Monthly Archives: May 2023

Memorial Day reminders …

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“We wait, our Father, until at last something of thy strength becomes our strength, something of thy heart becomes our heart, something of thy forgiveness becomes our forgiveness. We wait, O God, we wait.” ~ Howard Thurman

The quote above seems valuable this day after Pentecost. Yesterday’s worship may have been a valuable reminder of this stirring. Today brings an opportunity to continue that recollection and associated actions…

It’s a Christian Playbook tradition to point folks to the Guideposts article A Devotion for Memorial Day by Fred Bauer. This provides some historical perspective on the holiday and Fred’s holiday practice with his mother.

This article and holiday offers time for reflection and various activities along the lines of…

  • Thinking of those who’ve passed
  • Decorating graves
  • Reminding loved ones of what will happen with us (perhaps with Binder of a Lifetime activities?)
  • Honoring memories as we see fit

POSSIBLE ACTION: If you feel the urge, consider taking a 5-15 minute stroll through a cemetery you pass along your way today. Pray for those buried there, their sacrifices, their families and the love that they shared. Maybe some flowers come along with you? Then, maybe it’s time for a phone call to someone whose memory you’d like to celebrate while they are still alive?

PRAYER (from the Guideposts article)

Teach us, Lord, the best way to pay an unpayable debt

is to show with our lives that we didn’t forget.

May this Memorial Day be filled with memories, actions and the Spirit!

 

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 4, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

You may enjoy the comic HERE that’s newly added to the humor page below? 🙂

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

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We Wait…

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“We wait, our Father, until at last something of thy strength becomes our strength, something of thy heart becomes our heart, something of thy forgiveness becomes our forgiveness. We wait, O God, we wait.” ~ Howard Thurman

The quote above is from a “Never Late” post from Our Daily Bread (HERE.) Not all of us can take the “culture was different here for its own good reasons” perspective that the pastor referenced was able to embody.

Hmmmm… How does reading the “Never Late” ODB post – read in the context of our recent climate crisis commentary – strike you?

May our days ahead be filled with Spirit-filled ways of making positive differences in our world, even if requiring a little longer wait than some might appreciate …

 

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 28, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

You may enjoy the comic HERE that’s newly added to the humor page below? 🙂

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Not Too Late…

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Okay, so perhaps the Spirit was encouraging the previous re-post with the Iona creed? 🙂 Or was it a recent visit to a place where Machiavelli was a focus?

While considering the climate crisis, worry can invade. Perhaps that’s when the Iona Creed and supportive folks around us can stir us to action, even if a little humiliation and discomfort come along for the ride?

For me (and this CP community,) reader/contributor Andy has been a blessing. He shares the Not Too Late Climate webpage HERE . It’s a wonderful resource, encouraging us to Inform, Imagine and Act (IIA) relating to climate issues.

Should you feel so inclined, check out the website. The linked articles provide additional opportunities for information, potentially triggering imagination and action.

May our days ahead be filled with Spirit-filled IIA ways making a positive difference …

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 21, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Iona: With-us God…

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Have you dreamed of traveling to Scotland? Multiple friends have recommended Iona as a location to visit. For some of us – whether we visit there or not – the Iona community is inspiring in affirmation of faith, song and more. You can read their entire affirmation of faith HERE.

A portion of that affirmation of faith is

“…We commit ourselves to work for change
and put ourselves on the line;
to bear responsibility, take risks,
live powerfully
and face humiliation;
to stand with those on the edge;
to choose life and be used by the Spirit
for God’s new community of hope. Amen”

~ Iona Affirmation of Faith

Is this powerful, or what?

It’s certainly not human nature to support all of these principles. Yet, armed with the Spirit (and a community for examples and spurring us on,) it can increasingly become part of our lives.

In what ways do you feel the tugging of new/continued efforts for love and good works? May our commitment in some small way be energized by the words from the Iona community…

Enjoy the day, including the tugging from the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 21, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Shepherds-in-Training (Continued)…

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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  

~ Psalm 23:4

[The Shepherds-in-Training series is a repeat, but worthy of review every couple years…]

How does walking through the valley of the shadow of death alter life?

In her Remember That You Are Dust series interview (HERE) in 2021, Associate Pastor Lisa Bernheisel shares of her cancer journey in a very powerful way.

  • The transition from “running from death” to “dancing with death”
  • Concerns about being alone. Of being forgotten
  • Then there’s the commentary about savoring each moment (HERE)
  • And the commentary on creating a Death Plan (HERE)

Sadly, Lisa’s mortal journey ended in 2023. Our gratitude to Lisa for sharing her story and perspectives on dancing in the midst of the valley is immense! Her witness reminds us that we’re all “dancing with death,” whether we want to face it or not.

May we enjoy this day, dancing with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 14, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Shepherds-in-Training…

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Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.  

~ Psalm 23:4

[This posting is a repeat, but seems worthy of review every couple of years, especially with an eye on the Prospective Activity…]

Many of us marvel at the resilience that pastors, chaplains, counselors and other professionals have while helping others through the deep valleys of the human experience. Our prayers of strength and support are with these good folks. We hope that the gratitude from recipients and others arrives in varying forms – a note, a tearful attempt at a smile, a hug, a phone call, …  Interviews like this one (HERE) with Rector Roger Greene in the Remember That You Are Dust series provide insight into such situations.

We can rely on the Biblical image of the Good Shepherd plus many Shepherds-in-Training figures in our lives. These pastors, friends and important others can so frequently be wonderful Christ-like examples, helping us to new aspirations in our own journeys as lay ministers. We are grateful for their shepherding efforts!

PROSPECTIVE ACTIVITY Set your phone timer, oven timer or other such timer for 10 minutes. Now, think of a friend(s) possibly dealing with near-valley experiences now. Make plans to send a note, place a call or find another way to express support to them. Perhaps even include one of your favorite Bible verses or song refrains as part of the experience? 

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, May 14, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

DevotionalPraying handsSingendes Quartett3StudyMobius strip