Inspire: Awe

INSPIRE

AWE

a m a g a z i n e f o r t h e s t. p h i l i p t h e d e a c o n c o m m u n i t y

The Wrestling and Resting of Wonder • Being Made Whole • Thin Places: Visiting Holy Island • The Eternal Loving Embrace • Small Moments, Big Stories: An Interview with Ray Suarez fa l l < ¤ < +

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f o s m Mo s e l Litt

IN EVERY ISSUE

3 Editor’s Letter

4 Scripture Connection Looking for faithful connection with other moms of young children (ages newborn through preschool)? Join us on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Questions?

Contact Rachel at rarends@spdlc.org.

Begins Sep tember 16.

5 Read, Watch, Listen

6 Ref lections on Faith

WELCOME TO OUR NEW

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S TA F F M E M B E R S

Devoted Living

We are excited to share news of two new additions to our church staff.

33 Calendar of Events

34 Giving Thanks

35 Out & About K r a ig Wi n d s c h it l Associate Director of Music Ministry

Ja s on P u t n a m Facilities Manager

36 Familiar Faces

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St. Philip the Deacon

F E AT U R E A R T I C L E S

WONDER

WORSHIP

M YS TE RY

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Beyond Words

The Central Act

The Eternal Loving Embrace

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16

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The Wrestling and Resting of Wonder

Small Moments, Big Stories: An Interview with Ray Suarez

Thin Places: Visiting Holy Island

32 Keep In Step: Prayer Walking

20 Being Made Whole

28 A Taste of Holy Island

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INSPIRE

Vol. 4, Issue 1, Fall 2021 Published by St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church 17205 County Road 6 Plymouth, MN 55447 (763) 475-7100 editor in chief

Tim Westermeyer m a n ag i n g e d i t o r

Amanda Berger

Public conversations where faith comes to life.

2021-2022 SCHEDULE

design

Malley Design s ta f f w r i t e r s

Cheryl Mathison, Kate Sterner, Valerie Strand Patterson, Renee Putnam website

spdlc.org/inspire email editorial

The Faith & Life Lectures are open and welcoming public forums where members of the Twin Cities community can hear nationally known speakers ref lect on how Christian faith intersects with different dimensions of everyday life. We invite you to join us for the 2021-2022 series of lectures.

aberger@spdlc.org o n t h e c ov e r

Photo by Adam Gonzales ©2021 St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church. All rights reserved.

R AY S U A R E Z

October 7, 2021 VICKI ELLIOT T

November 4, 2021 M ICH A E L CU R RY

February 1, 2022 SO H R A B A H M A R I

March 17, 2022 M AT T B I R K

May 5, 2022 All events scheduled will be offered both in-person and via livestream. All lectures begin at 7:00 p.m. Free and open to the public. www.faith-and-life.org

submissions

Do you have an idea for a story or love to write? Contact our managing editor with your submission, but please keep in mind the following guidelines: (A) Your article may be edited for length and content. (B) Articles must fit in the larger themes of our publication and reflect the mission of St. Philip the Deacon. (C) All submissions will be reviewed by our editorial staff to determine the suitability for our publication.

While we would love to include all submissions, space and cost limit our ability to do that.

Submissions will not be returned.

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St. Philip the Deacon

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

While this may not be a popular viewpoint, it is honest: I wasn’t all that impressed with the Grand Canyon. Over the New Year’s holiday in January 2020, my family spent several days in Sedona, Arizona; and on a brilliantly sunny day, with just a dusting of snow, we drove north to visit the Grand Canyon—a first for all of us. As we parked and walked to the south rim, we stood and stared at the gaping rift in the earth before us. And we all kind of went, “Huh. Okay. So that’s the Grand Canyon.” We knew we were supposed to feel awe at its vast beauty, but instead we saw a gaping hole in the ground too big to process.

There’s big and then there’s too big.

I think understanding God is like my family’s experience at the Grand Canyon. As people of faith, we know that we are meant to experience awe as we live surrounded by God’s goodness, but it’s hard to hold on to those tiny maybe-if-we’re-lucky God moments in the midst of busy, modern life. We cannot capture them in a box or make a pile, to see the immensity of God’s presence around us. The moments slip through our fingers, lost amongst frantic schedules and ever-growing to-do lists.

To truly absorb it, we need our experience of the divine broken into smaller, digestible bits, making time to savor slowly the feast that is God, instead of going with the drive-thru option of ways we expect or think the divine will show up. When we try to control our experience of the divine, we often miss God completely. God chooses surprise, wonder and whispers to reach out to our hearts and minds.

Worship is one way that God comes down to our own level. The sacraments give us opportunities to encounter God in familiar forms of bread, wine and water. When we surrender to the fact that we will never have God all figured out, mystery can enrich our experience as we simply exist in relationship to Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we pause to look at the world around us, in both the massive (Grand Canyon) and the infinitesimal (a delicate insect wing), we wonder at the imagination of our Creator.

Awe is seeing our part in God’s creation and recognizing the amazingness of our beloved place in it. In this issue, we explore these elements of awe— wonder, worship and mystery—as we delve into the human understanding of what it means to be in relationship with a triune God. We notice God in the experience of our communal life as people of faith and in the day-to-day manifestation of holy moments in response to a gracious and generous God. In prayer walking (p. 32), in contemplation (p. 10) and in art (p. 12) among other means, may we commune with the divine, giving the small offering of our very selves back to God from whom all blessings f low.

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SPD BOO K CLU B Book club will meet both in-person and virtually at 7:00 p.m. Find the Zoom link in our most recent E-newsletter or by contacting social@spdlc.org.

SCRIPTURE CONNECTION THE SPIRITUAL EXERCISE OF ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA

BY C H E R Y L M AT H I S O N

Lessons in Belonging by Erin S. Lane. Discussion led

by Cheryl Mathison.

While on sabbatical during the summer of 2019 I was interested in exploring the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola as a means of drawing closer to God. This compilation of meditations, prayers and contemplative practices are designed to help people deepen their relationship with God. I also knew that they were most commonly given as a long retreat of 30-40 days in solitude and silence—which of course isn’t practical for most people; so my sabbatical seemed to provide the perfect opportunity for such an exploration.

OCT 19

I discovered and used Kevin O’Brien’s book The Ignatian Adventure as my guide and worked through the 32 weeks of daily exercises. Each day begins with prayer and includes a scripture reading and a prompt for reflection and meditation. I kept a journal and dated each entry as I dutifully moved through the readings, one per day.

It was one of the most meaningful parts of my sabbatical.

SEP 21

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. Discussion led

by Amanda Berger.

N OV 1 6

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Discussion led by Cindy Carlson.

When the pandemic began in March 2020, I decided to return to the exercises as a daily discipline that would keep me grounded and deepen my relationship with God. What a wonderful surprise this second trip through the exercises has proven to be! Somehow, the first time through, I missed the little notation at the beginning of O’Brien’s book suggesting that “daily” prompts are not meant to be taken literally (as in doing one per day), but rather were to be understood as “movements” ... a passage and prompt to be prayed through ... AS LONG AS IT TAKES. The readings and prompts were not meant to be hurried through; not meant to be checked off like

a daily task, but rather, moved through ... slowly, intentionally, deliberately and prayerfully.

At the time of this writing, it has been 14 months since I returned to the 32 weeks of daily exercises; and as of this morning, I am just completing Day Four of Week Four. Yes, you read that right. Instead of hurrying through the readings and declaring each one “done” after one day, I let the reading speak to me for as long as it needs to; and there hasn’t been one reading that was through with me in one day. In fact, I spent 12 days ... yes, 12 days on Psalm 104 from Week Two! And I must admit, this slower, more intentional pacing has been significantly more healing and moving and meaningful.

For me, the keeping of a journal has been an essential part of the practice. It allows me to write freely and to listen deeply. I write out pieces of the assigned reading (sometimes nothing more than a few words phrase, sometimes an entire verse) that captured my imagination, and listen for what God would have me know and journal my reflections, insights and discoveries.

