and minds of those who suffer, and where there is despair, replace it with hope and peace. 

And for all those areas for which we have words but can’t get them out, and for those things deep inside us for which we have no words, Spirit, turn them into creative and cogent expressions of our hearts to the Holy One—for what is loving. joyful, peaceful, kind and generous, and faithful in our walking and talking, singing and dancing, working and giving, hoping and living each day with imagination, energy and love.

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!

 Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation

Lord Jesus,

We ask for
forgiveness of every debt,
provision for every need,
strength for every weakness,
comfort for every trouble,
healing for every sickness,
peace for every anxiety,
joy for every sorrow,
light for every darkness,
love for every longing, 
companionship for every loneliness,
presence for every absence,
meaning for every emptiness,
bread for every hunger, 
water for every thirst,
shelter for every storm,
and abundance for every lack. 

You are the miracle. You part the waters again and again, inviting us to ask, seek and knock.

We await your whisper in the silence and envision your Word bringing everything to life.

Amen.

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

The world now is too dangerous
and too beautiful for anything but love.
May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.
Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.
May your hands be so blessed
that everyone you touch is a sacrament.
Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.
May your feet be so blessed that you run
to those who need you.
And may your heart be so opened,
so set on fire, that your love,
your love, changes everything.

Celtic Christian Tradition

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

When This is Over

When this is over,
may we never again
take for granted
A handshake with a stranger
Full shelves at the store
Conversations with neighbors
A crowded theater
Friday night out
The taste of communion
A routine checkup
The school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend
The stadium roaring
Each deep breath
A boring Tuesday
Life itself.

When this ends
may we find
that we have become
more like the people
we wanted to be
we were called to be
we hoped to be
and may we stay
that way — better
for each other
because of the worst.

Laura Kelly Fanucci

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.  

Matthew 2:10-12

As we observe Epiphany (Dia de Reyes), can we be overwhelmed with joy? What might it mean for you to pay him homage where you find him? What gifts of the best you have can you offer to our infant-King? May the light of Christ show us how to walk by "another road," not Herod's, but the road of Jesus and justice. May the light be cast abroad for the darkness of insurrection to be overcome by the Incarnation.

Thanks be to God for letting the light shine out of darkness! 

Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation

O Love Incarnate, wrap your everlasting arms around all those who mourn this day, and lift up the hearts of those who cannot see beyond the darkness. When we would lose ourselves in grief and anger, touch us with grace enough to turn to you. When anticipation of your birth is forgotten amidst tragedy, violence, and grief, draw us closer to you. We long for the surety of your love even as we tremble in fear.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine,
that we may be saved.

Light of the World, remove the shadows of our own sinfulness and selfishness. Your light shines even when our eyes are blinded by gun shots still echoing through our nation, and around the world. Human brokenness turns us from you and we go hungry and cold when you would hold us close. We search for answers and come up with angry impulses, forgetting that you speak loudest in the silence. When we would buy guns to protect ourselves from our neighbors, reveal yourself in the faces around us. We yearn to see you in our midst.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine,
that we may be saved.

Promise of Salvation, the star over Bethlehem has dimmed and we are in danger of losing our way to you. We want to protect ourselves and blame others for the ills of our society. We would rather not see you in those with mental illness or acknowledge our responsibility to care for those who cannot care for themselves. With every act of violence, we grow more distant from one another and more fearful of those who seem different. You would save us from ourselves. We have only to make it to Bethlehem and kneel before you, accepting once again that you are the Savior and we are not. Bend our knees. Calm our fears. Open our hearts. We need your saving love.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine,
that we may be saved.

Mighty One, your mercy is truly from generation to generation, including this one. Reveal to us, once again, your strength and your power. You are the one who can bring humility to the proud and powerful and lift up those who so often go unseen. We are all hungry in these days of war, violence, and death; you alone can fill us with goodness. It is your mercy we need on this Sunday of Love. It is your might that will bring us to our knees to honor your birth and to trust that you will guide us safely home. Lead us away from mourning into joy that we may honor you once again.

Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine,
that we may be saved.

 Grace and peace,

Anita Sorenson

Pastor for Spiritual Formation