Holden reflection for the week...

Here are the thoughts I shared last night.  The story about Lamont, Iowa came from a book I'm reading called Sharing Food: Christian Practices for Enjoyment by L. Shannon Jung. 

Psalm 84

¹How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

²My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

⁴Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise. Selah

⁵Happy are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

⁶As they go through the valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

⁸O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

⁹Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed.

¹⁰For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly.

¹²O Lord of hosts, happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Holden Evening Prayer

March 14, 2012

Psalm 84

Our Psalmist this day talks about God providing for us, God nurturing us…and God providing a place for all of God’s creation.

¹How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

²My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

How we all long for such belonging, for such a home, for the place where we feel loved and nurtured, cared and provided for. 

“Thus it was in Lamont, Iowa.  The good citizens and church members of Lamont had lost the last café in their town.  Mabel and Sam had decided they were just too old to carry on, and no one was interested in buying their place.  The café was where the townspeople, local farmers, and anybody else in town got together in the morning for a cup of coffee and maybe a doughnut and shoot the breeze.  Most heavy decisions got made there.  Lunch was when you could count on some of the older townspeople and maybe some others coming in to get a bite to eat. 

Supper was sometimes heavy, sometimes light.  But the fact remained that the last café in Lamont had closed.  The only other place to be served something to eat without going out of town was the tavern. Now taverns come in all stripes and dispositions, but this one was not a community sort of place.  People felt uncomfortable going in to the tavern to eat.

What had become evident to the good people of Lamont was that they needed a place to share a meal, share their news, and build community.  The need for such a place had become evident through its absence.  I am happy to report that the church, with the help of an inventive and outgoing United Methodist pastor, got together and decided to open such a place.  It is called Common Grounds, and it is a simple coffee-and-sandwiches café- nothing very complicated, but it is volunteer rich, has strong grassroots support, and is a place for community building.  On Sunday mornings the high school groups of all the churches gather there.  Throughout the week members of the community gather for breakfast, coffee, and other meals.  People recognized that it was important to have a place in town to share food.” (p.38-39)

We were blessed this past week to share in worship and a meal with people from our community.  As contemporary worship ended, youth from our community traveled from the sanctuary to the social hall and joined us for a meal.  We had plenty of food, plenty of space and lots of good conversations. 

A well-known Lutheran Theologian, and one of my favorite seminary professors, Dr. Timothy Wengert, began class each day with prayer.  One day he began this way… “Dear Lord, your hold us in the palm of your hands….”  And then he completely forgot what he was going to say next.  As he gently paused….and thought….and breathed…he found the words to continue.  “Don’t drop us. Amen.”

That was it.  As he shared this experience with others, he said he had this great train of thought that he just lost….and he was left with this simple, yet all-encompassing prayer.

Because that is all we ask…the God hold us and never let us go. 

And God will hold us, God will provide for us…and God will never, ever let us go.

God continues to hold us and to provide for us in abundance through family, food, shelter this place of worship, just to name a few.  How do you see that abundance around you…and see the needs of others, too? 

How are you able to share that abundance with others? 

May our words and actions spring forth from God’s abundance and show and share that abundance with others.