I commend the practice of Ignatius’ spiritual exercises to you. O’Brien’s book makes them accessible for a daily practice that can be woven into daily life. For an even deeper experience you might consider working through them with the support of a Spiritual Director. You can find out more about spiritual direction and request a meeting here: https://www.sacredgroundspirit.org/ sacred-ground-spiritual-directors/

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Read B E HO LD IN G AND B ECO M IN G: TH E ART O F EVE RYDAY W ORS H I P

Faith & Life

By Ruth Chou Simons. This gorgeously illustrated devotional book proclaims that we “become what we behold.” Simons encourages the reader to look for the ways in which Christ and

God’s redemption story enters our daily lives, transforming the everyday ordinary into the holy extraordinary.

Watch

LECTURE SERIES T H U R S D AY, N OV E M B E R 4 7: 0 0 P M

Vicki Elliott is the executive director at Mental Health Connect, an organization which works to provide community-based resources, support and education to improve access to mental health services and to connect individuals and families with the services they need. Elliott will join us both in-person and via livestream for a presentation on Faith & Mental Health: Being Made Whole.

The Faith & Life Lecture Series is free and open to the public.

All are welcome!

B LU E M I RACLE (PG) Based on a true story, Omar and four boys from the Casa Hogar team up with salty fisherman Wade for a chance to save their orphanage by winning

an international fishing tournament in Cabo San Lucas. Feel good and hopeful, you can watch this familyfriendly story on Netf lix.

Listen LI G HT ETERNAL: THE CH ORAL MUSIC O F MORTEN L AUR IDSE N

By Morten Lauridsen.

Haunting and ethereal, Lauridsen’s choral music invites the listener into a place of peaceful

contemplation and worship.

Available on CD or your favorite streaming platform.

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BY TIM WESTERME YER

My daughter, Sarah, has profound special needs. She’s a bit of a medical mystery, honestly, without a specific or clear diagnosis. In practical terms, though, her condition means that she can’t communicate using spoken or written words, she can’t care for her personal needs, and her atypical muscle tone results in an awkward gait.

All that said, Sarah is also unusually perceptive and profoundly aware of her surroundings. She loves being with people, she clearly follows much of what is said in conversations, and she has an incredibly generous spirit. She has taught me and everyone in my family all kinds of powerful lessons about life.

And, when it comes to the subject of Awe—the theme of this issue—it turns out that Sarah also has something to teach us. And it involves dogs.

Whenever we are with Sarah and we come up to a dog— whether it’s a dog Sarah has met and seen many times, or whether it’s a dog she has never met before—Sarah is excited to see the dog. She wants to be close to it. She wants to pet it. She wants to touch it.

But alongside that strong desire to see the dog is an equally strong impulse to avoid the dog. To run away from it. To protect herself from it.

Believe it or not, that battle within Sarah—wanting to both be with and to avoid dogs—represents a famous definition of how we feel when we are in the presence of the holy—a feeling that can be described with the word awe.

In Latin, the phrase is “mysterium tremendum et

fascinans,” which can be translated as “awe inspiring mystery,” but which, more literally, means: the thing before which we both tremble and are attracted, or the mystery which is both terrifying and fascinating.

Sarah seems to understand that there is something about dogs that is attractive. And she’s right about that. She can play with them and cuddle with them.

But she also seems to sense that there is something potentially dangerous about them. And she’s right about that, too. They might, after all, bite her or scratch her. So, her response to dogs is totally appropriate.

And our awe-filled response to the holy— fascination and a sense of fear—is also appropriate.

After all, God loves us, which we crave and desire. So, we are drawn to and attracted to God. But we also sense that—precisely because God loves us and wants what is best for us—God may want to change us. And since change is hard and painful, we also want to avoid God. Both responses make sense. They’re understandable.

But remember: When Sarah finally allows her attraction toward a dog to override her fear, the result is joy.

And when we allow God to get close enough to change and transform us, the result is a new creation. And— spoiler alert—that new creation is AWEsome.

Expectantly,

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M E D I TAT I O N

“The natural fruits we harvest from holy awe in this life, through the grace-giving action of the Holy Spirit, will ripen in the world to come when we stand before God. These gifts will be noble and gracious, sweet and delightful. And so we will be intimate with God through love, and we will be equally humble and courteous to God through awe.”

JULIAN OF NORWICH

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DE VOTED LIVING

BY AMANDA BERGER

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Throughout scripture God’s witnesses— men, women, tribes and kings, prophets and disciples—find themselves deeply moved by the extraordinary actions and events they’ve encountered, so much so that often on the heels of those experiences, the people of God and followers of Jesus cannot help but respond through worship. In many cases, worship is not the impetus for connecting with the divine, but rather the response when God has demonstrated his intervention and first reached out for his children.

W

hen we engage in corporate worship, we come as one of many, to be vulnerable in our confession, humble in our prayers, one voice in a sea of others. Worship invites us to be aware of ourselves in the presence of God and to offer back to God that which was first given to us.

All through scripture, when people realize they are in the presence of God, they find themselves dumbstruck, even a little terrified. This awe, which unites both dread and veneration, reveals itself in phrases like “the fear of the Lord.” Biblical narratives such as Moses receiving the Ten Commandments or the demonstration of power God makes in 1 Kings 18 as Elijah battles the priests of Baal are instances that invoke awe, reminding God’s people of how very big and powerful God is.

Awe reminds us that we are supposed to feel both amazement and even a little discomfort when we come face to face with the divine.

In this discomfort, we may also encounter divine mystery—that which cannot be

fully explained but bears the fingerprints of God all over it. The sacraments themselves are veiled in this mystery—how can ordinary bread become the body of Christ? How can water become the means of divine forgiveness and adoption? While we have language for these sacramental experiences, the reality is that none of our sacraments can be understood on a rational level—they are imbued with the mystery of God’s transforming power. To be encountered and felt; not explained.

The unexplainable will always be a part of our lives of faith. So many stories in scripture are a part of that mystery: How can the disciples, without a backward glance, drop their nets and follow Jesus into an unknown future? How does Jesus walk on water or calm the storm? Why does God choose death on the cross as our means of salvation? And yet, through each of these unexplainable means, we are invited to recognize that the ground on which we stand is holy.

Then, as we recognize the holy ground on which we stand, wonder moves into our minds and hearts. Wonder is Mary’s

reaction to the news that she will bear the Son of God. Wonder is the emotion of the disciples as they watch Jesus perform miracles of healing. Wonder is Paul preaching about the “unknown God” to the people of Athens in the book of Acts. Wonder prompts us to fall on our knees before God—in the act of worship.

Finally, by being present and grateful, we open ourselves to the possibility of awe all over again, as we are attuned to God’s greatness, initiating the cycle once again. This circular movement from awe to mystery, to wonder, and to worship repeats itself throughout scripture and in the lives of God’s children. How do we continue to move in this pattern in our own lives today?

In what ways do you experience worship as response to the greatness of God?

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BY C H E R Y L M AT H I S O N

In her book Walking On Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, author Madeleine L’Engle wrote that “the deepest communication with God is beyond words.”

Perhaps that is why the arts hold such an important place in our experience of God. Encountering our Creator in music or in movement or in the visual arts, we are invited to allow our imaginations to take us into the mystery of God that lies beyond anything our words could express.

The prophet Isaiah, in chapter 6, describes his vision of God in the Holy Temple. He writes that “the hem of the Lord’s robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). The words he chooses are stunningly poetic and powerful, but the images they conjure within our minds are beyond what any words can adequately or fully describe.

And thank goodness, because what good is a God who is bound to our limited vocabulary?

Girl Rescuing a Dove From a Hawk

By George Romney 1734–1802

The arts open a doorway to see and experience the majesty of God unavailable to us through words alone. They provide a space for spiritual ref lection and imagination. They help us to see, to feel, and to know God more deeply. Richard Caemmerer, founder of the Grunewald Guild, an arts education retreat center located in Washington, put it this way, “Something as earthbound as fabric and clay and paint can speak our most wordless longing, express our delight and grief. Beauty can connect our hearts to the divine heart.”

