Week of November 10

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday, on All Saints Day, we lifted up some of the people in our lives who have been “saints” to us.  Friends, grandparents, parents, teachers, and coaches were among those named who have pointed the way, mentored us, loved us unconditionally, shown up for us in ways large and small, taught us how to be better versions of ourselves, and set examples of what it looks like to live out God’s kingdom here on earth.  Lifting up these people out loud in our worship service was a powerful and moving experience, and served as a reminder that we in turn are called to be “saints” in the lives of others whenever and wherever we can.  We need to be reminded that even our smallest interactions can have a profound ability to shape and impact one another’s lives—we need not always make grand gestures, but small gestures with great love and compassion.

This Sunday one of my favorite “saints” of Talmadge Hill will be preaching—Eric Remole.  Eric has an incredible story of transformation to share with the congregation. His journey has involved profound suffering of body and soul.  But his journey has ultimately led Eric to come alive in the spirit in ways that have utterly shaped and transformed his relationship to God, to community, and to the world.  Come hear Eric share his story, “A Leap Into Faith” this coming Sunday.

Yours,

Jennifer

Meditation

“Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.” 
― Brodi Ashton

“We need not take refuge in supernatural gods to explain our saints and sages and heroes and statesmen, 

as if to explain our disbelief that mere unaided human beings could be that good or wise.”

― Abraham Maslow

Meditation

"The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water; but to walk on the earth."

--Chinese Proverb

"The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week of October 27

Dear Friends,

I fondly remember my 3rd grade Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Taylor.  A warm and gracious woman, she had a knack for making each of us feel like the most interesting and valued student in the room.  Now by third grade, we students had more or less figured out that we were rotating through a limited repertoire of Bible stories (oh wait, here’s that Whale story again…) but Mrs. Taylor’s enthusiastic personality made these tired stories jump off the page and crackle with new life. 

We wanted to be part of what she was doing, even if it meant role-playing an Ark-full of animals, so we could bask in the glow of Mrs. Taylor’s exuberant light. 

When, more than thirty years later, I decided to pursue a call to ordained ministry, I thought of Mrs. Taylor.  She had been one of the people to plant the seeds of faith in me, and for that I am deeply grateful. Her ability to plant those seeds had little to do with any recitation of Bible stories, and much more to do with the way she embodied the distilled teachings of those stories in ways I powerfully felt. She didn’t just teach about kindness or empathy or love.  She was kind, empathetic and loving. 

Our young people are a dear and vital part of Talmadge Hill.  In many ways, the active engagement and participation of young folks is one of the most significant markers of a healthy church.  Though Talmadge Hill is physically small and does not have a dedicated Sunday School classroom, we deeply value the presence and participation of our young people.  

As this year’s Sunday School and Youth Group programs take shape and get underway, please prayerfully consider ways you can support and nurture our young people and our teachers.  Always remember that each of us are potential seed-planters and seed-waterers in the lives of children, both in and out of church.  What we say and do, matters. Deeply. 

We don’t know when or where the seeds we plant will take root and grow. Our job is to faithfully and joyfully throw out seeds, water those seeds to the best of our ability, and trust that God will give the growth.  

I thank God for the Mrs. Taylors of the world. I thank God for our young people.  I thank God for you. 

Yours in the Garden,

Jennifer

Meditation

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”

- Meister Eckhart, 13th century mystic

“Before you know what kindness really is, you must lose things…”

- Naomi Shihab Nye, poet