Listening for signs and wonders

Dear People of Christ Church,
This morning, I've been organizing for our conversation tonight with Rob and Christine about preparing for death; we have a booklet, A Christian Prepares for Death, which will be available tonight and online, and there are some terrific new resources on the medical side from the Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment website-it's based around a newly available form for medical guidance for those who are terminally ill, but it also has some other great Q and A around the different choices we face at the end of our lives. Still, I hope to see you tonight at 7pm, in the clergy office (come through any of the doors, with the exception of the front door of the church itself). If you can't come, I'll upload the document to our online library, or I can send you a hard copy if you want.

I'm also still feeling "wow"ed by our Bible Study conversation on the Acts of the Apostles on Sunday; about nine of us gathered for a phenomenal conversation. One new member talked about receiving more generous help than he ever could have imagined, quite out of the blue, and how it took him years to accept that he just happened to have met an angel in the cornfields of Iowa, and to stop trying to pay back the one who helped him. It's hard to be vulnerable, to give voice to our need and to share our suffering-even harder to accept help where it comes and just receive it gracefully. Erin Jensen started out our conversation with her own questions about the way the biblical writers talk about "signs and wonders"-at Christ Church we've never baptized 3,000 in a day, and we don't cast out too many evil spirits or cure diseases, either. There are smaller miracles everywhere, but in the midst of working or parenting or just trying to keep up with contemporary life, it can be hard to be alert to them. When I'm paying attention, the absolute trust and love of my daughter reaching up her hand into mind is a mind-blowing miracle, but only if I can see her. The fact is, the biblical world was different; God meets us in different ways, but meets us, all the same.

I'm also looking forward to our reflection and action discussion after church on June 23, a week from this Sunday. We'll meet in small groups (each facilitated by a vestry member) to talk about what's going well and what new things we'd like to see happen at Christ Church. This was planned separately from the Hartford Seminary Survey (see below if you haven't done yours yet!)-so if it seems like we're doing an awful lot of reflecting about what we do and how, you're right. And for now, that's just what we need to do. Our world is changing so rapidly, and while the mission of God is the same, the way we implement that mission as God's people is not eternally the same. The "Waltham Churchman" is no longer delivered to your mailbox every week-instead, most of you are reading this on your computer, smart phone, or iPad screen. Rev. Ekwall and I are working toward to serve the same mission of education, reflection, and communication, but using the tools that are in front of us. We, individually and as a church, can always be transformed more and more into the likeness of the God who created us. But-looking for those "signs and wonders" as the apostles did-we have to pay attention in a new way.  Finally, please mark your calendar for the "Listening Group" at Redeemer Lexington to reflect on what our diocese hopes for in our next bishop, June 27 at 7pm.

Blessings,
Sara+