Inclusive Living!

Every now and then I run heart first into the sharp edges of what some would call inclusive language. Personally, I have never been able to make sense of a conversation about inclusion that begins and ends with what and why we ought to exclude, reduce, leave out, shift and reword. For me of these conversations about language ultimately translate from what and why into who is not one thing or another. I figure, if one can get to what’s in and what’s out so easily, then if any of us show up as all of who we are created to be; we can easily be relegated to the whose out portion of the conversation just because of who we are or who we are not. And that will not do for me and for the many among us who need our message hope. I figure, that if I am truly living “my call” that I am focused on ensuring that this message of hope that I carry in my bones can be easily accessed and lived into by as many people as possible. So it is more than what I say and the simple words that I choose on any occasion, it is uplifting it with music, art and dance. It is communicating it sometimes with no words at all. It is bringing it to life in the global language of peace. It is being willing to shout it from the mountain high and the valley low. It is being it by showing up. It is infusing it into our living. It is personifying it to and through the body politic. It is relaying in concert with others. It is building it with the work of our hands and our hearts. It is formulating it with our soul. It is making it available it in every language and means imaginable…

Recently, I was reminded just how finite we really are and how every moment of our lives is a precious gift. Thus, I have decided to move to a way of being present with people that allows me to live an inclusive life that looks for and sees the divinity of all people, to hear the presence of the sacred in their words and to be the reminder for the world that God is all there is… When I feel the brush of the breeze across my face; God is all there is. When I encounter crowded shopping centers; God is all there is. When someone cuts me off in traffic; God is all there is. When I feel overwhelmed by life; God is all there is. When I stand face to face with hatred; send them my love and the knowing that God is all there is! When someone holds the door for me; God is all there is. When hear the laughter of children; God is all there is. In the eyes of the stranger; God is all there is. In the grand scheme of things, it really does not matter to me which name you choose for God. What matters to me is that each person is able to connect to an aspect of God that speaks to the very soul of their being. If does not profit me to uphold a specific image of God and say no to another. What matters to me is that each person can access the image of God in their own reflection.

I have no more time to spend trying to balance the biases of our languages. It is far better use of my heart space to allow many things to be true and truth at the same time by welcoming your language as meaningful as it is to you in the same moment as my language as meaningful to me and so on… In short, I think inclusive really means all and that’s all that all means. So I invite you to just make room for all that you are, all that God is to you and all the same for all of the people you meet and all of the wonderful experiences that await you.

So, today the language of life rings true for me and through me and it is my hope for all of us as citizens, tribes, villages, friends, family and kinfolk of the world that we will find ways that restore honor and value to “the other” among us. Because to each one of us; each one of us is “the other”.

In closing, I forgive myself for not taking this step sooner and for carrying this around in my heart for so long. I set this free from my spirit with this posting.
This is my truth and so it is!

Conjugating Verbs and Finding the God Within…

This is my first post in quite some time… For those who are not aware, I am in the midst of my congregational internship in concert with the realities of school, work, family, church, life and health. In realizing that all of these realities are really the texture of my being and giving up things that I love like blogging didn’t buy me any more time or energy. So given all of the givens and at the urging of a dear friend, I rise and blog again!

My thoughts today are drawn from an Isaac Asimov quote: “The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries is not ‘Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny…’

Over the past few months, my soul has screamed eureka and that’s funny countless times and often at the same time. This year, I have found myself on this spiritual journey that has taught me to be more open to things that are not like me. I have found the means to breakthrough my own perspectives, especially the ones that would have held me back from the moments that needed me the most and to appreciate every question, insight, thought, breath and aha moment.