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Connecting our heart to the heart of the divine is exactly what Makoto Fujimura, artist and author of Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, sees as the necessity of art in the church. He explains, “The church needs the arts, not so there will be opportunities for more artists in churches, but for the sake of the gospel.” In other words, there is something profoundly powerful in allowing the imagination to see what the mind cannot explain. The arts allow the viewer to “see” what is otherwise unseen, namely, the majesty of our Creator Redeemer God. St. Philip the Deacon member Jerry Fischer understands the power of art to inform his faith. He has been collecting art off and on since he studied at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in the early 1970s. Consisting mostly of British works including oil paintings, engravings and stone lithographs, his collection includes pieces he has found at estate sales, antique galleries and auction houses. The oldest piece he has is from the 17th century.

There are portraits, landscapes and some genre paintings. As a commercial orchid grower for 43 years, it is no surprise that the prints and engravings from the 19th century in his collection are mostly handtouched stone lithographs of orchid plants in f lower.

Fischer finds that the visual arts provide a vehicle for wonder, awe and mystery. Of the relationship between art and faith, Fischer reflected, “As humans we are of this world but have a conscious underpinning of something beyond this world. I find myself contemplating the scriptures and what

they mean or might have meant at the time certain events occurred. Art, for me, helps bridge that gap and although each work is one person’s vision or interpretation, they can be inspirational or mysterious and create a dialogue in your mind and soul that is based on the word but is also enhanced by what you are seeing and experiencing.”

I was once in a class where each student was asked to introduce themselves by recalling the last piece of art that moved them. The responses were fascinating. Some spoke of music, others poetry, and others a piece of visual art. In each case, the student identified some detail in the piece or work that spoke directly and deeply to their soul. Asked about the last piece of art that moved him, Fischer replied: “I have seen many works that have moved me but the one that recently I found moving was a painting of a girl with a dove protecting it from a hawk by George Romney painted in the 1700s. It was a painting that came up at an auction in Yorkshire, and I should have bought it as I found it so appealing. It ended up being purchased by an art dealer and then sent to Bonhams auction house in London where it sold for quite a lot. I happened to be there with Yoko [his wife] in 2019 for a vacation and to attend a dear friend’s wedding and asked Bonhams if we could see the painting in person. They kindly let us into the back rooms of the gallery to see it. I was indeed moved by it. The expression on the girl’s face was one of care, kindness and joy. She was protecting the dove from the hawk at

“The church needs the arts, not

so there will be opportunities for more artists in churches, but for the sake of the gospel.”

her feet. It stirred several emotions in me that still resonate.”

Viewing and making sense of art can be intimidating for some. Just about everyone can recall a time when they wandered through an art show or museum, disinterested at best, or, at worst frustrated at failed attempts to make sense of what they see or to appreciate the piece.

Fischer suggests three avenues to grow more comfortable with viewing art. First, he says, learn to see the unseen. “Art is viewed very differently by the individual. At the first exposure it may immediately inspire or one may be confused or bored with an image. By gaining an understanding or education and learning to train yourself to take the time to really look and understand art, your experience of it will grow in many dimensions.”

Secondly, he suggests finding a good book to guide your art exploration. Fischer recommends The Story of Art by E. H. Gombrich.

And finally, he would direct you to YouTube which is a great tool for art education. You can find lectures, presentations, online museum tours and so much more.

We are blessed at St. Philip the Deacon to have some wonderful works of art that are displayed throughout the building. We have five prints from the St. John’s Bible, the stained glass surrounding the worship center, the three icon paintings, the statue of St. Philip in the chapel, crosses made from found objects, calligraphy and woodcarvings. These are ever present invitations to encounter God beyond words or, to put it another way, to see the unseen. You can learn more about each of these pieces by visiting our website at: https://spdlc.org/art-at-spd/ Better yet, stop in and see them in person, spend some time reflecting on what you see, and may your heart be drawn to the heart of the divine.

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01. What stirs your doubt?

02 . For you, what ins pires wonder ?

wonder 03 . How do you hold both doubt and God? in your self and in your experienc e of

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The Wrestling and Resting of

WONDER

BY NOR AH LONG

I’ve got to be honest: I haven’t been feeling inspired lately. This year has been a bear. I’m not even talking about the previous year, though 2020 will likely go down in infamy as its own swear word.

Without doing a deep dive, I’ll just say that for me, compared to the turbulent waters of 2021, last year was a kiddie pool. Inspiration?

Worship? Awe? How do I muster the time or focus for that, not to mention the mind and heart?

Now, wonder I can do. I’m a solid wonderer.

Bear with me as I geek out on grammar for a minute: specifically, prepositions.

Prepositions are those little words that help flesh out a situation: they’re the where, when, why and how of the who or what. (She sells seashells BY the seashore.)

Prepositions provide context and clarity.

They illuminate relationship.

Wondering what prepositions have to do with wonder? Turns out, a lot.

Wondering about (there’s the preposition) suggests curiosity, doubt, uncertainty. It connects us with our questions, our need to understand and grow. Growing by nature includes discomfort, so wondering about, if we actively pursue it, can lead us into some uncomfortable puzzles. It is the wrestling.

Wondering at is a quieter preposition. It suggests amazement, an acknowledgement of mystery or the unfathomable. That’s the wonder where we set aside our need to understand and we stop struggling; we

simply stand in humble awe at all we don’t know. It is the resting.

Same word. Very different experiences.

Anyone out there wrestle with doubts, questions? Anyone willing to admit you’re a skeptic, that you’ve wondered about some bit of doctrine or section of liturgy? Doubt gets a bad rap in many faith circles, thanks in good part to Thomas. But all the Bible greats grappled with God, right down to Jesus himself, so why should we be afraid to admit we do it too? Questioning leads us to look, to examine, to engage, to explore, which in turn fosters growth. Grappling shows we care enough to bother. Do you frame faith as a state of doubtless certainty?

Or as an activity of probing and discovering through doubt itself? I choose the latter.

I’ll speak up: I doubt. God knows, I wrestle.

I wonder about a lot of things.

But also, I wonder at.

In I Kings, Elijah discovers God not in the

wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire, but in the “sound of sheer silence.” I identify with that, both the silence and the 3-to-1 ratio.

Clamor is easy to come by; wondering-at, resting in awe, is more elusive. That wonder visits me only in moments when I’ve slowed my busy pace and stayed quiet long enough to pay attention, and often when I’m alone ...

envisioning how far the night sky extends, the vastness of the universe. contemplating the doggedness of a tiny flower-weed growing up through the pavement. taking in the surf ’s power on the rocks of a misty shoreline. sketching people and places while traveling, noting each detail. gazing into my grandmother’s 105-year-old eyes, holding her hand. watching a pair of Redheaded Finch build their nest on our patio. hearing whales sing beneath the ocean water’s surface. staring into a campfire. celebrating births. mourning deaths. acknowledging the tenacity and fragility of life, the briefness of it all.

I wonder at these things; I marvel in them, am humbled by them, recognize my relationship with and through them.

You may wonder at different things, but perhaps our final experience is the same: we are reminded by that wonder of our place within that which is greater, whether in community or creation or God. Our prepositions surface. We are within. We are beside. We are among.

Struggle and surrender coexist at the heart of wonder. Thank God. Because life can be brutal, and awe can be hard to come by, perhaps especially in these past couple of years. But in wonder’s core duality, in the about and the at, the wrestling and the resting, I come nearest to a holistic experience of worship. In the both-and, I find my portal to and possibility for faith. So, I wonder. And, I wonder. And it’s wonderful.

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The Central Act

BY K AT E S T E R N E R

W

orship is the centr al act of t he Chr ist i a n c o m m u n i t y. E v e r y t h i n g else we do as followers of Ch r i s t g row s ou t of t h at s h a r e d e x pe r i e nc e: s e rv ic e t o o t h e r s , learning about our faith, exploring and interpreting the world around us, loving our neighbor and caring for God’s creation.

Worship is not the only place we encounter glimpses of God’s love for us, but it is the place where we gather to share the scriptures, partake of Holy Communion, and prepare ourselves to go back into the world, armed with the fellowship and encouragement of our faith community.

Christians have been gathering to worship God for millennia; sometimes as

the peaceful routine of their daily or weekly life, and sometimes at great personal danger or under difficult circumstances.

