A Wise Word from Father Richard Rohr |
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Northminster,
This week we want to share with you some wisdom from Father Richard Rohr. He concludes the piece with some suggestions for practices that can help put this wisdom into action; click the button below to find the entire article with those practices included.
Peace,
Claire & Zach
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Image: Text of William Butler Yeats' poem "The Second Coming" |
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Some simple but urgent guidance to get us through these next months:
I awoke on Saturday, September 19, with three sources in my mind for guidance: Etty Hillesum (1914 – 1943), the young Jewish woman who suffered much more injustice in the concentration camp than we are suffering now; Psalm 62, which must have been written in a time of a major oppression of the Jewish people; and the Irish Poet, W.B.Yeats (1965 – 1939), who wrote his “Second Coming” during the horrors of the World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic.
These three sources form the core of my invitation. Read each one slowly as your first practice. Let us begin with Etty:
There is a really deep well inside me. And in it dwells God. Sometimes I am there, too … And that is all we can manage these days and also all that really matters: that we safeguard that little piece of You, God, in ourselves.
—Etty Hillesum, Westerbork transit camp
Note her second-person usage, talking to “You, God” quite directly and personally. There is a Presence with her, even as she is surrounded by so much suffering.
Then, the perennial classic wisdom of the Psalms:
In God alone is my soul at rest.
God is the source of my hope.
In God I find shelter, my rock, and my safety.
Men are but a puff of wind,
Men who think themselves important are a delusion.
Put them on a scale,
They are gone in a puff of wind.
—Psalm 62:5–9
What could it mean to find rest like this in a world such as ours? Every day more and more people are facing the catastrophe of extreme weather. The neurotic news cycle is increasingly driven by a single narcissistic leader whose words and deeds incite hatred, sow discord, and amplify the daily chaos. The pandemic that seems to be returning in waves continues to wreak suffering and disorder with no end in sight, and there is no guarantee of the future in an economy designed to protect the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor and those subsisting at the margins of society.
It’s no wonder the mental and emotional health among a large portion of the American population is in tangible decline! We have wholesale abandoned any sense of truth, objectivity, science or religion in civil conversation; we now recognize we are living with the catastrophic results of several centuries of what philosophers call nihilism or post-modernism (nothing means anything, there are no universal patterns).
We are without doubt in an apocalyptic time (the Latin word apocalypsis refers to an urgent unveiling of an ultimate state of affairs). Yeats’ oft-quoted poem “The Second Coming” then feels like a direct prophecy. See if you do not agree:
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Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Somehow our occupation and vocation as believers in this sad time must be to first restore the Divine Center by holding it and fully occupying it ourselves. If contemplation means anything, it means that we can “safeguard that little piece of You, God,” as Etty Hillesum describes it. What other power do we have now? All else is tearing us apart, inside and out, no matter who wins the election or who is on the Supreme Court. We cannot abide in such a place for any length of time or it will become our prison.
God cannot abide with us in a place of fear.
God cannot abide with us in a place of ill will or hatred.
God cannot abide with us inside a nonstop volley of claim and counterclaim.
God cannot abide with us in an endless flow of online punditry and analysis.
God cannot speak inside of so much angry noise and conscious deceit.
God cannot be found when all sides are so far from “the Falconer.”
God cannot be born except in a womb of Love.
So offer God that womb.
Stand as a sentry at the door of your senses for these coming months, so “the blood-dimmed tide” cannot make its way into your soul.
If you allow it for too long, it will become who you are, and you will no longer have natural access to the “really deep well” that Etty Hillesum returned to so often and that held so much vitality and freedom for her.
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The Prayers of the People
An opportunity to celebrate and pray alongside siblings in our community.
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We pray alongside...
Iglesia Bautista Enmanuel, our sister church in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, as they see coronavirus cases rising in their area alongside continued economic crisis. The church has recently opened its doors to use their dormitory space for patients needing to quarantine, as the isolation centers are nearly full.
All those who suffer, who ache, who long, who struggle, who wait, now in this season, and always.
If you have a concern or know of one within our community we are always glad to lift them up together. Give us a call or email the church office; we are grateful when we can share one another's burdens.
We celebrate alongside...
Peggy Burns (29th), Judy Fellows (29th), Darrell Cluck (30th),and Kyle Gregory (30th)
as they celebrate their birthday.
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If you have concerns or celebrations you would like us to add to the newsletter, please call the church office or email office@northmin.org.
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The Work of the People
How we are responding to the Spirit of Love
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Join us on Wednesdays at 5:30
How to Be an Antiracist
by Ibram X. Kendi
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The work of seeking God's justice through pursuing antiracism does not end with reading books, but the right book can help to jumpstart it. A group of interested Northminster members and friends have continued to dialogue about how the church can most faithfully respond to the racial injustice in our world, and one of the ways we are continuing the conversation is through reading Ibram Kendi’s How to Be an Antiracist. Please contact Claire if you have any issues getting hold of a copy of the book.
Reading Schedule
Wed., Sept. 30 - Chapters 6-9
Wed., Oct. 7 - Chapters 10-13
Wed., Oct. 14 - Chapters 14-18
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The Thomas E. Stricklin Lectures in Church History are coming up in just a few weeks! The lectures will take place over the weekend of October 9-11 via YouTube with the same live chat features we use during Sunday morning worship. There will also be a live Q&A over Zoom following Saturday afternoon's lecture, and for security, you will need to register for that Q&A in order to receive the link. Click the button below to find out more about the lecture series, to find the links for each lecture once they're available, and to register to participate over Zoom! |
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Alliance of Baptists Fall Gathering:
"Devoted to Justice"
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For a full weekend of integrating our civil and religious convictions, we invite you to join us on the Saturday morning of the Stricklin Lectures (see above) for the Alliance of Baptists' fall gathering, "Devoted to Justice." Read more from the Alliance below:
Join the Alliance of Baptists on October 10 for Devoted to Justice, the Alliance's fall online gathering. This 90-minute online gathering will focus on liberation and justice in our current climate and will feature keynote speaker the Rev. Dr. William Barber II. The program will provide the opportunity for inspiration, reflection, connection, a chance to check-in with your Alliance family and to hear the state of the Alliance in these unprecedented times.
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Holy Ideas
How might we respond to the Spirit of Love?
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In this new season of social distancing, we need holy ideas to help stretch our imaginations for what is possible within this community more than ever.
Since we can't make use of the physical "Holy Ideas" board in the hallway, we'll maintain it virtually and keep it updated here in the newsletter. If you have an idea for a way the church can be church in this season, or if you see an idea you'd like to support to help it become reality, email the office.
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Giving to Northminster
Support Northminster's Work
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We are sensitive to the reality that financial uncertainty is one of the side effects of the spread of the coronavirus. However, if you find yourself in a position to continue or increase your contributions to the church, know that your donation will be greatly appreciated. We have made the decision to honor our commitments to all those on our payroll (ministers, staff, choral scholars, childcare) who are relying on this income in an anxious time, and we cannot do that without your continued support.
To support Northminster financially, you can click here, or scan the QR code below with the camera on your phone.
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Sunday 9/27
10am - Sunday School
10:45am - Preludes and Online Chat
11am - Sunday Morning Liturgy
After Worship - Narthex Chat
Wednesday 9/30
5:30pm - How to be an Antiracist Study Group
6:45pm - Digital Choir "Rehearsal"
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Worship This Week
The text this week is Luke 4.
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