I am so much better for this journey that has given me the wherewithal to see first the light in others and to allow the light that I have always been to shine through. So from the depths of my soul’s journey, the experience that most clearly comes to my mind in this moment is my own discovering of God, the Sacred, the Divine, the Holy, and the Oneness… within me. For years I have sang these lyrics; “God prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy; tried and true. With thanksgiving I’ll be a living sanctuary, for you.” What is different for me today about these words is the verb tense; I have sang and lived this song in future tense. What does that mean? It means that I have been holding my relationship with God in time that is not yet present. I have been on a journey that had not brought me to the destination of the present moment. My eureka and that’s funny moment allowed me to discover the present moments with God, the very essence of the Divine in the now and that manifested for me in the conjugation of the verb – to be. One of the voices of the present tense (indicative)of the verb to be is “I am” – the very name of God. I am finding or noticing the presence of God in all sorts of places and people in the world. It is amazing what you see when you take the time to look. As I the encounter the Sacred in others, I encounter and acknowledge the same in myself… I Am that I am. I am that which I seek – love, grace, peace, hope, acceptance, connection and prosperity. I am the love of God that is very present in this moment and in the world around us. This for me is a love worth finding. My prayer for you in the coming days is that you will discover and rediscover the power of the present tense and in the use of your own I AM statements - Who are you right NOW? My hope is that we will all take time to experience the Divine presence in ourselves and in others in the present. Be Blessed!

For now, this is my truth and I am living it!

Perscription or Perspective

Years ago, I would hang on to my old prescription eyeglasses in case I would lose and damage my new pair. What I found over time is that either my eyes or the way that I looked at things had changed. Things that had once been very clear to me were now fuzzy and vice versa. The somewhat amusing thing is life can be the same way; as our experiences unfold before us, and time and chance happens to us all, we somehow learn to see things differently. Take time this week to look past the things we think we know and understand and view life through a different lens, point of view or perspective. Maybe, just maybe we will find the clarity and simplicity that we seek right in the middle of the fuzziness. As for those old glasses, I donate them now so that someone else has a chance to see life clearly.

Set Sail!

Living here in Florida, we experience our fair share of storms and the chaos they cause and the path of destruction that remain. This reminds me of the story where Jesus calmed the stormy seas and how even in the midst of the storms of our lives, there is still a very real opportunity for peace in the midst of it all. It may require us to undock our lives from the pier or push off from the shore that gives us safety and shelter and set sail for hope and peace. This week, I pray that there will be countless opportunities for all us to set sail and witness the miracles of living through a lens of faith that lets us find peace in the midst of storm. May these experiences flow into all areas of our lives and influence all that we touch and are becoming.
Shalom-Salaam-Peace

Will There Be ONE Today?

I used to think that one was the loneliest number… Then as I observed life, I understood that our very existences are comprised of a series of ones or onenesses. We live one moment, one day, one hope, one heartache, one paycheck, one failure, one triumph and one tear at a time. Think of it like this, if we were carpenters, we would create one nail, one board or a mason who creates one brick at a time or a painter who creates one brushstroke at a time.

Today, in this moment; maybe we are all of these things as we endeavor to share our lives which are comprised of many if not all of these things with the world. I like to believe that we share our lives in the land of plenty, upon a foundation of love, while raising walls of hope to hold rafters of grace and create an entrance of peace that we may each bring who we are and where we have been into this place and therein be fully at our best.

This place is not anywhere that we can strive to reach, plot on a map or locate through a Google search; it is right where we are sitting and standing in this very moment. You see in addition to all of the ones in our lives, we all have the blessing regardless of our circumstance of – Right Now. This is place my friends is within each of us. The place where we store all of the ones that have shaped and molded us into the one that we are is the place where we are our very best, even now.

My prayer today is that there will be ONE for each of us today; one beautiful memory, one warming touch, one enveloping smile and one chance for each one of us to reach and teach another one us the goodness and power of the one who created us, keeps and loves us.

May it all be so… ONE blessing at a time.

Completely Yes!

There is a single word that has the power to change so many things about the world around us. Our lives, faith, perspective, direction, and impact; that word is Yes! It is defined as; “it is so, used to express agreement or to permit.” Yes can change lives, restore hope, open doors, extend helping hands and create change. Often time, there are those who walk among us that have had more than their share of the word no in this life.

In contrast, the Divine and the sacred gives us one of the most powerful tools that often go under utilized and unnoticed – that tool is the power of the word yes spoken and enacted. As I looked at this word and allowed it to continually pass through my being, I wondered what it says in other languages:

Si – Spanish, Oui – French, Ja – German, Naam – Swahili, Sim - Portuguese

As I looked at each of them and listened to the harmony of each as I spoke them aloud,I saw something in the midst of them all – “I AM”. The very name of the Divine is right there in the midst of them all. What a blessing it is to be reminded of all of the many ways that creation says and is YES in our world. Even this week as we celebrate pride – a movement born out of all things NO on so many levels and yet yields much more YES for us today and is still making a way for so much more in the tomorrows that lie ahead of us. We are still People of Promise who engender the very yes that the Creator was, is and shall eternally be. So this week as we go about our lives, our celebrations and all of our coming and going; remember that the yes that is within you can change the world for so many. Allow it to be more than just an answer to a question. Maybe this week, opportunities to be yes in the life of someone in someway will present itself. I don’t think that we will have to look very far or wide to take a chance to be whatever it is that permits and allows life to be more for someone, anyone… May we pause and give the Divine thanks, for the chance to say and to see the living and breathing YES before our eyes in all people of faith. Amen and may it all be so!

