An Inch At A Time: Reflections on the Journey: Grace in Action

Friday, October 17, 2008

Grace in Action

Today's my day off -- the first one I've had in a little longer than I want to admit. And so I'm off to a self-indulgent start: doing some blog-surfing in between bill paying while the laundry and dishwasher happily hum in the background.

Later I'll head out to enjoy the beautiful-day-in-the-neighborhood and hopefully take in a movie with my sweetie this evening. Oh ... and a haircut. I most DEFINITELY need a haircut.

But first I wanted to post up this opportunity to invite you into a little taste of what mission and ministry at All Saints Church in Pasadena looks like:

These are members of our Prayer Shawl Ministry. The pictures are from our Celebration of Ministries Sunday a few weeks ago, but there's also a 3 minute video that just went out to parish members this week as one of our stewardship witnesses.

I'd love for you to watch it. It came via email with this note from our rector, Ed Bacon:

I invite you to enjoy the following short video. It tells the story of our prayer shawl ministry, which makes the prayers of the parish tangible in the shawls that bring warmth and comfort to people in need. Together this video and the community of spirit that produced it are invitations to inspiration and calls for commitment. Your support of All Saints Church makes this important Pastoral Care ministry possible.

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So settle back and take 3 minutes to see the side of All Saints Church that isn't about the stuff you usually read about us ... the powerful pastoral work that goes on 24/7 in Pasadena and beyond as we work to turn the human race into the human family -- with our politics AND with our prayer shawls!

Grace in Action: The Prayer Shawl Ministry

4 comments:

Amie said...: Thank you for the link, Susan.

We are trying to start a Prayer Shawl ministry here. I have a number of women intersted and am trying to gather information. I think I will show the video during announcements on Sunday.

Love and Prayers,
Ann Marie; 10:56 AM
JCF said...: A local prayer shawl ministry made a shawl for my mother shortly after she was diagnosed w/ ALS (they made one for my father, too): it was one of the last things she was wrapped in, when she died a year ago.

I tremendously grateful for those (of both sexes!) who make these lovely, blessed and useful shawls.; 1:42 PM
Unknown said...: Thank you so much for sharing this video with us all. I've passed this along to the knitting ministry at our parish!; 5:47 PM
uffda51 said...: This is a GREAT ministry. I've been a shawl recipient and am so grateful to be part of this community of faith.; 11:55 AM

... where I try to be really clear about what I'm clear about. For example:

Religious persecution is when you're prevented from exercising your beliefs, not when you're prevented from IMPOSING your beliefs.

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Using "biblical standards" to condemn those who understand that sexual orientation is morally neutral makes as much sense as using "biblical standards" to condemn astronomers who understand that the earth revolves around the sun. The Bible may have said it but that doesn't always settle it.

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It's liberty and justice for all -- not some. It's respect the dignity of every human being -- not just straight ones. Got it? Great. Let's do it.

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In order to keep moving forward toward liberty and justice for all we can't just be right about what the 1st Amendment protects. We have to be smart about how we respond to those who skipped the 9th Commandment and think lying is a Traditional Family Value.

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Jesus said "Love your neighbor." Not "Love your neighbor unless your neighbor is gay."

Smart things other people have said you should know about

“Faith in action is called politics. Spirituality without action is fruitless and social action without spirituality is heartless. We are boldly political without being partisan. Having a partisan-free place to stand liberates the religious patriot to see clearly, speak courageously, and act daringly.” -- Ed Bacon

“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"It's time for "tolerant" religious people to acknowledge the straight line between the official anti-gay theologies of their denominations and the deaths of these young people. Nothing short of changing our theology of human sexuality will save these young and precious lives." -- The Rt Rev Gene Robinson

"How can you initiate someone into the Body of Christ and then treat them like they’re half-assed baptized?" - The Rt Rev Barbara Harris

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ~ Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize

"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these." — Siddhārtha Gautama

"I'm so glad Mary didn't wait for the formulation of a Doctrine of the Incarnation before she said 'Yes' to God." -- Ed Bacon

"The great Easter truth is not that we will be born again someday but that we are to be alive here and now by the power of the resurrection." -- Philips Brooks (paraphrase)

"History belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being.” -- Walter Wink

“Patience, a quality of holiness may be sloth in the soul when associated with the lack of righteous indignation.” -- Abraham Heschel

"Don't tell me what you believe. Tell me what difference it makes that you believe!" -- Verna Dozier

“We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief. Nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief. At the same time as our constitution prohibits state religion, establishment of it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral.” -- Ronald Reagan

Let's be clear. The fact that the State authorizes a marriage in no way compels any Church to perform or recognize it. Marriage equality merely guarantees equality under the law to all citizens; it does not compel churches to do anything.-- Katherine Ragsdale