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A Few Words From Pastor Bryan
And the month of July...
I just love this time of year, and I imagine many of you do as well. It's been wonderful to get at least a bit of rain finally, and we've had some absolutely perfect July days lately. I've been waking up early and starting my days sitting on my front porch (the photo here is a glimpse of what I saw sitting on my little porch at about 5:45 a.m. this morning) listening to the birds and just soaking in the stillness of the beautiful summer sunrise. I have a free app on my phone called Merlin Bird ID that tells me what birds are singing. Usually I'm treated to a morning symphony of robins, cardinals, sparrows, wrens, house finches, gold finches, black capped chickadees, morning doves, grackles, crows, blue jays, and an occasional hawk. When possible I end my day the same way, watching the sun set and just lingering with the longer summer evening light. It fills my soul--if I remember to take the time to just be still for a while.
As I've said many times, a key part of the spiritual journey is learning to balance spiritual "inhaling and the exhaling"--balancing contemplation with action--rest, stillness, and silence with taking action and reaching out. We need both ends of this tautology, but it's a challenge to hold it all in a consistently life-giving way. I doubt any engaged and committed person balances these different aspects of life perfectly, but I hope and pray you are being intentional about trying to "breathe well" when it comes to your inner and outer journey. And your life in general.
I also know that I've encouraged us to be an active church, and we certainly are. We've got lots going on, even during the summer when many churches tend to let go of programs and activities. We really haven't embraced that model of reducing programs in the summer, but it's also important to not be in "go mode" too much of the time. So here's what I want to say in these "few words" today.
I encourage you to give yourself the freedome to let go of whatever you need to let go of to have a bit more time and space to just be. Feel free to delight in rest and stillness. Or in play and recreation. Do the things that feed your soul that can only be done this time of year. Don't let the summer fly by without letting in the things that touch and renew your soul. Take hikes and bike rides and walks in nature. Go fishing or boating or swimming. You know what I mean. Be a little less ddriven and busy and don't feel guilty about it! Say "no" to something with just as much joy and freedom and clarity as you say "yes" to things. And this goes especially for those of you who are the ones who always show up and do the work. Thank you for being active and committed. But please... go play.
If you're not in church on a summer Sunday, know that I will delight in hearing about your adventures, vacations, and all the ways in which you are enjoying the summer. We all need it. That's right. Your pastor is encouraging you to miss church if you need to for your own spiritual well-being. You all know how much I love seeing you in church as much as possible. But please, for your soul's sake....go play.
I'm going to leave you with 3 brief pieces that say some of what I'm pointing toward here, but each in a slightly different way. One is a favorite poem, and the others are quotes from Henri Nouwen and Gordon Cosby, two persons who have taught me a great deal about the balance between the inner life and the outward life.
Have a beautiful summer. Drink in every drop. Be gentle with yourself, have some fun, play more than usual, and then bring your rested, spacious, re-created selves back to us, because there will always be plenty of work to do together.
Hope to see you for Outdoor Worship this Sunday, unless you are somewhere else doing something that feeds your being in a month of July kind of way.
Blessings all,
Pastor Bryan
Clearing
By Martha Postlewaite
Do not try to save
The whole world
Or do anything grandiose
Instead, create a clearing
In the dense forest of your life
And wait there
Patiently,
Until the song
That is your life
Falls into your own cupped hands
And you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
How to give yourself
To this world
So worthy of rescue
Being Busy
By Henri Nouwen
Empty space tends to create fear. As long as our minds, hearts and hands are occupied we can avoid confronting the painful questions, to which we never gave much attention and which we do not want to surface. "Being busy" has become a status symbol, and most people keep encouraging each other to keep their body and mind in constant motion. Occupation and not empty space is what most of us are looking for. When we are not occupied we become restless. We even become fearful when we do not know what we will do the next hour, the next day or the next year. Then occupation is called a blessing and emptiness a curse.
Many telephone conversations start with the words: "I know you are busy, but..." and we would confuse the speaker and even harm our reputation were we to say, "Oh no, I am completely free, today, tomorrow and the whole week." Our client might well lose interest in one who has so little to do.
From Gordon Cosby
Founding Pastor of The Church of The Saviour
“The one journey that ultimately matters is the journey into the place of stillness deep within oneself. To reach that place is to be at home; to fail to reach it is to be forever restless. I n contemplation we catch a vision of not only what is, but what can be. Contrary to what we have thought, contemplatives-- people in touch with the stillness deep inside-- are the great doers. I t is they who get things done that are actually worth doing.”
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