Outlines

When I was child, I was encouraged to color inside of the lines. Later in life, I would watch murder mystery television shows and there was always a chalk outline left where the body fell. From that I realized that there is no life or positive existence within the lines, it all dwells outside of the lines.

I guess if I had to choose which I preferred, I would have to go with life outside of the lines. The lines in our lives contain us, define us and prohibit us from really living fully into our purpose. Today, my outlines are the things that I have left behind, the things that no longer breathe life and the places that I have transitioned from. For me, there is enough color and energy in the events of my life, that there is no longer the capability to see the lines. So each moment can be anything that I choose it to be. Could it be that the outlines of our lives are merely the silhouette of our existence, the essence of our spirit that remains?

So, my friends; come outside of the things that contain you. Break out of the circumstances that define you in ways that just aren't meant to be so. Move beyond the outlines of your existence and live out loud, play out side and be outspoken so much so that the only outlines you encounter are the words and sentences that speak life - YOUR LIFE! What's that I hear? Sounds like LIFE calling…

I offer to the world a blessing that all of the lines in our universe will begin to fade and our true purpose can begin to shine through for our good. May it all be so...

What Is It That Moves You?

I returned to Cambridge today and it was like entering the familiar presence of a long lost friend. I had forgotten how easy it is to have my breath swept away by the subtle beauty of all around me and how intoxicating the sounds of conversations and laughter could be for the soul. The trees gently were swaying in the breeze and reached out to me as I returned and the sky was painted the most beautiful blue I had seen in a while and all this just for me. On my journey from Logan Airport into Cambridge, I could see the Charles River in the distance as I got closer. I found myself eager, longing, surprised and relived by the elegant movement of her currents. The last time I saw the river was in mid-January, she was frozen, still and quiet. As I passed by in the warmth of my taxi, she whispered “I bid you good journey until we meet again.” Today my friend the river was alive, vibrant and graceful! There she was only a stone's throw away, waiting for me to return.

I took time to watch a few of the of the scullers gently gliding along and I thought to myself how cool is that? Just to be able to float along the river and be moved by the rhythm of creation in synch with the wisdom of the wind. Then I began wonder; as the scullers are moved by their own power and strokes of the oars along the river’s edges, what is it that moves us through life and the living thereof? What carries us when we are weary, comforts us when we’re lost, holds us close when we’re lonely? What is it that keeps us going, laughing, breathing, hopeful and grateful? What is it that moves us along our river’s edge?

Got Faith?

Recently I had an online conversation with friend about faith. In my life, I have had thousands of these, but this day it was different. I was asked “Why do I think we need faith?” Well, if you have known me for more than a year, you probably know that I have an opinion about most anything including this. As I took a deep breath and prepared to answer, I felt the air in room shift slightly and I chose to experience that pause of my thoughts and keystrokes for just a moment to hear, see and feel what was coming into being within me... In those moments of pause, I posed that question to myself and my own living instead of the prepackaged mumbojumbo.

I asked my spirit - Why do I need faith? I realized that faith is chisel that shapes so much of my perspective and being. It is the brush that allows me to paint with broad and sure strokes. For those of us who live with vision corrected by glasses, contacts or surgery; you will understand this illustration deeply. I compare the acts of faith in our lives to the change that comes about when we experience the difference in our eyesight or what /how we can see when wear our glasses or contacts. Things go from fuzzy to clear, from distorted to absolute and from far away to internal.

Thus, I typed "In my own lifetime, I have watched what faith can do to and through the world around us. Faith changes things… Faith changes us and how we are with one another…Without faith prayer could easily be deemed as a person talking themselves. Without faith, the value of our connections as community; living into the things that give us hope could be down played by the voice of independence or everyone for themselves. Without faith, the fabric of our redemption would be nothig more than remnants of yet another debt unpaid and lives incomplete. Without faith the cross would be nothing more than two sticks tied together and the resurrection could be summed up in an eternal saga CSI or Without a Trace."

