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Alright, the details for our new running club are up! Check them out here.
I'm really excited about this! Not only do I hope to find more people to work out with, but what a great way to get our butts out the door during the inevitable long Calgary winter. Statistics tell us that you are far more likely to stick to a workout program if you've got a friend to work out with, and I know this to be true! Just this past weekend, my main workout buddy was out of town and I missed a couple of long runs. So, here's to health and helping one another reach our fitness goals.
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Trinity Running Club |
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We're starting a Trinity Running Club this November. Are you interested? Stay tuned for more details in the next couple of days.
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A Place Called "Massah" |
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This past Sunday was full! Between a sermon I was slightly nervous to preach and an exciting Town Hall announcement, I would love to hear what your thoughts were as you left SAIT on Sunday afternoon...?
For those who missed my sermon, it will be posted shortly (at the very latest by early next week). As I was reading and reflecting on the events of Exodus 17:1-7 I was reminded of my own difficult journey to freedom; a road that I'm still on! As such, my sermon this week was pretty autobiographical and the response I received from many of you was similarly honest and courageous. I was and continue to be honoured to hear about how my own story connects with yours. I mentioned my physical journey to freedom on Sunday, I will be writing more about that on my personal blog.
Here's an excerpt from what I said on Sunday:
"I wonder what liberation means to the Israelites...This story in Exodus challenges the idea that many of us have that our freedom is found in the physical and material things that give us our sense of security. It's in freedom that the Israelites have no water to drink and so they long to willingly return to bondage in order that their physical needs may be met. This story reminds me, powerfully so, that the path to freedom is not found in running from the pain and running back towards Egypt in order to ensure our security and protection. Rather, the path to freedom is found in responding faithfully and obediently to the road God is calling us to walk upon, even if on this road, we are 'tormented by our thirst.'
Isn't it interesting, and so unfortunately relatable, that the Israelites assume that because they have found themselves without water, God must not be with them. The story tells us that they asked 'Is God with us or not?' at their place of testing, at this place called 'Massah,' and we as the readers can see that he's been with them the entire time, and has even led them into this period(s) of lacking. The lacking is part of their journey to freedom, for the absence of water forces them to face some of their deepest doubts and fears about the journey they are on. And so perhaps this same kind of absence is necessary on our own roads to freedom. God's presence in our lives is simply not marked , or made known, by what we have or do not have. Rather, and perhaps surprisingly, this story teaches us that God's presence never leaves us. He is always with us, in our poverty and in our abundance.
What does liberation mean to you? Can you name the things that are standing in the way of your freedom?"
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For Palm Sunday |
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There are few writers who affect me as deeply as does Rainer Maria Rilke; anyone who has heard me speak for longer than about five minutes knows this. His body of work--Rilke's Book of Hours--is rich in its disarmingly truthful approach to faith. It is also some of the most beautiful poetry I have ever encountered. As a writer, Rilke never fails to challenge me in my own attempts at calling myself by the same name. I realize, through his distant tutelage, that art is most reflective (of self and of God) when one's soul is laid bare in unwavering honesty.
And so I go forth in my own journey of artfulness and truth, attempting to offer my unanswered questions in gladness to all that lives. This is my art, and it finds expression in liturgy, poem, prayer, conversation, and table. As I come to Palm Sunday this year I see this approach echoed in Jesus' final words - "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Those who have gone before me on the path of honesty are many and great. Submitting myself to their example gives me the courage I need to face my own unknowing. This is what Lent has meant to me this year, and why I have so loved engaging in our Questions of Jesus series (if you don't know what I'm talking about click here).
This Rilke poem comes from the Book of Pilgrimage, and speaks to me as we prepare for Palm Sunday (particularly the section in bold). What are your thoughts on the poem? What has Lent meant to you this year?
Here it is:
All who seek you
test you.
And those who find you
bind you to image and gesture.
I would rather sense you
as the earth senses you.
In my ripening
ripens
what you are.
I need from you no tricks
to prove you exist.
Time, I know,
is other than you.
No miracles, please.
Just let your laws
become clearer
from generation to generation.
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