But always, Christians have gathered to worship their creator, share their faith with others, and fortify themselves with Christ’s sustaining love in order to carry out God’s work in the world. We do this through the mass, or liturgy—literally, the “work of the people”—that has sustained Christian communities for centuries.

The four parts of worship’s liturgy— gathering, scripture, meal, sending—have been a part of Lutheran worship for more than five centuries. Through these rituals we are connected to the host of saints who have gone before us, and to those who come after us, through all generations.

Through this pattern of worship we receive the means of grace, forgiveness,

life and salvation: the Word of God, and the holy sacraments.

The rituals of liturgy provide something else as well. Our songs, prayers, spoken words and movements become embedded in our memory. When we recall them, they provide us with a sense of identity as children of God. In times of trouble, when we are distressed and can hardly think, our body memory, our ability to recite from rote, can take over for us and provide a sense of continuity, comfort and assurance of God’s love.

The establishment of pattern and ritual in our faith lives is also found in the seasons of the church year, which Pastor Westermeyer recently outlined in his “Ref lections on Faith” podcast #117, which you can watch online at spdlc.org/ podcasts. The seasons of the church year

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provide the structure upon which weekly worship is based: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, and the season of Ordinary Time. (The word “ordinary” here does not mean “routine” or “not special.” Instead, it refers to the “ordinal numbers”—first, second, third, etc.—used to name and count the Sunday, as in the Third Sunday after Pentecost.)

Another way that we find patterns in our worship lives is through the three-year cycle of the lectionary. In a remarkable ecumenical collaboration, Lutheran churches in North America, together with Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic churches, use the Revised Common Lectionary, which recommends at least four scripture readings for each Sunday of the church year: an Old Testament reading,

a Psalm, a New Testament reading, and a Gospel message. Over the course of the three-year cycle, the faith community will have the opportunity to hear and study the principal stories and lessons from the entire Bible. Chances are, if you visit another church on any given Sunday, you are likely to hear the same scripture passages that are being read at SPD.

Pattern and ritual extend even to the special language that we use in the church. Some words are more familiar: sanctuary, narthex, chancel, paten and chalice, vestments and paraments, altar and ambo. Other words may be more familiar to those who serve on the altar guild: purificator, pyx, host, burse, frontal and alb.

Language used in worship is special, too. We talk about grace,

salvation, sacrament, trinity, idolatry and incarnation. These aren’t words or concepts that often come up in other arenas of our daily lives. These things are unique to the exploration of faith, and they can take a lifetime of immersion and learning to fully live into. Concepts like these are a part of our communal language, and of how we teach and encourage each other as we grow in faith. Our participation in worship, learning, fellowship and service teach us the meaning of these shared concepts.

We are called to be in relationship with God. Through our acts of worship, God embraces us, teaches us, redeems us, and gives us purpose. Worship is, above all, a reciprocal act. In worship we offer ourselves in thanks and praise to our creator, and God answers us.

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BIG S M A L L MOM E N TS ,

STORIES A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H R AY S U A R E Z

BY TIM WESTERMEYER

American journalist and author Ray Suarez writes and speaks about politics, religion and the experience of Latinos in America.

For this issue, we had the unique privilege of not just getting to interview Suarez, but to also have him contribute his own reflections on this issue’s theme, “Awe” (pg. 18).

You’ve worked as a reporter and journalist for more than 30 years, covering an incredible range of stories. As you reflect back on your long career, what stories do you remember the most? What sticks with you are the small moments from the biggest stories … riding a subway across the East River right after 9/11 and watching and listening as the car fell silent when we pulled in view of the World Trade Center site. “The end of apartheid” is huge. And waiting on a very, very long line to vote with a lady in her late 70s who was able to vote for the first time in her life was small, and hugely significant. The way HIV ravaged southern Africa was a story told with enormous and heartbreaking numbers. Sitting with a 19-year-old whose parents had both died of AIDS, who now was the sole caregiver for eight cousins whose parents had all also died from AIDS was astounding. I’ll never forget her.

Many people associate you with your long tenure as a senior correspondent at the PBS NewsHour. But your career has also included a variety of other roles at other news organizations, including NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” as a correspondent for CNN, and as the host of “Inside Story” on Al Jazeera America.

What did you learn in each of those roles? All jobs in the journalism business have their share of satisfaction and discontent. I’ve worked with, and for, exquisitely talented people, and no small number of people who shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near a newsroom.

You’ve been a journalist long enough to have a bit of a “long view.” How would you say that journalism has

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changed during your career?

Unfortunately, over the long arc of my career we’ve moved from a model where an institution would nurture and encourage journalists because making you more valuable was good for them, to a model where you manage your own brand and your own storehouse of abilities in order to become a serial contractor. This has happened at the same time as the destruction of the business model for media: newspapers going belly up, news outlets becoming trivial, and a constant decline in the public’s trust in our product. At the same time: the work we do has never been more necessary, more important, and more widely ignored.

You wrote a beautiful essay— and what I’d describe as a very vulnerable one—for the Washington Post last April about how Covid had, at that time, impacted your own life and career. What do you think the lasting impact of Covid will be? Or are we still too close to it to be able to know?

One of the saddest conclusions I made over the last year and a half was that for all the bluster and blather and sentimentality, we Americans don’t really care about each other very much. At least, not in any selfsacrificial manner. This pandemic will strengthen our institutional responses to health crises and threats, however strong institutions will have to stand in for weak empathy and weak solidarity.

One of your books The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith in America was published in 2009. Is there a short way to distill how our world is different on that front today than it was when you wrote that book? One of the chapters in The Holy Vote covers the fight over marriage equality. In 2004 and 2005 when I was writing, it would have been hard to believe how quickly and completely public attitudes have shifted. At the close

of the book, I predicted that Christian Conservatives would be a smaller and smaller share of Americans, and voters, but their significance in our politics would remain for a long time to come. I was right.

You are part of the Episcopal tradition. Did you grow up in that tradition? I am, as we say on the inside, a “cradle Episcopalian.” I’ve been, in no particular order, an altar assistant, a crucifer, a Sunday School teacher, a vestryman, and a member of The Chapter (the governing board) of Washington National Cathedral. I am a happy, grateful layman in a church that has seen a lot of conf lict over the last four decades.

Can you talk a bit about how you understand worship as a Christian? [Worship], to me, is an outward and physical sign of an interior, emotional and intellectual conviction.

The wailing and complaining about “tyranny” when local governments closed churches during the pandemic demonstrated that many of my fellow Americans fetishize corporate worship.

I missed worship, I yearned for it, and happily returned to it when my bishop and local authorities agreed it was safer and what the new ground rules would be.

You’ll be with us on October 7 for our Faith & Life Series. If people come to that, what can they expect to hear? It’s been a rough 21st century for The Church writ large in the United States. Looking inside our own congregations, what are we for?

If we accept that we have a message for the wider world, when we look out from our front doors, what do we tell the world (a world that is deciding, en masse, it can comfortably do without us) that we’re for?

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K E E P YO U R S E LF O PE N T O

AWE B Y R AY S U A R E Z

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I can only conclude I have been a lucky person. I have gotten to see a lot of the world over a long career in the news business, and had the privilege of jaw-dropping, eye-blinking, head-shaking awe.

Before sitting down to write, I wanted to check that I understood what’s meant when people talk about awe. The Oxford Dictionary calls it “a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.” I tend to lean more heavily on the “wonder” side than the “fear” side. More on that later.

Awe breaks through. Awe works muscles underused in the mostly predictable day-to-day, the management of details that pile up to comprise what we think of as “life.” Pumping gas is short on awe. Mowing the lawn or shaving rarely triggers it. Then, suddenly, life offers something that hits you—you’re alive, and life still holds the ability to change the tempo, to surprise, even shock. Granted, that’s not always awe. Awe may only be found in the more rarefied precincts of the unexpected.

At other times in human history, we might have been more open to the possibility of awe. Back when an enormous share of the human race was born, lived and died on a small patch of land, and we had answered so few questions about how life works, we might have been more inclined to be awestruck.

The ability of more people, to know more things, about more things, than any humans in the history of the planet has left our lives less susceptible to awe.