I think that we need faith to steady our steps, to guide our journeys, to amplify our heart songs, to codify our connectedness and balance our beliefs with our existence. Faith is for me the coming into being of what I remember about the acts of God in my life; into the same moment as my hope for more of the same blessings upon and around me. I believe that faith is essential to our survival of the imposition of the faithless, the hopeless and loveless. It is faith that serves as the still small voice that beckons us into the hope of possibility, beyond the edge of what see and into the presence of what deem sacred. Faith is my refuge...

As I hit enter, I realized that in that moment, I was faithful and faith filled. What a feeling! Our conversation went from debate to discourse. That day, faith changed both of us as it clarified each of us for the other.

Got Faith?

To Be or To Become? A Revised Question

E.E. Cummings said, "It takes a lot of courage to grow up and be who you really are."

I recently created a Facebook page and I must say that it is wonderful in its own way. I had a conversation with an age old friend and they remarked about how different I am now than I was 25 years ago. I chuckled and then laughed and said, “Yes I am! And thank you for noticing.”

That conversation made me think about how life changes us into the people that we have always been becoming and how some can find strength in those moments and other choose another defining point in their existence. I don’t remember the turning point that led me to today, but I am grateful for it and every accompanying experience. My thoughts today, are keep living and see who you are becoming and once it comes into focus for you, may you find the strength and courage to be all of who and what life has summoned you to be. I have found a whole new and powerful meaning in the words, “Don’t worry, be happy!” Simply know who you are and have the courage to this person!

“When I live my life in the service of my vision, it becomes less and less
apparent that I am afraid.” Audre Lorde

Can We Cry Holy?

Faith comes to us in many forms… We believe differently… We pray differently… We call out to our God differently. It is soothing to know that in the midst of all of our differences that the commonalities are alive and well in our faith journeys. We believe… We pray… We cry out… We wait for an answer to our petitions… We thank and We evoke… We enact what we have come to know and what we say we believe and from that is what make present and call into being in our gathering together.

Our presence, health and strength are often the key as we recall in our own living the amazing. By our account, we bear witness to the movement of a God of many names and beyond naming. This same God is our protector, our shield in battle, the lifter of our head, our hiding place, our ever flowing fountain of justice, our way maker, our physician, our healer, our advocate, our father, our mother, our comforter, the unconditional lover of our soul… God is all that and more than words can contain!

I find myself less and less concerned about what people call God and more concerned that people know that they can call God. I lay my opinions about beliefs at the feet of grace and know that belief is not the point where the story ends, and recognize that it is a new beginning and a new telling of the greatest story in me and the many of you of who God, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, the Virgin, The Goddess are for us. Every culture, environment, sect, community of faith has its own root system in place and draws from it for nourishment and strength. Today, I thank the Ruach Elohim - the creative Sprit of God whose breath gave life and parted the seas. I am grateful for the breath life that I experienced in the dawn of this day and for the knowing that a way will be made before me by the one who has been with me even before the days of this life.

When we believe, pray, cry out, worship, love, hope, dream, walk, rest, wait, thank and evoke that which is meaningful to us, we change the atmosphere to one where unfailing love prevails. May our different ways continue to feed us and our collective sameness draw us in from the margins of life into beloved community of peace and hope where we can stand together and in one voice cry Holy.

Hear & Feel the Rhythm of Your Soul

Sometimes, I hear and feel so many different rhythms in my existence. It is like being pulled in a myriad of directions and the chaos from that can be painful. To the unknowing, it can feel and sound like unorganized noise at it’s best. To the unwilling it can feel like waves crashing against your body and scattering the fragments that remain. My challenge this week is to be willing to know deeper this world that I am a part of and feel the rhythms, harmonies, melodies, lyrics of the symphony of living. This all brings to mind a book that I started reading a few years ago called Be good-to-yourself Therapy by Cherry Harman, here is my short list of things to do “when . . .”

· When we are hurting, summon the courage to tell the person who caused the pain. Keeping it inside only makes it grow into something we can not manage and can not easily overcome.

