Mission Moment 7.8.26

Jay Kieve
CBF Abuse Prevention and Response Advocate & Director of Ministerial Transitions

House Blessing

Invocation
Let us pray: Gracious God, who supplies us with every blessing in abundance, lift our hearts in gratitude and thanksgiving. Open us to remember the gifts we seldom notice, the bounty we take for granted, the rich possibilities you provide. For bread without scarcity, for water that is pure, for this house to live in and friends to enjoy, we give you humble thanks. For beauty and bounty, for healing and hope, for the gospel of Christ, we lift our voices in joyful praise. Dwell with us now. Amen

Scripture
The scriptures Jesus knew contained the command: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Jesus quoted this, as the first and greatest commandment.”—Deuteronomy 5:4-9

Fixing the Signs of Blessing
So in that great tradition, we affix to this door frame reminders of God’s calling and declarations of our prayer and hope. [Written in chalk on the door frame.]

“Hear” – Shema ( עמש ) – the first word of the commandments from Moses’

instruction to Israel – “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.”

“Peace” – (είρήνή) written as the prayer for all who enter or depart from this house symbols for Christ

Chi and Rho (ΧΡ) – the hope of this house and the hope for all our salvation

Prayer of Blessing
from St. Stephen’s Church, London

O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife.

Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling-block to children, nor to straying pets, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter’s power. God make the door of this house the gateway to thine eternal kingdom.

Loving God, bless this home. May it be a place of safety and hospitality. Grant that faith, charity and good health triumph over evil. May your word be cherished and obeyed in this home. We give praise and thanksgiving to you, and to your Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen

Pray. Give. Go.

Modified Office Hours

For the remaining summer months until the Wednesday evening meals resume in September (date forthcoming), our office hours will be Monday–Thursday: 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

First Explorers Summer Camp Recap 7.8.26

This week at First Explorers summer camp, we had a fun time even despite the heat. On Monday, we made scratch art. On Tuesday, we made cool sand art thanks to Ms. Lydia. On Wednesday, we had chapel with Andrew and Gaye. On Thursday, we swam at the pool for a long time. On Friday, we had the day off to get ready for the Fourth of July. Overall, it was another spectacular week at First Explorers! 

Giving the Jesus Way

United Christian Ministries is in need of spaghetti.

To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. 

Thank you!

Giving the Jesus Way

United Christian Ministries is in need of spaghetti.

To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. 

Thank you!

Modified Office Hours

For the remaining summer months until the Wednesday evening meals resume in September (date forthcoming), our office hours will be Monday–Thursday: 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.

First Explorers Summer Camp Recap 7.1.26

This week at First Explorers we did many fun activities. Here are some of the many fun things we did this week: on Monday, we went to East Laporte. On Tuesday, we traveled to Mark Watson Park and played on the playground and baseball fields. On Wednesday, we went to Bridge Park. On Thursday, we swam at the pool. And on Friday, we watched a movie at the theater in Cherokee. Overall, it was another great week at First Explorers summer camp! 

Mission Moment 7.1.26

Jessica Hearne
Field Personnel in Danville, Virginia

So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it…
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant, 
that you will not live to harvest…
As soon as the generals and the politicos 
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary, 
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
(Excerpt from “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer’s Liberation Front” by Wendell Berry)

I have been trying to live more simply for many years. Living simply for me means asking myself what it is that I really need. It means questioning the necessity of things, especially things that are made of plastic, are harmful to the environment, use an excess of resources, or hurt people in their production. Living a simpler life is not a change that happens overnight. In fact, I have been working on it for over 15 years and still feel that I have a long way to go.

I have a printout of the poem above tacked to the bulletin board above my desk, and every time I sit to answer emails, attend a Zoom meeting, record receipts or any number of other computer-related tasks, I will glance up at it and reread a few lines. Wednell Berry’s “manifesto” serves as a reminder to me of the value of living simply. He talks about the joy that comes from contemplating leaf mold, listening to carrion and laughing in the face of the “end of the world.” He reminds me of the importance of being a good steward of the future – even though I won’t live to see it.

The idea of living life simply, of being close to the earth and nature, of eschewing the urge to buy and accumulate, is so counter to the narratives that bombard us daily through the media and through our own human desires, that Berry compares it to resurrection. In order for life to flourish, after all, some things must die. In my garden, the plants that die become the compost that feeds new growth. In the forest on the edge of my town, the trees die and become food for mushrooms and lichen. In my life, my selfishness and needless want must die so my love of the world and all of the life in it can flourish. 

A Blessing for Living Simply
May you daily find time to love and appreciate something that you did not create. 
May you constantly forget that “time is money.” 
If you can’t forget, may you find the value in things that don’t pay. 
May your life confuse and confound the algorithms. 
May you learn to live simply. 

Pray. . .Give. . .Go.

Mission Moment 6.24.26

Carson Foushee
Field Personnel in Kanazawa, Japan

Our distractions can take us by surprise.
Gently draining our time and energy
Altering the way we think and feel
Drawing us away from practices and community of light and love
And into the lonely darkness.
Devices, desires, dependence.
They dig their claws in deeply
And hold on for death’s sake.

A Blessing for the Distracted
Beloved,
Blessed are you who lift up your eyes
To the Creator who made Heaven and Earth.
Blessed are you who lift up your eyes
To the Christ who has shown the way of truth and life.
Blessed are you who lift up your eyes
To the Spirit present within and all around.
Blessed are you.

Pray…Give…Go.

Giving the Jesus Way

United Christian Ministries is in need of spaghetti.

To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. 

Thank you!