As the holidays have begun to arrive, there has been a sense of excitement for the season coupled with the reality of the increasing severity of the pandemic. In my time at Common Art, I hadn’t yet seen the virus impact community members so directly. Now I have begun to see community members experiencing loss, and relatives of community members being hospitalized. It felt like the virus slowly crept closer and closer to home at Common Art. This has been tough to see as folks worry about their own safety and struggle with grief. As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time with community members hearing and reading stories about their loved ones. Without the ability to see relatives for the holidays, it’s been really lovely to hear about folks’ families or friends and honor those that can’t be with us in the space.
Monthly Archives: December 2020
Everything happens next.
Advent 4B, December 20, 2020. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16. The Lord will make you a house. (Poof!)
Romans 16:25-27. Now to God…be the glory forever. Amen.
Luke 1:26-38. Here I am, the servant of the Lord.
Romans 16:25-27. Now to God…be the glory forever. Amen.
Luke 1:26-38. Here I am, the servant of the Lord.
O God in whom is heaven, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
This Advent, Emmanuel Church has begun repenting of – turning-around from — theological and liturgical words and images that set up “darkness bad/light good” teachings, because language is a powerful tool, which we can use in dismantling white supremacy in the Church, especially the unconscious kind. We have stopped using darkness as a metaphor for sin or for evil, because the Bible teaches us that to God, darkness and light are both alike. [1] Therefore, darkness cannot be only profane, and lightness only holy. Dark and light can both be beautiful and grace-filled. Dark and light can both be terrifying and terrible.
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Fantastic News!
Advent 3B, December 13, 2020. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 66:1-4, 8-11. To give them a garland instead of ashes.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. May the God of peace sanctify you entirely.
John 1:6-8, 19-28. There was a man sent from God….He came to testify to the light….The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24. May the God of peace sanctify you entirely.
John 1:6-8, 19-28. There was a man sent from God….He came to testify to the light….The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
O God of grace and mercy, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may, and cost what it will.
This Advent, I’ve been paying particularly close attention to our opening prayers, our collect for each Sunday. Our collect for this third Sunday in Advent pleads with the Holy One to stir up power and with great might come among us with bountiful grace and mercy because our sins are sorely hindering us. I love this prayer, and it also scares me. It’s not that I disagree with the idea that our sins are sorely hindering us; it’s just that I’d rather be praying, “Settle down, O God, so that we can have a peaceful and happy holiday season. Settle us down, O Desire of Nations, so that we can read or listen to the news without anxiety, fear, rage, or despair. Dear Jesse’s Branch, please don’t stir us up too much, because we’ve already been through it this year, between the ravages of COVID, the ravages of racism, and the ravages of weather-related disasters.” Here, however, is John the Baptist bearing witness to the powerful brightness of the coming Christ.
Turn around!
Advent 2B, December 6, 2020. The Rev. Pamela L. Werntz
Isaiah 40:1-11 Cry out!
2 Peter 3:8-15a Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
Mark 1:1-8 He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
O God of the prophets, may we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage to seek always and everywhere after truth – come when it may and cost what it will.
Every year our branch of Christianity gives us a new year, advent, a new season for longing to hear and respond to lessons of prophetic wisdom and calls for repentance writ large. This morning our collect for the day gathers us as one to beg for grace to heed the prophets’ warnings and forsake our sins, our collective sins: the sins of our communities, corporations, governments, and churches. We beg for grace because we surely cannot forsake our sins without grace. If the good news is that God’s grace is abundantly available to us, all around us, completely accessible for the asking, then what? How do we drink from the deep well of God’s grace so that we heed the prophetic warnings and forsake our sins?
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