Tea ceremony

This afternoon the Canada Bay Council hosted a tea party. It was nice to meet my favourite Fair Trade tea suppliers Kenteco in person on a lovely autumn afternoon. After a busy weekend writing questions for the Australian Medical Council examinations, I caught the train home and arrived at McIlwaine Park just in time for the last Chinese tea ceremony of the day. This was so professionally performed. Juxtaposed with two of the audience volunteers being young girls who responded so well to the formality of the occasion. It was a joy to see. The blessing - how something so apparrently simple as a cup of tea can be provided with such care, respect and attention to detail. New discipline for this next week of Lent: seek to attend fully to each person in daily interactions. And remember the importance of enlivening the tea before brewing it. I didn't take a camera - so pic below is from Google but looks similar to today's experience.

Signs of hope

A Northern Hemisphere Friday Five from Songbird this week, quoting one of my all time favourite scripture passages with a geographically inclusive invitation to reflect. Thanks Songbird.
¹¹¹²¹³My beloved speaks and says to me: “Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. Song of Solomon 2:10-13

In the late, late winter, as the snow begins to recede here in Maine, we begin to look almost desperately for signs of spring, signs of hope that the weather has turned and a new day is on the horizon. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter and Spring twine inextricably, the crocuses and daffodils peeking through the Earth as we await the risen Christ.

Share with us five signs of hope that you can see today or have experienced in the past.

1. Gentle rain refreshing the parched earth
2. Brilliant purple flowers on our 'Lent tree' (a eucalypt but I don't know it's name)
3. Niece and partner planning their marriage next month
4. Whitney's blog of daily grace
   
5. Cheryl's blog of raw reality and signs of hope
   

Bonus: And in relation to that scripture - since reading this in Maurice Andrew's commentary they have a special place in my heart. He writes "Marvin Pope writes that the sound of the cooing of the turtledoves, which returned to Palestine in early April, was a sure sign of spring." (italics mine). In the midst of the devastation that so many in our local, national and international communities face today, I do hope and pray that there will be not only signs of hope but sure signs of hope. Sacramental somehow.

It feels like Spring

A seasonal Friday Five from Sophia this week. She writes:

The pastor of my grad school parish once gave a fascinating reflection, at about this mid-point in the season, called "How to Survive the Mid-Lent Crisis"! As I recall, his main point was that by halfway through the season we have often found it very challenging to live up to our original plans....But, he suggested--on the analogy of the healing and reframing of our life plans that can happen during a mid-*life* crisis--that that can be even more fruitful.

So here's an invitation to check in on the state of your spirit midway through "this joyful season where we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed" (Roman Missal). Hopefully there's a good deal of grace, and not too much crisis, in your mid-Lenten experience!

1. Did you give up, or take on, anything special for Lent this year?
UCA has this great spiritual discipline called Lent Event that involves prayer, Bible Study, connection with partner church projects beyond Australia and forgoing an item of discretionary spending and contributing the money not spent to aid and development. I've 'given up' alcohol and buying magazines and 'took on' the Lent Event daily prayer and weekly Bible Study.

2. Have you been able to stay with your original plans, or has life gotten in the way?
Yes pretty much. I have missed a few days of the prayer cycle - but made them up as it were by reading two or three at the next opportunity. I had a glass of wine last night with two colleagues - building the relationship seemed more important that declining the offer.

3. Has God had any surprising blessings for you during this Lent?
Including the story of Noah in the lection for the first week has opened my eyes to the importance of creation and 'green' living as a Lenten - and lifelong discipline. The Lent Event byline is Lent for Life and that is especially relevant to living lightly on the earth.

4. What is on your inner and/or outer agenda for the remainder of Lent and Holy Week?
Seeing Sally's recent post on the Imposter Syndrome I'm plan to bite back any self-deprecatory statements and inwardly and outwardly project the confident competent professional and see what happens.

5. Where do you most long to see resurrection, in your life and/or in the world, this Easter?
The impact of the global economic crisis on poverty is going to be massive. I long to see a change in our mentality when this crisis is as urgent as rescuing our developed economies.

Bonus: Share a favorite scripture, prayer, poem, artwork, or musical selection that speaks Lenten spring to your heart.
Referring back to the title of this post - I was just thinking during the week that it feels Spring rather than autumn. Our Lent Tree (I have no idea of it's actual name) began flowering on Ash Wednesday and is now a mass of purple blossoms. The weather is warm and we are having regular showers of rain (I remember my grandparent used to say April showers bring May flowers which I assume was a northern hemisphere expression). The recurring hymn in my heart is one we sang last Sunday:

Prayers for worship - Lent 2

Adoration and confession
Godde beyond our comprehension
You brought the universe to birth and
you alone can plumb the depth of the deepest ocean
We can never know
or even begin to know
your greatness
We stand in awe

Yet you, the Godde of all that can ever be
choose to live in relationship with us
You sing us to yourself
and we respond with an echo of your song
which may be faint
but which fills us to overflowing
with praise to you

In Jesus we catch a glimpse of your likeness
and we name him Christ
fulfiller of the deepest longings of our hearts
We are oversome with your love and generosity

Yet how little we understand
In this season of Lent
we want there to be some other way
We are so quickly tempted
to believe that your anointed one
can come in power and avoid suffering and pain

We seek a comforting faith in testing times
and avoid the testing that comes with faith
Move in us by your Holy Spirit we pray
and empower us to be true followers of Jesus Christ
In whose name we pray
Amen

Prayer for ourselves and others
God of compassion
We hold your people in our hearts
and take a moment now
to name before you
those people who are held in our hearts

...

Creating promise-keeping Godde
We seek to stand with you
in protecting and saving your world

We thank you for our brothers and sisters
who rebuke our consumption
and call us to reduce
our carbon use
who lead the way
in living more lightly
with greater respect
for your creation

Help us to encourage and sustain them
to stand with them
as they help us understand what we know
and what we don't know
about the universe
and to respond appropriately

We pray today for those
who are being rebuked inappropriately
For pastors in the Philippines
imprisoned unjustly
For political prisoners around the planet
For every hurt caused by
harsh words or hasty action

Help us to advocate for change
and as we respond to your testing
to find out what we are capable of

We pray for our country Godde
For the First Australians
Guardians of the land

and keepers of tradition
And for settlers from migrations
in more recent centuries

We pray for our governments and institutions
at this time of economic testing
Guide us all to make wise decisions
that protect the vulnerable
and empower the weak

(Lent Event prayer written by Kerry Enright, Director, UnitingWorld)
We look north to the nation of Timor Leste
a country emerging from pain and foreign rule
a people in whose culture and life you, deep God,
have invested yourself.

We invite you to remember them,
their yearning for peace toughened through Dili fires,
their desire for security deepened by homelessness,
their hope for a positive future shaken
as a wounded leader struggled for life,
and faith so evidently present.

We pray for cooperation between clans,
medicines for healing,
staff to listen and respond and
international solidarity that sustains the spirit.

We pray for our partner Igreja Protestante iha Timor Lorosa’e
(the Protestant Church in Timor-Leste)−
for sound and responsive leadership,
openness to all people
and a life shaped by your Word,
Jesus Christ himself,
through whom we pray.

Amen.