a day full of rest

Up at 7 am - unlike Sally, my refrigerator mate, I did not walk around the gorgeous chautauqua lake this morning to see the sunrise. maybe tomorrow. I did got to "church" 4 times today!

#1 at 9:30 am was worshipping at the Lutheran House (where I played the piano) & Pastor Wayne Koenig of Hudson, Ohio preached the word - a beautifully gentle message from I Kings 3 where the Lord tells Solomon during a dream "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." When Solomon asked for a wise & discerning heart, the Lord answered his prayer. Pastor Koenig recalled being a young boy & thinking if he asked for the "correct" things as did Solomon, then the Lord would then give him that bicycle he had been wanting & would make him the fastest runner in his class! So he prayed for the things he thought he was "supposed" to pray for. Pastor Koenig then made the point that we don't have to ask God for what we think we are supposed to ask, but we can take any & all of our thoughts & needs to God.

#2 at 10:45 am was worshipping at the amphitheater - an overwhelming & awesome experience to say the least. Pastor Raphael Warnock of the Historical Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King, Jr preached from Psalm 103 on Blessing the God who blesses us. As an aside, the Hebrew word for blessing is Barak. Dr. Warnock described the process of blessing as being vertical (God blessing us), horizontal (us blessing each other) and he added a third way - us blessing God. The poem has 22 lines he said - the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. It's like saying God's Hesed or steadfast love covers it all. We would say from A to Z. He then proceeded to work his way through the alphabet describing God!

#3 at 5:00 pm was Vespers at another smaller more intimate outdoor setting, the Hall of Philosophy. Here Dr. Warnock shared his faith journey.

#4 at 8:00 pm was Sacred Song Service at the amphitheater, an evening of Voices, Brass and Organ. We sang, we listened to Chautauqua's 200 + member choir. We worshipped God through the power & joy of music. I'll close with the Litany of Thanksgiving, from "A Simple Evening Liturgy", Iona Abbey Worship Book:

O God, for your love for us, warm and brooding,
which has brought us to birth and opened our eyes
to the wonder and beauty of creation,
we give you thanks.

For your love for us, wild and freeing,
which has awakened us to the energy of creation:
to the sap that flows,
the blood that pulses,
the heart that sings,
we give you thanks.

For your love for us, compassionate and patient,
which has carried us through our pain,
wept beside us in our sin,
and waited with us in our confusion,
we give you thanks.

For your love for us, strong and challenging,
which has called us to risk for you,
asked for the best in us,
and shown us how to serve,
we give you thanks.

O God, we come to celebrate
that your Holy Spirit is present deep within us,
and at the heart of all life.
Forgive us when we forget your gift of love
made known to us in Jesus,
and draw us into your presence. Amen.