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Weekly Reflection
Not a quiet week in Lake Wobegon
By the Rev. Nathan Empsall, priest-in-charge
In ways that may not always be obvious on Sunday morning, it's been a busy few days at St. PJ's! I've got a long list of updates to share with you... Admittedly some are more exciting than others, but these are the little things that help keep the place ticking.
You may have noticed that the doorknob on the sanctuary hall door has been loose lately, even falling off. I'm happy to share that yesterday, with an assist from a local keyshop, Monifa and Sammy worked together to get it fixed.
Also this week, we had visits from the electrician, the copier technician, and the Comcast technician. The electrician was here to wire the new hood in the basement kitchen, to go along with the brand-new stove that Sunrise Cafe also just installed. Thank you to co-warden Bill Evans for being on top of that!
Meanwhile, the Comcast visit means that we should now be saving some money on our bill AND getting stronger Wi-Fi access throughout the building -- good news for streaming our services and for our wonderful tenants and partners.
That stronger Wi-Fi is one of just three changes in the parish hall: We're pleased to welcome Smart Recovery Activity Club as our newest renter on Monday evenings!
And, the first room on the west side across from the kitchen, next to the bathroom, is once again the Music Room -- a place for Will, Dylan, and others to store their gear, rehearse, and possibly even rent out to other musicians for rehearsal space.
The list goes on. Adult ed is returning this Sunday with a discussion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We're picking a date for a congregational hymn sing in June. Multiple parish leaders have been busy taking Safe Church Training. Monifa is working with another vendor to bring additional costs down.
And it's not just St. PJ's! Things are busy all over. This weekend is Mother's Day. Spring concerts and graduations are happening. Every weekend, if not every day, it seems there is another important rally or protest to attend and make our voices heard for justice and love, and against authoritarianism. Summer travel is coming for many.
Stop. Breathe.
Yes, it can be very good to be productive. It's also good to rest. God took a day off at the end of a hard week, and not only suggested we do the same but commanded it.
With all that's going on in life, are you stopping to take the rest you need?
God wants us to rest for many reasons. The first is that rest is a fuel, and is necessary to gather the strength to keep going. That's how God designed us. More than that, productivity actually finds its value in its breaks. Rest allows us to stop and look around, and actually soak in what we've accomplished.
But most importantly, I think rest has its own value. We spend so much time doing that sometimes we forget about just being. But, as many others have observed, we're not human doings - we're human beings. That too is how God made us. Sometimes, we just need to sit and be, and find value in existence itself. God's name is "I am" - not "I do" - and we are made in that image.
So yes, let's give thanks for much of what is happening, and let's keep going. Let's keep doing. But let's also be sure we're stopping to be, to pray, to reflect, and even to join Jesus in taking a nap in the boat sometimes.
One of my favorite things about working in a church is having access to an empty sanctuary for quiet reflection and prayer. But ironically, I haven't done that but once or twice in my first three months as Priest-In-Charge, even though I used to do it at least weekly when I had an office upstairs a few years ago.
So if you'll excuse me, this is Wednesday afternoon, and I think I'll hit pause on writing the eNews until it's time to send it tomorrow morning. Right now, I'm going to go across the hall to pray. Perhaps before reading any further, you can join me?
We thank you God, for creating the world and for preserving it until now. We thank you for the regular return of day and night, and of the seasons, and for the dependability of nature and of time. We thank you for memory, which enables us to build on the experiences of the past; for imagination, which admits us to a wider world than we could otherwise know; and for foresight, by which we plan for the future. We thank you for your patience with us in our failings; for friends and family with whom we can celebrate our successes; and for those closest to us who support us in our times of need. Bless us gathered here. Bless those who have little food or friends to comfort them in body or spirit. Bless those who are unable to be with us this day, and those who have gone before us in faith. We ask this in your name. Amen. (Author unknown, via Xavier University)
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