By Rose Marie Barger
An article on the possibility of jubilee in the wake of the pandemic.
EMMAUS BLOG
“And the People Stayed Home”
By Kitty O’Meara
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
Bishop Eaton: Mental Health & Faith
Not Going Back to “Normal”
Juan Carlos La Puente of the Oregon Synod shares a powerful message with us about not escaping vulnerability but making room for and protecting the most vulnerable.
Sermon Snippet — Earth Day Insights
This snippet is from Pastor Rachel’s Earth Day sermon this past Sunday.
“As followers of Christ, we too are called to participate in God’s reconciling work.
This means that we too have a relationship with creation, we too have a
responsibility to love and care for and embrace all that God has made. In his book,
Coming Home to Earth, my father, Mark Brocker, writes that we tend to take care
of things that are important to us. He encourages us to spend time enjoying
creation and finding our deep connectedness with all that is around us. In this way
we grow to love the earth on which we are privileged to live. This love of creation
helps us understand the nature of our relationship with the earth and God and leads
us to toward a sense of responsibility in how we engage with natural resources,
plants, animals, the sky, and all the wonders of this planet.
“In a time in which so much of what is beyond ourselves and our homes causes us
pain and trepidation, remembering that, just outside our windows, God is revealing
God’s self to us in the beauty of creation can be a great comfort. The coronavirus
hasn’t stopped the birds from singing or the rhododendrons from blooming. The
mighty waves of the ocean continue to roll in, even though we can’t go see them right now.
“The delicious fruits of spring still grow, feeding our bodies that we hope
to keep healthy. There is no virus or crisis that can keep us from the revelation of
God’s goodness and love.”
Amen!
“For the Beauty of the Earth”
If you joined us for worship on Sunday, you got to see and hear Peggy Langford share a beautiful solo. Set alongside the soothing sounds of the Willamette River, this is a great piece for calming the soul and meditating upon God’s goodness. Enjoy!