Our exaggerated confidence in our ability to “know it all” can make us jaded and cynical. Two of the motifs of this age, iconoclasm and world-weariness, leave us too impressed with our own knowledge to say, like Bildad in the Book of Job, “Dominion and awe belong to God, he establishes order in the heights of heaven.”

Sorry, Bildad. Heroes? They all eventually let us down. Deities? I need proof, and proof is in short supply these days.

If nothing else, awe reminds us we are not the center of the universe, that life

can still amaze, that we are still capable of an emotion that does not involve knowing and understanding everything. Awe tells us it is not a surrender, or a loss, to drop the pose of “been there, saw that, and was not particularly impressed” that powers our culture.

In my own life, awe has come in many forms. I stood in a packed soccer stadium in Durban, South Africa, as Nelson Mandela took the stage for his last campaign appearance before voting began in the country’s first free elections, and the roar … of love, of power, of anticipation, from the waiting crowd made it feel like the place was going to lift off the ground.

In a hospital on the outskirts of Rome I was in a milling crowd of visitors, patients and workers. People talked excitedly about Pope John Paul II, who was a patient upstairs following an assassination attempt. After a “ding!” from the elevator, the doors slid open, and out shuff led the leader of more than a billion Catholics, who was, against the advice of doctors, checking himself out of the hospital.

Moving with obvious discomfort, his jaw tight, he moved through the lobby and the crowd fell into stunned silence, both keeping its distance and reaching to touch an extended hand. My own awe was not at seeing the Pontiff.

It was sparked by the reaction of the faithful in the hospital lobby, the instant and intimate connection between a very sick man and people moved, some to tears, by the sight of him.

In a clinic in Chicago, long before antiretroviral drugs pushed down in utero transmission, I watched as nurses comforted, calmed, and loved HIVinfected babies, caring for children whose own parents were dying or dead, and were in too many cases doomed themselves. Their greatness of spirit inspired a different kind of awe. Small, intimate, and still infused with the “reverential respect” of the dictionary definition.

The natural world offers awe by the bucketful. The austere beauty of the American southwest, the mind-blowing thunder of Victoria Falls on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, Puerto Rico’s phosphorescent bays, the glorious Andes running like a spine through Peru.

At the same time, I’ve been awestruck by disasters and destruction in that same natural world, stunned by declining Lake Mead, that’s left a bathtub ring-style stain on the rocks that once held much deeper water. I’ve watched in horror and amazement as the stunned people of Plainfield, Illinois, first wandered out to see what a tornado had done to their town, as California hillsides burst into f lame, as residents of New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward pick through what’s left of their possessions after Katrina.

In all its forms, awe results when the easy, breezy, abstractions of power, potency, generosity and surprise become solid and tangible, able to be seen, understood and felt. Awe requires a kind of vulnerability. In a tough world, full of challenge and sadness, may we never develop the kind of thick hides that make us impermeable to awe. To feel it is necessary, especially at a time when so much is pressing on us we might be encouraged to feel as little as possible.

In the pages of the Bible, we are treated to story after story of people experiencing amazing things, things beyond their understanding. Often enough, there’s a messenger who understands the fear and amazement of witnesses, sent to tell us “Don’t be afraid.” All these thousands of years later, what’s the play? Sure, “don’t be afraid” is still handy advice. But I must add, “Don’t think you know everything. It will help you keep yourself open to awe.”

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Our thre e-yea r capit al fund appe als have alwa ys been a way for our chur ch comm unit y to reac h out to thos e in need . And, as we prepare for our next thre e-yea r appe al— Bein g Mad e Who le—w e will once again create and supp ort need ed mini strie s whic h supp ort our larg er comm unit y. But this appe al will also serv e a new and diffe rent purp ose from past appe als. By allo wing us to unit e as a cong regation in supp ort of this appe al—a nd by invit ing even wide r part icipation in it—w e will also brin g a rest orat ion of purp ose and unit y to our cong regation afte r a year of disru ptio n.

The globa l pandemic revea led found ation s in our socie ty that were not nearly as stable as we had previously imag ined.

Relat ionsh ips, self-identity and ment al healt h were all rocke d by a year of isolat ion, fear, political unres t and unce rtainty.

The cohes ivene ss of our community and our ment al healt h relies on many areas of life being secure and life-g iving— including our financial secur ity, our work , friendship s, churc h, school and hobbies.

When any one of those piece s becomes unsta ble, then the healt h of an indiv idual , and the entire community, begin s to falter.

At St. Philip the Deacon, ment al healt h has alway s had an important place in our mini stry. It has become clear that this is an ever-incre asing need withi n our churc h and the large r Plymouth / Wayz ata community. So much so that our next capit al fund s appea l includes a comm itment to ment al healt h and wellness.

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Four SPD couples have generously agreed to be a part of the leadership for this appeal. The co-chairs are: Jeff and Heather Larson, Kalsey and Chris Beach, Matt and Beth Geurink, and Sue and Tom Abrahamson.

“We recognize not everyone has easy access or knows where to turn for mental health support,” said co-chair Kalsey Beach. “We are excited to represent this campaign because no one is immune from being impacted by mental health challenges, and we never want anyone to go without tools to live their life to the fullest.” She cited her own challenges with post-partum anxiety leading her to seek care for her own mental health as a part of her family’s decision to join the leadership team.

The three-year plan includes initiatives to make mental health resources more available in our community, support those for whom poverty and child-care insecurity cause distress, and continue to provide financial security to our congregation so that we can boldly serve those most in need.

INCREASING CAPACIT Y

Expanding our ability to respond to the critical mental health needs in our community, we’ll partner with Mental Health Connect, an organization whose mission is to help equip churches to be more effective at supporting these community-wide challenges, increasing our capacity to meet the needs of struggling with mental health issues.

We will also continue to expand our digital campus, an important tool for reaching people where they are with ministries and programs that work in the online world. Providing support for many mental health challenges is as simple as making sure that people know what resources are available and connecting them with those resources, and our digital campus will continue to be an important means of connection.

Capital Appeals Co-Chairs, Left to Right. Back Row: Tom and Sue Abrahamson, Beth and Matt Geurink. Front Row: Jeff and Heather Larson, Kalsey and Chris Beach.

Photo By Leslie Crane.

IN MISSION

Mission initiatives are always a large part of our capital appeals: allowing the congregation to support organizations in our own neighborhood, in our city, and around the world with financial support, and by increasing visibility and awareness for worthy projects and nonprofits.

For this three-year appeal, we have chosen to support Rise Early Childcare Center and Emerson Village affordable housing, two important area initiatives that support those struggling to break free from the bonds of poverty through child-care and housing. Research shows that financial security and stable child-care are closely linked to mental health and wellness.

Through these initiatives, we will not only give families practical support and assistance, we will also help to create an environment for these families and children which will allow them to thrive mentally and spiritually.

INVESTING IN OUR FUTURE

Many of our appeals have included major efforts to expand and renovate our physical

plant. As a result of these investments, our physical plant is in excellent shape, with spaces that are renewed and refreshed and ready for a return to a full calendar of activities this fall. The beauty and f lexibility of our physical space is an incredible blessing and gift, which gives us a welcoming and inviting home base for our expanding mission and ministry.

As a result, this appeal focuses on a few minor maintenance items and a continued commitment to faithfully managing the church’s mortgage, ensuring our own financial future so that we can best minister to the world around us.

Jeff and Heather Larson, co-chairs, expressed their enthusiasm for the appeal: “In our nearly 30 years of membership, we have witnessed impactful transformations from capital appeals—in our spaces, in our communities and in our world. In this capital appeal we are especially excited to help build new capabilities to support our congregation and beyond in the area of mental health and wellness. Knowing each of our gifts makes a difference, we hope you will join us in giving to this appeal!”

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God. This emphasis on rationality creates a longing for direct experience—a knowing with heart and body—that surpasses all human understanding. Because humans are not just made of the mind, but also body and spirit, the integration of all ways of knowing God bear fruit in the lives of God’s children. It is the difference between being told you are loved and being held in a loving embrace—humans need both for a thriving relationship.

