church boats

"Most church boats don't like to be rocked;

they prefer to lie at anchor rather than go places in stormy seas.

But that's because we Christians view the church as the object of our love

instead of the subject and instrument of God's.

Faith cannot be passive, it has to go forth -

to assault the conscience, excite the imagination.

Faith fans the flames of creativity altogether as much

as it banks the fires of sin."  - William Sloane Coffin

see Aidan Hart's icons here

Vocation of Florence Li Tim-Oi

Today we honor the ordination of Florence Li Tim- Oi, who was born in Hong Kong, in 1907.  In 1944  Florence was ordained as an Anglican deaconess.  Months later Hong Kong fell to the Japanese & WWII began. Florence  was sent to Macau, where she served many refugees as the only ordained person.  Bishop Ronald Hall ordained her to the priesthood in 1944, in order to help her fulfill her responsibilities. 

When the war ended, Florence's being ordained created so much controversy that she made the decision to relinquish her license,  but continued to serve the church. After the Communist revolution, Florence was repeatedly singled out for abuse because of her ties to the English colonialists & her role as a female priest. For 16 years all churches were closed and Florence was forced to work on a farm and a factory. In 1979 the churches reopened and Florence resumed her ministry.  Two year later she was permitted to join family living in Toronto. There, in 1984, she was reinstated as a priest. She spent the last eight years of her life serving her parish and encouraging the acceptance of women into the priesthood. Florence lived to see the consecration of the first woman bishop.   

I read the following excerpt on Elizabeth Kaeton's blog today.  It is so powerful in light of all  who know they are called to ordained ministry but are not able or allowed to pursue their call.  May Florence Li Tim-Oi's story be a deep and lasting  source of encouragement in light of that pain.

" Vocation is something which is heard by an individual, witnessed in her life and validated by the community of faith. It begins with the individual but ends with an ever-deepening, self-sacrificial journey into the mystery and intimacy of community. To turn a blind eye to the witness of the Spirit moving and acting in the life of another speaks more to the spiritual and corporal arrogance of those in power than it does of the validity of the person's vocation. I have to believe there are consequences for the continued practices of injustice in the church and in the world. " - Elizabeth Kaeton

Visit Telling Secrets for more on Florence Li Tim-Oi's story

Icon written by the Rev'd Dr. Ellen Poisson, OSH

wisp of thread

“Life may seem inexplicable.

But, always, somewhere,

there is a narrow filament of meaning,

like a spider web.

Hold it between the thumb or finger or your heart.

Follow its invisible trail through the labyrinth of your life,

until it leads you where it will.

This is the walk of faith,

this blind stepping in the darkness,

with only the invisible, resilient wisp of thread

that leads to God.”

- Gerda Crake

photo by Jane Manzer

History Maker

You know that saying, "Well behaved women rarely make history"..?

Well, in today's gospel from Matthew 15 we hear the voice

of the desperate Canaanite woman

who pleaded with Jesus to cure her demon-possessed daughter.

Thanks to her bold response to his initial denial to help,

"Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs

that fall from their masters' table,"

she made history by having her story included for us to hear,

and she enlarged Jesus' view of who was included. 

"Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."

Dang! 

the grateful leper

Jesus healed 10 lepers in today's Gospel story.

Only one came back to give thanks. The Samaritan.

Even after being healed he would still be considered an Outcast.

And yet, there he was - Grateful as could be.

Rumi says it best:

"Thankfulness

brings you to the place

where the Beloved lives."

I would love to have a reference

for where this artwork came from?

Fighting Fleas!

Fighting Fleas

"We have to fight them daily, like fleas,

those many small worries about the morrow,

for they sap our energies….

The things that have to be done must be done,

and for the rest we must not allow ourselves

to become infested with thousands of petty fears and worries,

so many motions of no confidence in God.

Ultimately, we have just one moral duty:

to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves,

more and more peace, and reflect it towards others.

And the more peace there is in us,

the more peace there will also be in our troubled world."

- Etty Hillesum

Source: An Interrupted Life: the Journal of a Young Jewish Woman, 1941-1943

I was reading through Inward/Outward and this quote

reminded me how I so easily become infested

with those petty fears and worries that Etty described.

Let us pray for one another's reclamation from

that which saps our energies.

(And read as much of Etty Hillesum as possible!)

stones and love

Today's reading from Acts 19 tells of those who came from Antioch and Iconium, who influenced the crowds to stone Paul. And when they were done, (ie. pretty sure they had killed him) they dragged him out of the city. Imagine the frenzy, the intenisty of their fear and rage. Don't mess with our beliefs buddy!


But then the disciples showed up, surrounded him and behold! He got up and headed for the nearest bed and breakfast for much needed rest and then....what? Oh, he didn't head for the B & B? He went back into the city? What kind of crazy fool goes back into the place where people tried to kill him? Oh yeah, Jesus. And you, and me.


I have to believe that there was divine power in the disciples surrounding Paul as he lay dead on the ground. Just goes to show - grace and love abound in those who surround us with their love...thank God for them today and may you be given the strength to rise up and continue to love....even those you don't really want to love today.

roadblocks

Luke 9:51-62

In today's Gospel reading Luke tells us that "Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem." Talk about steadfast determination! Nothing was going to get in his way, neither villages that refused to welcome him, nor people with excuses as to why they could not set their faces toward their own Jerusalems. Of course Jesus didn't travel in a straight line toward his destiny, and neither do we, but he did get there and with God's help, so can we. So where and what is your Jerusalem? Are you distracted from it because of your other obligations, or like me, have you just been avoiding it?

comprendo?

“A comprehended God is no God at all.”

G. Tersteegen
or
Saint John Chrysostum

Leap of Faith

If there is a fear of falling, the only safety consists in deliberately jumping.  - Carl Jung 

photo from here

I've been thinking about all those fears that are keeping me from taking my own leap.

living or dead faith

"Tradition is the living faith

of dead people
to which we must add our chapter
while we have the gift of life.
Traditionalism is the dead faith

of living people
who fear that if anything changes,
the whole enterprise will crumble."

--Jaroslav Pelikan

Pilfered from here.