WHAT WILL BE YOUR WORD? Years ago I learned of a New Year practice of choosing one word as a guide for the year ahead. The idea is to allow a word to come to you that will serve as your focus for the year. This is done by praying, reflecting, thinking of our heart’s… Continue reading Choosing A Word for 2020

YOU AND I- AND THE ANGELS OF ASCENSION Meditation for the New Year As the year comes to a close, we have one more angel story to revisit. This story is one for us to carry with us into the new year ahead. Resurrected Jesus has spent time with his disciples, and now he is… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Sunday, December 29th

YOU AND I: PRESENCES OF PEACE This week, we have reread stories of angels and looked for the peace we can find in each example. The angels brought tidings of peace. Jesus is our eternal Peace. Now, how do we become Presences of Peace for one another? Light the Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd, Angel and Christ… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Saturday, December 28th

ANGEL OF THE RESURRECTION The Angel of the Resurrection feels a bit out of season, doesn’t it? But here we have the essential and best Good News of Christmas. This Jesus, born to us as a baby, would one day overcome death in his glorious resurrection! Light the Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd, Angel and Christ Candles.… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Friday, December 27th

ANGEL OF WARNING All too quickly, the party is over. We are back to the reality of the world, with all of its fear, jealousy, hatred, deceit, greed, and lust for power. And so we encounter the angel of warning, the one who comes to Joseph in a dream. Light the Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd, Angel… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Thursday, December 26th

LIGHT AND LIFE TO ALL HE BRINGS* Light the Prophecy, Bethlehem, Shepherd and Angel Candles. John 1:1-5, 14-18 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came… Continue reading Christmas Day- Wednesday, December 25th

THE ANNOUNCING ANGELS This wonderful, blessed, awesome night of nights is upon us! Christmas Eve- the night we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Christ, our God-with-us! We revisit Luke 2, in which the angels proclaim their birth announcement to the shepherds, telling them of Jesus, the baby who had come to save all the… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Tuesday, December 24th, Christmas Eve

ANGELS AMONG US Today we encounter angels of another kind: the strangers in our midst. A stranger is someone we do not know, or who has not experienced something, or who is in a new and unfamiliar place. We have all been among strangers, and we have all been strangers ourselves, many times in our… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Monday, December 23rd

PEACE: THE ANGEL CANDLE Light the Prophecy, Bethlehem and Shepherd Candles. Luke 1:26-38 (NRSV) In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to… Continue reading Presences of Peace- Sunday, December 22nd

WEEK THREE- JOY: PERSONAL REFLECTION This week we took another look at several Bible passages about sheep and shepherds. Jesus blesses us as our dear Shepherd, as One who looks out for our good, who tends and guides us, who nurtures and protects us, who always brings us into the shelter of his love. We… Continue reading Perceivers of Joy- Reflection; Saturday, December 21st