Mysticism invites a sense of oneness with God, as McColman describes “loving communion, where mystical unity with God occurs as an eternal loving embrace.”

As humans, it is possible to set the stage for this kind of mysterious divine encounter, but it cannot be manufactured or created.

Part of the mystery of the divine is that it is God who chooses when and how God is revealed.

THE ETERNAL LOVING EMBR ACE

BY AMANDA BERGER

Christian Mysticism is the spiritual encounter with a sacred mystery that cannot be put into words, but may be embodied through feelings, conscious awareness, experience or intuition—or even through darkness or unknowing.

CARL MCCOLMAN

The Big Book of Christian Mysticism

M

ysticism is the practice of being open and receptive to divine presence and experience, invited through prayer, contempl ation, meditation and spirit ual disciplines. The roots of Christi an mysticism are deep, going back to the resurrection experiences of the disciples and apostles in embodied divine encounters that cannot be fully explained by rational means.

And yet, in our more modern era, the mystery of Christian devotion and spiritual experience has often taken a backseat to more scientific or rational ways of knowing

If you read the writings of those recognized as mystics—like Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard von Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeburg, and many more—there are two threads that unite the experiences of which they write. One, that they have created space and time for encounters with God. And two, that they recognize the limitations of language to convey their experience—and they are okay with that. Their experience is far bigger and mysterious and wondrous than words can convey; and while they do their best to translate that experience for the reader, it ultimately is a “you just had to be there” kind of thing.

Throughout history, those who have been known as mystics were often members of religious orders. These were monks and nuns who had relinquished the freedoms and distractions of the outside world to create space to encounter the divine. While it may not be necessary to join a religious community to have a mystical experience, to hear the still, small voice of God requires a willingness to get away from the noisy world—to get still and quiet, to remove distractions. Mystics employed tools like fasting, contemplative prayer, silent

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Insight from Christian Mystics

retreats, and solitude, choosing simplicity over abundant possessions to help remove distractions and quiet themselves. These same tools are available to us.

Many of the mystics also experienced deep suffering—near-death experiences of illness or the loss of those dearest to them.

They identified with Christ’s suffering and through that suffering were better able to understand unconditional and sacrificial love.

What the mystics knew—and the early church embraced—was that imagination, nature, art and creativity helped people to know God. An unintentional legacy of the Reformation (which also permeated Enlightenment ideology about the divine) was the idea that if the Bible could just be read by people in their own language, God would become known. When churches were stripped of artwork, emotion, and even the sacraments in some of the most Calvinist lineages, they were also removing ways of experiencing God in an embodied kind of way.

Christian mysticism often begins with devotional reading of scripture and the practice of contemplation—the act of being still and listening as one absorbs God’s word. While this practice of stillness, presence and ref lection has much in common with the mindfulness movement, it differs in that rather than creating space for a calm, empty mind, there is an object of devotion—God. Experiencing God’s love and deeply encountering Jesus’ teachings in mind, body and spirit are profound reasons to consider integrating contemplative (mystical) practices into your daily round.

Before our faith and Christian teachings can inf luence our everyday lives—from relationships, to politics, to service and justice, we must first acknowledge that God is present and acting in the world, and we are interacting with the divine.

If we believe that, then we are having a mystical experience.

“

This is what the philosopher and the poet share in common: both are concerned with the marvelous. Amazement is the beginning of philosophy. Wonder is a kind of desire in knowing. It is the cause of delight because it carries with it the hope of discovery.”

THOMAS AQUINAS

“

Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which to look out Christ’s compassion to the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”

S T. T E R E S A O F AV I L A

“

God has to work in the soul in secret and in darkness because if we fully knew what was happening, and what Mystery, transformation, God and Grace will eventually ask of us, we would either try to take charge or stop the whole process.”

JULIAN OF NORWICH

“

We believe that we hardly see God at all, but what he desires is for us to believe that we see him continuously … He wishes to be seen and to be sought. He wants us to yearn for him and to trust in him.”

JOHN OF THE CROSS

“ “ “

The day of my spiritual awakening was the day I saw and knew I saw all things in God and God in all things.”

MECHTILD OF MAGDEBURG

The Word is living, being, spirit, all verdant greening, all creativity. This Word manifests itself in every creature.”

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN

The beginning of love is the will to let those we love be perfectly themselves, the resolution not to twist them to fit our own image. If in loving them we do not love what they are, but only their potential likeness to ourselves, then we do not love them: we only love the ref lection of ourselves we find in them.”

THOMAS MERTON

“

I pray God to rid me of God.” (Eckhart cautions about remaking God in the image of humans—of assigning God limitations and characteristics which are so very common and easy for us as humans, but which may not fit God at all. Eckhart often prayed for forgiveness and the ability to let go of these human projections he placed on God.) MEISTER ECKHART

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T HIN PL ACE S: VISITING H O LY I S L A N D

BY VA L E R I E S T R A N D P AT T E R S O N

Although Christianity was brought to northern England early in the first millennia by the Romans, over the years, it had fallen away with raids by the Anglo-Saxons, who worshiped many gods. In 635 the Northumbrian king, Oswald, sent word to the monks of Iona, an ancient monastic site in Scotland, asking for missionaries.

Iona sent Aidan, who was exactly what they needed, along with a dozen of his brother monks.

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Lindisfarne T H E

S N O O K

P R I M R O S E B A N K

N

C

ut off from the m ainland except at low tide, the monks were given the tidal island of Lindisfarne—a perfect base for solitude, pr ayer and prepar ation for missionary work. Aidan was gentle and humble; he tr aveled on foot as he sh ared the gospel so he could easily talk to everyone he met. When he received gifts, he gave them to the poor or used them to bu y freedom for slaves, who then often became part of the monastic communit y. Under Aidan’s leadership, the monastery grew and became a storehouse for scholarly knowledge.

In the 670s, Cuthbert joined the monastery and became the most important saint in northern England in the Middle Ages. The monastery continued to grow as a center of Christian learning and in the early 8th century produced the Lindisfarne Gospels, a masterpiece of early medieval art. In 793, the island suffered a devastating raid by Viking pirates. The monastic community f led, taking refuge in Durham on the mainland. In 1082, the monastery was reestablished on Holy Island.

This rich history was one I had studied for years, but to finally visit was an experience I will treasure forever. The occasion of

the wedding of my husband’s niece in Scotland provided the perfect opportunity for a side trip to Holy Island. Carefully watching the tide charts, we drove safely across the causeway, and fortunately were not swept into the North Sea. Once on the island, we checked into our little hotel, run by a charming, quirky couple. At our welcome, we were told, “Shy bairns get nowt!” Apparently, that means “quiet children get nothing,” so we were to speak up if we needed anything.

The island boasted a scriptorium, many shops, a fine museum and more, but I found myself drawn repeatedly to the majestic ruins of the 12th century priory,

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built on the site of gentle Aidan’s original wooden buildings.

C A S T L E H E A D

T H E

Standing on holy ground, imbued with centuries of worship and work in that place, of Aidan and Cuthbert, of the creation of the Lindisfarne Gospels, I was deeply moved. The divine felt close, all around us. I had expected to learn more history, but once on Holy Island, it was clear I was on a pilgrimage to a holy site.

L I N K S

L O U G H F A R M

H O L Y

I S L A N D

H O L Y I S L A N D

C A S T L E P O I N T

The Celtic Christians describe places like Iona and Holy Island as “thin places”: times or places where the distance between heaven and earth seems to shrink.

People who visit these sites often have a sense of timelessness, of the nearness of worshipers through the centuries, and they know—deep down inside—they are on holy ground. A thin place is one where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one receives a glimpse of the glory of God. One need not travel far to experience a thin place. I believe I enter a thin place as we sing “Silent Night” with candlelight at Christmas Eve in the sanctuary of St. Philip the Deacon. Or when my mother died, instead of being utterly demolished, I was given, I believe, a taste of the joy she must have felt as she passed into the presence of God. Once, in Hawaii, a whale majestically made its rolling way straight for our catamaran, tail in and out of the water three gorgeous times, then it dove under the boat where it sang, making us vibrate. Surely God was in that place!

