Cool Sunday

56 degrees this morning - wow! Excellent!

I put on my flannel shirt for my walk. This is my kind of weather. I know people who thrive in the heat and humidity we had the past couple of weeks. I am not one of them. I'm a spring/autumn/winter girl.

At the same time, I have to say I love the lushness that the rains, even torrential rains, since last Sunday have brought to my gardens.

We've been exploring prayer this summer instead of having sermons on Sunday mornings. One of the ways we thought of prayer - "doing" as prayer - was gardening. The gardener who brought it up said that gardening is, for her, praying for the earth. I like it.

This summer instead of oral lists of prayers we have been observing silence as we write our prayers on the paper altar covering at our outdoors services. Last week the people from Iglesia Betania joined us. This was new for them. After the service they asked if it was only the sick who get their names on the covering. I said any prayers could be written there. They picked up pencils and crayons and started writing.

Our second Sunday outdoors it was so cool, and so many of our elderly women came, that we went inside and raided the chest of prayer shawls and wrapped them all  up in warm prayers knitted and crocheted into those shawls. I wonder if we will need those shawls this morning! There could be worse things than a morning so cool we need to wrap one another up in prayers.

As I walked the labyrinth, at the end of my walk around the neighborhood this morning, my mind was full of all my worries. They just keep going round and round. Now, it's darned hard to walk the labyrinth without keeping your eyes on the path. But doing that contributed to my focusing on my worry-go-round. So I walked the second half, walking out, with my eyes focused on the neighborhood, the rapidly changing angle of the sun, the lush vegetation and foliage, the colors, the coolness of the air. I had 75% success in keeping my focus outward and that is a big deal - a very big deal indeed.

A blessed Sunday to you all. Peace.

Dreamin'

I wanna dress like Queen Latifa in Beauty Shop. I'm built just like her - well, except for being short where she's statuesque...But oh, she makes no bones about her curves!

From Lauren f. Winner's "Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis"

"...I am not the author of my prayers; when they come, they come from God." (page 77)

This is my experience. I show up; I participate, sometimes. I have known, sometimes, that I am participating in God's prayer. I never thought, however, that even my cries for help do not originate with me but in God. That blows my mind! (cross-posted from my blog Julian House Retreats)

A word to President Obama

Dear Mr. President,

I just had the most brilliant idea. If Joe Biden runs with you as VP again, he'll be too old in four years to be a viable candidate for President.

SOOOO...here's what y'all do.

Joe announces that he is not running as VP this year. He's retiring. Instead, Hillary Clinton will be running with you as your VP. That way the Democratic party has a viable VP to run as President four years from now!

Sincerely,
The Rambling Rose

This Blog Supports Marriage Equality

It's not marriage yet, but the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church headquartered in NYC, meeting in Convention in Indianapolis, have ratified the passage by the House of Bishops of resources for blessing same sex unions. Read all about it here, at Episcopal Cafe.

I am personally delighted! Thank you, God. Thank you, Blessed Savior. Thank you, muchas muchas gracias, Holy Spirit!

With great thanksgiving

Today my church, The Episcopal Church, meeting in Convention in Indianapolis, expanded its inclusiveness. Please go to this link at Episcopal Cafe for the story.

This blog supports The Episcopal Church, and this blog supports the passage of today's resolution adding, officially, gender identity and gender expression to the non-discrimination canons of TEC.

Thanks be to God!