Terrapin Station

Worship

Today I went to the House of Blues Gospel Brunch with Cynde and Amy. It was awesome. So much singing and dancing! I got to go on stage:

So THAT was worship.

Last night I was worship leader at St. Martin, which means I got to read the Prayers of the People. If you were raised in the Episcopal Church and grew up on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, you'll know it's a special gift to get to read words like these:

Almighty and everliving God, who in thy holy Word hast
taught us to make prayers, and supplications, and to give
thanks for all men: Receive these our prayers which we offer
unto thy divine Majesty, beseeching thee to inspire
continually the Universal Church with the spirit of truth,
unity, and concord; and grant that all those who do confess
thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and
live in unity and godly love.

Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all bishops and other
ministers [especially                       ], that they may, both by
their life and doctrine, set forth thy true and lively Word,
and rightly and duly administer thy holy Sacraments.

And to all thy people give thy heavenly grace, and especially
to this congregation here present; that, with meek heart and
due reverence, they may hear and receive thy holy Word,
truly serving thee in holiness and righteousness all the days
of their life.

We beseech thee also so to rule the hearts of those who bear
the authority of government in this and every land [especially
                      ], that they may be led to wise decisions and right
actions for the welfare and peace of the world.

Open, O Lord, the eyes of all people to behold thy gracious
hand in all thy works, that, rejoicing in thy whole creation,
they may honor thee with their substance, and be faithful
stewards of thy bounty.

And we most humbly beseech thee, of thy goodness, O Lord,
to comfort and succor [                             and] all those who in this 
transitory life, are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any
other adversity.

 

Holy Eucharist I     329

---

 

Additional petitions and thanksgivings may be included here.

And we also bless thy holy Name for all thy servants
departed this life in thy faith and fear [especially                       ],
beseeching thee to grant them continual growth in thy love
and service; and to grant us grace so to follow the good
examples of [                     and of] all thy saints, that with
them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.

Grant these our prayers, O Father, for Jesus Christ's sake,
our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

I just relish it. That's language you can chew and swallow and you know you've prayed, when you pray those words.

Praying for a spirit of truth, unity and concord as Super Tuesday looms.

Friday Five: The State of Our Hearts

Michelle writes at RevGals: There it is right in front of us: Valentine’s Day.  No  matter what our marital status, who we’re dating, how our hearts have been broken or how we’ve been loved in the past, we can not escape this yearly observance.  Hearts, pink packages of candy and commercial after commercial for flowers and engagement rings continuously surround us in the week or two or three before Valentine’s Day.

This doesn’t sit well with many hearts – especially ones that have been broken or who may be freshly grieving.  As a leader in the church, I’ve been wondering how communities of faith can come together to support those with broken hearts (and created a Facebook group for unmarried progressive Christians and friends to discuss topics which concern them).

Whether we are married, single, divorced, separated, widowed, in a relationship or any other marital status, we’ve all gone through some highs and lows when it comes to the state of our hearts.

As we head into Valentine’s Day weekend, here are five questions on which to reflect.  Feel free to post in the comments below or as a prompt on your own blog (and post the link in the comments).

(1.) What is one challenging thing about your current marital status? Hmm. We'll have been married 17 years in May. I think we are in a pretty good place right now...but the most challenging thing is that he is VERY, VERY conservative and I am VERY, VERY liberal. We were married in 1999 and somehow that did not really come up at the time...unbelievable to me today, but our country was not polarized the way it is now. Sometimes this is exceptionally difficult to manage. Sometimes less so. :)

(2.) What is your best memory of love? My husband is not a romantic, hearts and flowers type. But there are days when I come home very upset, very discouraged, very sad...and he immediately knows something is wrong. Often I can't talk about it right away, but he waits until I can, and he does what I ask him to (hold me, take me out for Mexican food, leave me alone...) it is very comforting to be known and understood that way.

(3.) What has been your best antidote in healing a broken heart?  (Movies, hobbies, etc.) Reading. Walking. Talking to friends.

(4.) What has been the most meaningful gift from a significant other, family member or friend?  Of course, it doesn’t need to be a material object. My husband converted one of his motorcycles into a trike for me, so we could ride together. Riding behind him is uncomfortable for me after about 30 minutes and I wanted to be able to keep riding. I'm on the left in the photo below, on a trip to Dogpatch USA in Arkansas. 

(5.) Name something the church could do to support someone with a broken heart. Help them to find ministries or fellowship groups for support and belonging.

May God seal all of the cracks in your heart as you step into new life and new paths.  Amen.

*****

Ash Wednesday 2016

I'm going to die, and you're going to die, and we're all going to die.

And what do we do in between?

I acolyted at the Ash Wednesday evening service yesterday. There had been a busy noon service, and then the afternoon Drive Thru Ashes were very well attended. I'm in tears looking at the photos of our young people imposing ashes on those who drove through. Take a look; you'll be glad you did.

http://www.stmartininthefields.org/drive-thru-ashes-at-st-martin-in-the-fields-in-kellersouthlake/