What are your thin places? Where and when have you sensed God’s nearness and love in a beautiful way? In silence, on retreat, in prayer, music, worship—how has a thin place shown you a God who calls you Beloved?

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Inspired by Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson’s story on “Thin Places,” travel to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne through food!

A TA S T E OF HO LY I S L A N D RECIPES AND PHOTOGRAPHY

BY AMANDA BERGER

A Ce lt ic M e a l B l e s s i ng

God in our waking, God in our speaking, God in our cooking, God in our eating, God in our playing, God in our digesting, God in our working, God in our resting.

When many are hungry, may we eat with humble hearts; When many are lonely, may we share with joyful hearts. Amen.

SOURCE UNKNOWN

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Lindisfarne Chicken Flapjack In the United States, a pancake might also be known as a f lapjack. However, in the UK, f lapjacks are like a cross between a cookie and a granola bar. Sweet and chewy, f lapjacks have a unique caramel f lavor from the Lyle’s Golden Syrup— reminiscent of caramel corn. This uniquely British product can be found locally at Lund’s or ordered online. You might also try experimenting with add-ins like raisins, chocolate chips or various chopped nuts to find your favorite version.

INGREDIENTS

¾ cup Butter ½ cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup 1 cup Brown Sugar 3 ½ cups Old-fashioned Rolled Oats ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon 1/8 tsp Salt Preheat oven to 355° F. Line an 11” x 7” pan with parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, combine butter, golden syrup and brown sugar. Heat over medium heat until all is melted together, stirring occasionally. Do not boil.

In a large bowl, combine oats, cinnamon and salt. Pour syrup mixture over the oats and stir to combine. Pour into prepared baking dish and press f lat.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until edges are nice and golden. The middle may still look a little undone (this is what helps keep them chewy). Allow to cool completely, then lift by parchment to a cutting board and cut into 12 pieces.

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne is known for its mead, originally made by the monks who lived there during medieval times. Made primarily of fermented honey, yeast and water, this alcoholic beverage (neither wine nor beer) has a cloying, sweet flavor, which can be served cold, hot and spiced, or in this case, as the sauce for chicken! While it is very difficult to find Lindisfarne Mead in Minnesota, any brand will do for this simple dish. Serves four.

INGREDIENTS

4 Bone-in, skin-on Chicken thighs 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Butter 1 small Onion, chopped 8 oz Button or Cremini Mushrooms, chopped 1 tbsp fresh Parsley, finely chopped 1 tsp Lemon juice 5 oz Mead Salt and Black Pepper to taste Preheat the oven to 375° F. Season the chicken thighs with salt and black pepper.

In a large skillet, heat the butter and olive oil together. Once the butter has melted, add the chicken thighs, skin side down and fry until browned—about 3 minutes. Flip the thighs onto the other side, and cook for 3 more minutes. Remove the thighs from the pan and place them in an oven safe casserole dish.

Next, add the chopped onion to the oil and butter in the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the mushrooms, parsley, lemon juice and mead. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the mushroom mixture over the chicken thighs. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in the oven for about 50-60 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 160° F. Recommended to serve over rice.

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Date, Walnut & Cardamom Scones

8-9 inches in diameter. Then, wrap it in the plastic wrap. Place the disk in the freezer for 20-30 minutes to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once the dough has chilled, carefully remove from the plastic wrap, and transfer it onto the baking sheet. Cut the disk into eight triangular pieces (as you would a pie.) Separate the pieces on the parchment so that they don’t bake back together.

Nothing feels more British than tea with scones. These are perfect for cozy afternoons—and for sharing with friends! While this vegan recipe is also perfect for those with dairy and gluten intolerances, you could also substitute all-purpose f lour, butter, and heavy whipping cream for a more conventional version.

Serves eight.

INGREDIENTS

1 3/4 cups One-to-One Gluten-free Flour Blend 1/4 cup Corn Starch 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar 2 tsp Baking Powder 1/2 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Salt 2 tsp ground Cardamom 1/2 cup Earth Balance, or other vegan butter, cold 1/2 cup chopped Dates 1/2 cup chopped Walnuts 3/4 cup Coconut Milk, full fat from a can 2 tbsp Maple Syrup

Dust the top of each scone with the 1/2 - 1 tbsp of f lour. Then, using a basting brush, lightly coat the tops with 1 tbsp of nondairy milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Lindisfa

FINISHING

1 tbsp One-to-One Gluten-Free Flour Blend 1 tbsp Non-Dairy Milk 1-2 tbsp Granulated Sugar In a large bowl, whisk together the f lour, corn starch, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cardamom.

Cut the vegan butter into small chunks. Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, toss the butter pieces in the f lour mixture. Then, squish and f latten the chunks of vegan butter. You will want the mixture to resemble coarse gravel, with the vegan butter not completely worked into the f lour.

Stir in the dates and walnuts. Making a well in the middle, add the coconut milk and maple syrup.

Gently mix together until the dough comes together. Do not over stir or knead. The dough will be quite soft.

When the dough has come together, place the dough on a large piece of plastic wrap, gently f lattening it into a disk that is about

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Keep In Step: Prayer Walking

table with my Bible open, praying for hours.

Those are both valuable practices, but at this time, God was teaching me how prayer could look different. So, I walked and prayed. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, the more I practiced, the more I learned that God meets us right where we are, right in that space.

BY RENEE PUTNAM

“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 I found myself lifting my feet a little higher and setting them down deliberately, my walk turned into a march to avoid sopping shoes from the dewy grass. As I marched around the labyrinth at Millennium Garden in Plymouth, I tried to focus my attention on what I was there to do: pray.

But my mind was everywhere. “What do I even pray about? Am I to pray for my kids?

This grass is really wet! Maybe I should pray about … Oooh, look at the pretty leaves!”

Creating space for devotional practice was part of my daily round: reading the Bible or devotional books or looking over my list of people or situations to lift before God. I felt like I knew how to do that. But sitting in one place and praying and listening for more than five minutes? Not so much.

SOLVITUR AMBULANDO Attributed to St. Augustine, the Latin phrase, “solvitur ambulando” means “it is solved by walking.” It encapsulates the idea that movement can help us to think better and offers our bodies a way to physically process our thoughts or problems. It can also be prayer practice, a moving means of offering our problems or worries to Christ and to create space for contemplation and peace.

I had been feeling stuck—spiritually, emotionally, physically, and I also felt that I had been praying for the same things for so long! I needed a breakthrough desperately, but God seemed silent. I felt I lacked direction in my life. My heart was hungry for so much more than the treadmill I was on. But then, the following words from Isaiah rooted themselves into my mind.

“All your children will be taught by the Lord and great will be your children’s peace.”

Isaiah 54:13 Surrendering, I made myself vulnerable, admitting that I did not know how or what to pray; and claiming the promise of the verse in Isaiah, I felt a quickening in my heart. I believe the Holy Spirit was prompting me to try something new, and I am amazed at how Jesus is teaching me how to do it.

First, Jesus challenged me to pray more boldly, pointing me to the book The Circle Maker. In it, author Mark Batterson writes, “Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers.

God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God. Why? Because they don’t require divine intervention. But ask God to part the Red Sea or make the sun stand still or float an iron axe head, and God is moved to omnipotent action.”

Then, about this same time, I learned about prayer walks. Previously, I thought intentional devotional prayer time meant I had to be in a church pew or at my kitchen

Similarly, the word labyrinth kept coming up in many conversations with several different people and I decided to finally take note. Although the labyrinth has its roots in ancient Greek mythology, for centuries, Christians have embraced the labyrinth as a means of walking prayer—its sinuous, continuous path to the center of the design and back out again, designed to create a pathway for meditation and prayer.

Providentially, this was when St. Philip the Deacon set up its labyrinth made from braided fabric strips by Pastor Mathison and a group of women. I helped set it up in the Fellowship Hall where people could walk through it by themselves, inside during the cold weather. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it—if anything—but I thought I would try it.

Intentionally walking through the braided strands gave me a powerful picture of how God not only weaves us together in the most intricate way, but also how God surrounds our thread, our story, with his powerful, loving and creative life which cleans, strengthens and gives beauty to our weakness. Walking the labyrinth also reminded me that I wasn’t lost or on a treadmill; I was on God’s path, even if it felt full of twists and turns.

