[Family Flourishing] Hope In The Midst Of Tension

Dear Trinity Church,

Peace to you from Baltimore. 

Marc and I are with our youngest son, Joel, who is having a surgery at Johns Hopkins that was delayed due to Covid-19. We are thankful he is in the care of a great medical team and the Great Physician. In the midst of the pandemic and now protests, we have been challenged by the poverty here and saddened by our current culture. We wonder, how will Jesus heal our nation? And then comes Pentecost, this mysterious day in the church calendar. The Spirit arrives in wind and flame and tongues and the church is born! After Peter preaches a powerful sermon, Acts 2 says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about 3000 were added to their number that day." When I taught this Godly Play lesson a few years ago (after one of the Icicle River baptisms) the children were shocked. "How could they baptize that many people?" they wondered. I love how children challenge me to really read the text and see the mysterious and miraculous work of God.  

The passage goes on to describe daily life in the newborn church - Apostle's teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer, wonders and signs, unity and generosity, glad and sincere hearts praising God and "enjoying the favor of all the people." WOW!

I am so grateful for this clear description of the spirit-filled church. Could the Spirit be helping our church recover the unity and mission of the early church? Amidst the political and racial tension our world and the church is facing, let us pray, "Come Holy Spirit!"

- Julia

PS - Joel made it through his surgery and is now on the road to recovery.  Please keep him (and us) in your prayers.  

Family Flourishing - Making it Through the Middle

Dearest Trinity Family,

When we began Drive-thru church, Father Matt invited the staff to predict when we might worship all together again. I hopefully (and naively) said Pentecost, May 31.

Last week was my hardest yet. I was antsy, distracted and anxious. Yesterday, during a Zoom meeting for the Rocky Mountain Diocese Children & Youth leaders, I discovered a reason for my anxiety. Wes Trevor (Wellspring Anglican in Englewood, CO) asked how we were doing now that we have hit the "midterm." 

Epiphany! I am HORRIBLE in the middle.

I start well, I end well and the middle I survive, often poorly. I realized this many years ago when I did the 22KM Hog Loppet cross country ski event between Mission Ridge and Blewett Pass.I was skiing with a friend who was GREAT in the middle. I was so thankful for her steady and encouraging presence. I know that if I want to be fully alive in this "midterm" I need others more than ever. I know that in the middle I need to admit my weakness and trust those who are strong. I was so grateful that God used a zoom meeting to help me understand my pain!   

I love this quote by Chuck DeGroat:

 "The beauty of lamenting your pain is that your cynicism is refined into grief, your scapegoating is refined into trust, your anxiety is refined into rest."

And as I lament our continuing separation, the Lord provides people to offer prayers, encouragement and a shoulder to rest on. We (Trinity Staff) are working on plans to keep us face to face to help each other through the months to come. I am excited about offering some upcoming Zoom groups, deliveringa bag of goodies to the Sunday School families in June, and hopefully keeping Family Camp on the calendar (Aug 14-16).

I am also grateful for the leadership from Bishop Ken as we discern our best plan to reunite. Here's an email he sent to all clergy about re-opening. (It’s in video form at the bottom of this email, if you prefer.)

As we lean into the Lord and one another let us say,

Trust in the Lord and we cannot be shaken because the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore. (Psalm 125)

Much Love,

Julia

And of course a few links!

• Owl babies in the Window Box - A man marvels when an Eurasian Eagle owl nested in his third story apartment window box (subtitled).

• Dancing dad and baby - my grown kids giggled at this video of a dad and baby delighting in each other.

• Ascension and Pentecost - This Thursday is Ascension Day.  This Bible Project video is a great resource to learn about the time between the Resurrection and the early church.

• Brene Brown - A helpful talk about settling in for the Coronavirus mid-term.

Family Flourishing - Knowing Jesus in Doubt

Dearest Trinity Family,

It was so sweet to see you all at "church" on Sunday. Thank you for listening to "Knowing Jesus in Doubt" and wondering where we see Jesus in our lives today. 

Some of you said:

   - playing volleyball on the front lawn

   - during my quiet time on the couch

   - in the garden and creation

   - in the amazing medical community

   - at drive-thru church

   - in our family taking care of each other

   - in Jesus sharing our suffering during this Coronavirus and in an "unexpected peace"

Throughout the story about the disciple who has "doubt in his bones," Jesus says "Peace be with you" three times. We are invited to empathize with Thomas by remembering how everyone's minds were being "stretched, stretched, stretched to know Jesus in a new way." Jesus invites Thomas to touch his nail-scarred hands. Can we extend such mercy to others and even to ourselves? Thomas threw himself at Jesus' feet saying, "My Lord and my God." I wonder how we can show mercy to someone this week that might bring them to the feet of the Savior?As always, here's a few links:

• UK Blessing - a beautiful chorus of worship leaders from over 65 churches and movements

• Knowing Jesus in Doubt - the Godly Play story about Thomas that I shared at Drive-Thru church told by a lovely teacher from New Zealand (accent alert!)

• Music for Kids - a 45 minute music program for "kids" with 10 classical songs and a brief lesson about them.

• A Prayer for Healing - a prayer for healing from Covid-19

And finally, this tweet from author Kate Bowler about her six-year old son: