Practicing Resurrection, Soaking It In

Friends,

I had a high time this past week as my mom would say. I return home floating along on the residual bliss from last week, a beautiful, song filled Liberation worship service dedicated to the people of Haiti - complete with Rebecca sitting next to me in the pew, and signs of new life all around the neighborhood in the cherry blossoms and in my relationship with R. Praise God and all of us practicing resurrection.

I am posting my sermon text in a separate post. I could feel your prayers all week. Or at least that's what I'm crediting for feeling so damn calm, centered, and palpably blissed out all week - your prayers and feeling aligned with myself and God that is. Thank you. Thank you very, very much. I took your affirmations and suggestions for proclaiming to heart. The week and my sermon went so well I went back to the chapel after the service and prayed to God to humble me I felt so high.

The participants accepted me and respected my leadership. I was the youngest person there. I think the oldest person might have been Clem at 85. He proclaimed at the end of our drumming circle on Thursday night - "Now that's music!" We had a pretty good age spread. The leadership team worked really, really well together. The faculty shared beautiful stories, wisdom from experience, and questions for reflection, meditation, and life integration. I've been quite happily taken underwing by a new mentor. The room I stayed in felt bigger than my apt - may be something about sleeping on a mattress up off the floor and having space to walk on both sides of the bed. Enough room in front of the bed to unroll my yoga mat and look out to Puget Sound and beautiful trees.

All week I felt like a sponge. Soaking up the landscape, the birds, the participants, the leadership invitation, the microphone (who knew? I think I was channeling a little SMK ham this week), dressing the altar everyday and lighting candles, reading poetry (scheduled and spontaneous), the faculty, the prayer, our honest, tender, silence and laughter filled covenant group, Eucharist everyday, the daily unsolicited affirmations, dining companions at every meal, comparing "stuff" with RB, long walks and good conversations (thank you, Denise!), a mini-reunion with 3 of the members of my 2-year Academy covenant group, being stationed with sweet Mary for the healing service. I haven't even mentioned the retired prison chaplain yet - 20 years of experience in Washington State prisons. I got to have a couple really good conversations with him and invited him to lead worship with me on Friday. We were in the sacristy putting our robes on before the service preparing to pray and I was looking at myself in the mirror situating my Sri Lankan cross on my la-la rosary beads around my neck. He looked at me and said "you look beautiful."

I liked being in that robe and I come home feeling the power and the FREEDOM in being a lay person. I had a couple people ask me one day "are you ordained or just ordinary?" I was proud to answer "just ordinary." Thinking about this later in the week after a conversation with RB about extraordinary gifts. I like being ordinary, I might even like being extra ordinary more.

I'm glad to be home. I think this week will be marinating in me for awhile.

I can hear Robert's Nashville accent as he prays:

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Jesus; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. In the name of the One who created us, the One who redeems us, and the One who will sustain us until we are home. Amen."

Amen.

Sweet dreams.

Good night.