Whether I am walking through braided fabric on the floor, sitting at the kitchen table, or marching through wet grass, my prayer practice has shifted. I feel a deep sense of presence and communion with God through these prayer times—even if they are largely silent.

The hand of the Good Shepherd is on my side, and I hear his gentle whisper in my ear saying, “Let’s go this way.” I still do not always know what to pray, but Jesus does.

I’m learning how to pray audacious prayers, keeping in step with the Holy Spirit.

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St. Philip the Deacon

INSPIRE

S U N D AY SEPTEMBER

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BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

FA L L CALENDAR

2 p.m. Bring your furry friend for an outdoor Blessing of the Animals service. This is a joyful and energetic event, enjoyed by pets and family members alike!

Pets should be leashed or secured in a pet carrier if you think they would be a little stressed.

S U N D AY OCTOBER

24 S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 1 7 PIGS & PIGSKIN

FA M I LY FA L L F E S T I VA L

Noon. Time to fire up the smoker! All are invited to join us for the annual Pigs and Pigskin event at St. Philip the Deacon. Come join us for good food, fellowship and the Vikings vs. Carolina Panthers game on the big screen. Registration online at spdlc. org/register.

3–4:15 p.m. Families can come to SPD and enjoy a safe trick-or-treating option in the parking lot, in addition to food, fall crafts, a petting zoo and games for the whole family. There is no charge for the event, but for planning purposes, please register at spdlc.org/register.

S U N D AY, N O V E M B E R 2 1 M E T R O P O L I TA N S Y M P H O N Y

4 p.m. Join Minnesota’s most highly regarded civic orchestral ensemble for a free concert featuring the regional premiere of Polina Nazaykinskaya's “Fenix.”

The concert will also include Three Tangos for Orchestra by Astor Piazzolla, and Violin Concerto in D Major by Johannes Brahms featuring Minnesota Orchestra Associate Concertmaster Felicity James. This event is free and open to the public.

T H U R S D AY OCTOBER

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R E F O R M AT I O N O R G A N T O U R W E D N E S D AY, D E C E M B E R 8 C H R I S T M A S T E A AT T H E ARBORETUM

Join Cindy Carlson for an afternoon tea at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, enjoying food, fellowship and the beautiful holiday decorations.

Registration begins in October at spdlc.org/register.

7 p.m. During the week leading up to Reformation Sunday, Linda Armstrong will present a Reformation Organ Tour! Join us as we learn about the instrument, the history and tradition of organ music in Lutheran worship, and close with a short hymn sing that will highlight different features of the organ.

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g n i v Gi hanks T “

T hank you so, so much, Rachel! T hese are wonderful pictures! Also, thank you for all of your help setting this up. Pastor Tim did such a great job, and Justin and I feel so welcomed into this community. We really cannot thank ever yone enough for such a warm welcome.”

Ashley Hines During the pandemic, baptisms at St. Philip the Deacon looked a little different—many done as private family ceremonies outside of worship.

We (and all the families!) were so grateful to Rachel Arends, our Director of Early Childhood, for photographing each of these special moments. Her photos were shared with the families and via social media, so that as a whole congregation we could witness and welcome our newest members. These thank you notes are just a few that were received from families over the past 18 months.

“

We are still just beaming after our little one’s baptism last week . Brooklynn did surprisingly well in front of the full sanctuar y … it was truly amazing to have people there.

And to be the f irst ones to have a live baptism (without masks, too! Whew!) since December 2020! We just want to sincerely thank you for your efforts in making this special event happen for us. You worked so hard to get us on the schedule early and made sure we all knew where to go and what to do the day of.

T he books and baptism quilt are such a beautiful gift!! We feel so blessed! T hank you once more.”

Rachel Williams

“

It was a perfect day and I really appreciate all the help with the preparation, streaming, photos and the ceremony. Eva is already excited to fold her hands in prayer at meals and bedtime—it’s amazing to see her developing her relationship with God.” Courtney Wendell

“

I was just ref lecting today on how perfect last Sunday was for Addi and our family. T hank you for ever ything (and of course Pastor Tim too!). I am so appreciative.”

Stephani Seymour

“

I cannot even tell you what these photos mean to our family. You are wonderful! T hank you for capturing the day and for bringing such a positive and calming presence to our morning. We will treasure these forever! We hope to see you more in the months ahead as we return to a new normal postCovid. T hank you!!!”

Maiken Strohm We also are grateful to those who knit and crochet baptism blankets for each child baptized, welcoming them into our SPD family and wrapping them in love.

INSPIRE

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St. Philip the Deacon

OUT & ABOUT As the first of our youth trips last summer, following so many months of pandemic restrictions, our middle school and senior high students traveled to the boundary waters in midJune. Surrounded by God’s beautiful creation, the trip was a powerful time of reconnection and adventure.

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FA M I L I A R FA C E S NANCY BIXBY

1.

Nancy Bixby serves St. Philip the Deacon as our membership coordinator and uses her gifts for organization and technology to keep our information systems up to date and efficient. Nancy is always one of the first to say, “I think there may be an easier way to do that …” and with a smile, she gets it done!

Describe when you knew you’d be going into ministry. In 2017, Pastor Tim popped into Joy Circle announcing an open position in the office. After being out of the work force for 15 years and with our youngest in elementary school, I was interested in working—outside of the house—again.

For me, it has been such an incredible blessing. I’ve been able to use my background in information technology to implement tools that have helped the staff and the St. Philip community become more connected. Every day, I get to help people in some way, which is very rewarding. Most importantly, it has strengthened my faith by seeing all of the generosity of the St. Philip the Deacon community and the many good things we accomplish as a church.

2.

What’s one thing that people would be surprised to know about you? I am adventuresome. When I was in my 20s, my husband and I lived in Amsterdam for about two years. Living there was such a wonderful and formative time in our lives that we still feel like Amsterdam is a second home, even though we haven’t visited for 20 years!

3.

What are three things on your lifetime to-do list? I have one thing that I really want to do: I want to travel with my husband and three daughters to Europe and share with them the wonder that I felt when I first visited and lived there. We had planned this trip for last summer but then had to cancel due to Covid. We will definitely reschedule when the time is right.

4.

How do you take care of yourself—spiritually, emotionally and physically—so that you stay healthy in ministry? Nature nourishes my soul. As a family, we love to explore the Minnesota State Parks and local parks and trails. In the summer, we enjoy swimming and boating on various lakes in the area. I savor planting my f lower beds in the spring, gardening and even mowing the lawn! I marvel at all of God ’s creation and spending time in it brings me calm and peace. We have so much beauty around us!

5.

What are you passionate about right now? Bible Art Journaling has sparked a new interest in art—something that I had never really explored before. Art gives me a creative outlet that I crave. I find that watercolor painting, doodling, or messing around with alcohol inks is calming; and being able to combine it with a worship element through Bible Art Journaling helps me to meditate on Bible verses and explore how they speak to me. I recently started pressing f lowers and f lower petals. It ties into my love of nature. Now I have lots and lots of colors, shapes and sizes of pressed f lowers, and I just need to figure out what to do with them!

Women’s Retreat 2021 OCTOBER 1-2 AT S T. P H I L I P T H E D E A C O N

Putting Our Pieces Together

After a challenging year, do you sometimes feel that the complete jigsaw puzzle of your life got broken apart, shaken up, and now you are working to put them all back together? Let’s ponder, worship, laugh, talk, craft and enjoy being together as we put the pieces back together.

Questions? Contact Pastor Valerie Strand Patterson Register by September 23 at spdlc.org/register

s r e n i D Deacon COOKBOOK

Featuring 420 recipes from the Deacon Diners dinners, this cookbook was created in memory of SPD member Joan Floren. All profits will be donated to Interfaith Outreach.

Purchase your copy at the Deacon Diners table in Fellowship Hall or by mail with a check for $30 (S&H included): Deacon Diners Cookbooks 15705 16th Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55447

17205 County Road 6 Plymouth, MN 55447

“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.”

PSALM 65:8

V I S I T U S O N L I N E AT S P D L C .O R G