Third Sunday in Advent

African beasts crafted of raffia.
Glimpses of children, younger, encased in felt starts, sloppily painted frames, metal hearts.
The world clear, then frosted with the lone strand of blinking lights.
Glass, plastic, cardboard coated:
Hickory Dickory Dock
Woodstock
Cindy Lou Hoo
Wake Forest Deacon
R2D2.
Reminders of locales:
Carved tree of redwood
Delicate Eifel Tower
Brightly festooned ox cart
Dark-faced shell angel
Rodeo Santa
Olive wood crèche,
Next to local
Palm Trees,
Alligators,
Hula snowman “Be Merry” and Santa “Put a Little Jingle in Your Step”.
Lights through glistening tears now:
First Christmas Together
First House
Pets long gone
Babies first Christmas, then another. Ceramic booties:
“be careful—they are heavy and breakable!”
Wooden carved Chinese baby, bundled, the long-red tassel broken off and lost.
A paper crafted Jack-In-The-Box from little hands long ago. Mine.
Put it in the back of the tree. It is ugly, but holds a place.
Arks, Angels, Stars, Crosses,
Little fingers crafted popsicle stick Mary, Joseph and Baby:
Sprigs of hay gone long ago.
But I know it was there.
One Christmas long ago.

A Better Life

A Better Life

“I pray that I can envision something that is better than the life
I am living” he said.
He said he was a Purple Heart veteran.
He said he pulled people out of burning rubble in Kuwait.
He said he was on Coumadin and an anti-seizure medicine.
He said he had post traumatic stress disorder, but refused to take Prozac….
So they dropped his benefits.
He said his wife committed suicide.
He said he had three kids.
He said his wife’s cousin was taking care of them.
He said the middle daughter needed glasses.
He said the cousin was having a hard time
And the kids might have to go into foster care.
He said his mother and father were dead.
He pointed to the scar on his face.
He indicated where he had a rod in his leg.
He showed me all kinds of medical papers.
He said his purple heart was in a pawn shop because since we turned his back on him,
It wasn’t worth anything more than the money to him anymore.
He said he wanted work.
$100 would do it.
He said he needed to make it to October 16th when he has a hearing to
restore his VA benefits and pay him retroactively.
I held his hands and we prayed……
“I pray that I can envision something that is better than the life I am living” he said.
Now….
He might be lying.
He didn’t have and ID to show me.
What kind of veteran doesn’t have an ID?
He didn’t want to me to call and verify his hearing date.
He might be lying. He might not.
If he is lying, I suspect that the life he is living is worse than what he told me.
And what he told me was plenty bad enough.
I gave him $20 from my wallet.
I was going to use it to get a pedicure.

2010-11 BOOK GROUP LIST

2010-11 BOOK GROUP LIST

October 18 The Help Kathryn Stockett Grace’s House
(it’s her birthday)

November 15 The Good Daughter Joyce Maynard Tracey’s House

December 13 A Guide to the Birds Nicholas Drayson Nancy’s House
of East Africa

January 17 The Reliable Wife Robert Goolrick Sallie’s House

February 21 The Space Between Us Trity Umrigar Katie R.’s House

March 21 An Altar in the World Barbara Brown Taylor Torri’s House

April 18 Imperfect Birds Ann Lamott Laurie’s House

May 16 Loving Frank Nancy Horan Katie D’s House

Pentecost - Evening Service

Pentecost – Evening Service

Outside - the summer evening light
Hits the font
now with algae on the side of the rough stone.
Running water slips over green.
Inside - flies on the bread tell us this in not poetry, but life.
The love of Jesus Christ until he comes again.
Sacrament.
Hover over us.
Commission us.
Send us into surprise -

Advent Devotional - December 4th

December 4th – Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so, some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2)

The use of the above verse is not a typographical error. I could not leave this verse quite yet. What Tom did not share with you yesterday is that earlier in the week, he also used this verse in staff meeting. He quoted a poem by Presbyterian poet Ann Weems that plays on this verse. Weems writes:

Wouldn’t it be wonderful
If Advent came filled with angels and alleluias?....
Wouldn’t it be ecstatic if we could take those angels shopping,
or trim the tree or have them hold our ands
and dance through our houses decorating….”


When Tom read this poem I had just finished scrolling through online pictures from my sister who lives outside of Washington D.C. Her church had hosted the United African Children’s Choir and she and her family had housed 3 Ugandan children for 5 days. They hosted 3 girls, the youngest was 6. My sister explained the choir children are chosen from refugee camps throughout eastern Africa. They travel together for about 8 months and during that time they are given health and dental care they have not received in their entire life. When they return home the program sends them to boarding school and pays until they complete the equivalent of high school. These kids are given a chance. My sister explained the plight of the children in the refugee camps are dismal. Little food, scarce clean water, lots of illness and many of the girls are sold in to prostitution. There is little to no education.

The pictures were beautiful in so many ways. The Ugandan children had skin as black as night and their smiles were ear to ear in every picture. They were dancing and singing and learning to ride a bike and playing a video game and making jump ropes. They were with my lily skinned nieces and nephew arms slung around each other in their kitchen, in their dining room, in their family room. And, in fact, they did help trim the tree. And then, they posed under the tree in the princess nightgowns they had picked out.


Maybe this is what angels look like!?!


For Journaling:
Ann Weems poem ends, “An angel-filled Advent has so many possibilities! But in lieu of that, perhaps we can give thanks for the good earthly joys we have been given and for the earthly “angels” that we know who do such a good job of filling our Advent with alleluias!” Who are your Advent earthly angels? Would someone say you have been an earthly angel for them?

World Communion Sunday

The bread
purchased for the day
breads of the world
all kinds and colors and textures.
Children will bring it forward and set the table.
A favorite day---the world united.
Eating bread.
This bread
left in a car overnight on warm, Florida, harvest moon night.

Early, I open the car door to drive to worship.
The smell of bread.
Yeasty, warm,
bread upon bread
in the closed in space.
This is what Jesus smells like.
Breads of the world.
Bread for the world.

In Breaking

by Laurie Furr-Vancini

A Moment of Magic
A Time of Wonder
A Glimpse of Possibility
An Unexpected Shalom
A Bit of Awe
A Crack of Curiosity
A Flash of Genius
An Occasion of Miracle
A Point of Portent
A Twinkle of Light
A Surprise of Marvel
A Taste of Manna

We Lean Into Revelation
And Either Back Away
or Grasp
and Hold On.