· When we can’t think straight. Take that very moment as an invitation to stop thinking and start feeling. The world can become a different place if we are willing to cease to follow our thoughts and take up new path that allows us to feel our way through.

· When everything seems all wrong, and we are overwhelmed and need to be comforted. Be willing to ask for it, look for it, welcome it and allow it to be. Let the
comforts we seek embrace us in our moments of weakness and triumph.

· Take the time to say something loving to someone… It may help to first say something loving to ourselves. Go ahead and give it a try; the expressing of feelings is not a commitment it is a step in a new and beautiful direction.

· When I feel anxious, I take a little trip to somewhere calm and beautiful in my mind. It is there that I find clarity, hope and peace in the simple things. From that place of stillness, I let myself know that in my head I have stepped into the amazing
future, closer to something big, scary and unknown and that my body has gotten
up the energy and courage to make it so. Then I come back to this present moment bring the power of hope and the confidence that reminds me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

As we take this journey of moments, hours, days, weeks, months and years, remember to feel the rhythm of your living by monitoring the “pulse of your soul.” Listen for the “skipped beats.” Take the steps necessary to restore the rhythm and remain focused. Be well. Be blessed.

May the Blessing of Water - Wash Over Me...

This morning, I decided to slightly rearrange my office and purge a few things. In doing so, I found enlightenment in the pages of papers that I had written a few years ago when I first entered seminary. I immediately noticed how I have grown and how I remain the same. My thoughts and beliefs are broader and more substantial, my hope is deeper and my challenges are fewer in number. Change occurs within us sometimes without introduction and we don’t really notice it from a distance. Today, I am grateful for the change that allows me to hear the once silent voices in the world and notice their struggle. Further, I am blessed from the ever present movement of Spirit in my life and world, and I render thanks a praise for such.

I am currently studying liturgy and rite keeping in an Episcopal context. Sometimes I find myself lost in the void between my past and present faith journey and I am challenged to level the volume mix between the two to find something harmonious. Today’s enlightenment is in the fact harmony comes from the delicate blending of two or more dichotomous incarnations. Until today, my problem was that I was waiting for harmony to happen external of me; such that I overlooked the blending, stirring, emerging and evolving that was going on within me. Today I hear, see and feel the importance of what we call into the space that we deem holy and I am amazed at the beauty of the newness of God that I see there. I hear songs that I have known for much of my life with new ears, I read scripture that I learned as memory verses when I was a child and it comes to life before my eyes in spirit and truth as it has never done before and I examine the many points of application for all of this in our world and I feel like an overflowing vessel. I think to myself – Wow!

We have been studying the rites of Holy Baptism and the history of such and this journey of learning has allowed me to travel back in time the churches, basilicas and cathedrals of past centuries. I have had a chance to see everything from the magnificent to the primitive and allow each of those to speak to me. I have leaned new words like baptismal font and looked at this rite of initiation culturally, by period of time, tradition and geography to learn how closely we are all connected in these moments of growth, welcome and initiation to the journey of Christ and each other. My assignment was to examine the parts of the blessing of water for baptism. I realized as I studied that water for baptism is really water of life. From my own journey of faith which is the convergence of many paths I was able to borrow from the whole of my own experiences in this rite by infusion, immersion and sprinkling and the saw anew the power of shared belief in these moments. From that emerged this prayer for the blessing of water.

God of many names and beyond naming, we give you thanks and praise for this day and the blessings of baptism that transcend time and understanding. Incline your ear and hear the prayers of your people, who you have called by your name and according to your purpose.

Holy Scripture teaches us that for thousands of years, water has given new life to our land, revived us when the heat from the journey has caused us to be weary and cleansed the dust from our bodies. Today, we stand as empty vessels, before you our ever flowing fountain of hope.

For us individually and as a beloved community, water has been a symbol of life and restoration for us. In this moment we present this water back to you and give you thanks and praise for the path that it travelled to this moment. Through our acts of baptism you make this water holy.

You give us new life and you refresh us with the presence of your sweet Holy Spirit. Through this water, drawn from the earth that you created, may we be reminded of our baptism and the baptism of Jesus. Let this water wash away the old and welcome the new.

Abide with us and share the joy of all those who have been baptized. We render this prayer to You in the name of all that we call Holy and in the name of Christ our blessed redeemer. May this blessing of water, wash over us, cleanse us, prepare us and renew us.

May it be so – Amen!