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Empowered by God!
Shepherding the church! Serving the world! |
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| Bishop's Message | Follow the Bishop |
| Imagine That King Arthur, Sir Lancelot and the Knights of the Round Table are the stuff that legends and fairy tales are made of. Their stories live on in children’s books and fantasy and in the hearts and minds of readers long past childhood. Their stories bring inspiration and awe to those who read them. There is a magical, miraculous, awe-inspiring sense to them. In this era of science and technology, we have difficulty with the miraculous. It cannot exist in the minds of a people who live for proof through scientific methods. What then of the sense of the miraculous, of awe and inspiration? What then can surprise us, move us to excitement, joy and inspiration? What would move us and inspire to be better people, to be more alive than ever before? “Be who you are, see what you have for the sake of doing what matters” is one of those catch phrases that can leave you with a sense of the miraculous. If we were to view ourselves as these awe inspiring people of God, with the abilities and gifts to be and do so much more than is possible in our chaotic world today, would we then not be doing what matters to God? Our sense of identity as Christians has been watered down and washed out by our context and our culture. We often don’t see the awe-inspiring possibilities, the miraculous sense of purpose that God has in mind for us because we are so busy just surviving. Our world misses the awe inspiring potential that we have been given when we miss out on opportunities to show how God is alive in us and is working through us. Joseph dreamed in Matt. 1:20; Job in chapter 7; Jacob in Gen. 26; Jesus’ followers in Acts 2:17. What happened to our dreams? What happened to God’s dreams for humanity? What happens when we “be who we are”, God’s dreamers on earth? During the Christmas season, newspapers, radio talk show hosts, blogs and television talk show hosts shared an amazing number of stories of hope, stories of people helping people, stories of ordinary folks becoming legends in their hometowns and neighbourhoods. It seems the sense of the magical and miraculous was present, and those qualities of service, hope and caring was so prevalent. Then in the season of light, Epiphany, the light seems to go out on those stories and the miracles disappear, the magical sense of care, compassion and inspiration are gone. A sense of yearning for the miraculous lies in state, underneath our hearts, as we continue through the long winters of darkness! What then of “being who we are”, God’s dreamers on earth? How can we continue with or carry with us this sense of awe and inspiration that God has in mind for the world? One of the things I did over the Christmas season was assist at CLWR, checking “WE CARE” bags. Some included names of your congregations or ELW group or other small groups. As I read your names, it occurred to me that you are some pretty inspiring people. One bag is not so inspiring but when you see 10, 30, 55 and then wheeled carts holding hundreds, it is pretty amazing what we do together as the church, through CLWR. I once heard of an Anglican diocese who collated all of the service projects, etc. of their congregations. It amounted to an awe-inspiring moment of disbelief that they had done so much. What if we were to do that in our own congregations and then send the tallies to our synod offices, who could then report it to our whole church? What if for one sweet moment we could inspire others to give what we have so that we can be all that God calls us to be in a world that matters to God? I am in the mood for dreaming. The everyday has potential. Can you dream with me about being who we are and seeing what we have as God’s people so that we can do what matters to God?
To view Bishop Elaine's blog click on the link below: |
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