Thursday, December 6, 2012

December 6, 2012


Outside, the thick layer of snow has made our front street quiet. The birds, the dogs, even the cars seem less noisy than they did the day before yesterday.

Inside, the Advent wreath at church holds a newly lit candle. Kindling it brings us to a gentle moment of prayer. In the midst of the seasonal bustle, Advent brings a quiet spirituality.

This gentle quiet can open us to hear the hard spiritual questions that confound us at this time of year. Is there a hurt lurking? Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone who needs you to pray for them? Is there anyone who doesn’t?

The deep spiritual practice of prayer can bring quiet into the bustle. It can be the reason for stepping forward toward healing. And it can be the grace to accept renewal, reconciliation, and release.

The quiet spirituality of Advent echoes softly with a carol:
      See, amid the winter’s snow, candles flicker, light is low.
      Listen for the angel song: peace and joy, awaited long.
      Bring your prayers and hopes and dreams,
      Offer love with all it seems,
      Time to let the grudges go. Sing a love song in the snow.


Gentle blessings of Advent to you,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, October 25, 2012

October 25, 2012


When they finally got the Temple up in Jerusalem, the story goes, it sounded as though Solomon had done the whole thing. He cut stone, paneled cedar, gilded with gold, and spoke the words of dedication. Other parts of the story list the tens of thousands of people who lifted the heavy stone, cut the trees, set the gilding, and showed up to sing hymns of praise to God. Either way you look at it, it’s a big job to get a temple built.

Building the Temple marked a culmination of desire: to have a place to call holy, where divinity could be met and faith could be understood. Funny thing, though, God didn’t set a limit to the threshold of holiness. People would argue for generations about where God could be found. In Jerusalem, outside Jerusalem; in a temple, in a place of nature’s beauty: people got hot under the collar about it.

I guess we do, too. That’s not just an archaic argument. Are you religious or spiritual?

I believe there’s not a necessary division between religion and spirituality. Religion without spirituality can be dull, rigorous and empty. Spirituality without religion can be self-serving, unfocused and ungenerous.

Put them together, though, and there’s lively worship, meaningful conversation and significant outreach. If I have anything to learn from Solomon’s ancient temple, it’s that I need a place to learn about God with trusted friends, and that God is wilder than any cage might contain.


Blessings of studied faith and surprising spirit to you,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

October 10, 2012

Thanksgiving in this part of the country is a transition time. We move from the warm golden-yellow world of early fall to the cool leaden-grey colours of late autumn. Activities that have begun are well underway. Sneakers make way for boots. Cotton pullovers get placed in the trunk and wool sweaters come out.


Thanksgiving is primarily a time of gratitude. We have paused to acknowledge the gifts of love, care and harvest that nourish us. We have given thanks to God, the source of that love.

I am aware of a connection between transition and gratitude: the faith that expresses thanks is the deepening faith that can see hope despite difficulty, trust in the face of tears, promise even through betrayal. This is hard living, the living through change.

And change of course is what our bodies and spirits are poised to do. I know that there is some difficulty in your life, and I hope you take some strength from the fact that I pray for you. At church every week there are moments of prayer, spoken or silent, that connect to your circumstances. And while I would never talk about you without asking your permission, you are part of the unspoken prayers in the great communion of saints. You are a part of us: we are not alone.


May you know the blessing of God’s holy presence in the changes you face. And may you know that we are thankful for you.


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, September 20, 2012

September 20, 2012

It is another beautiful day, and I hope you have a spot to sit in a window and soak up the sun. I hope you can see the blue in the sky and the gold coming into the trees. I hope you have a feeling of gratitude in your soul that lifts you beyond your current burdens.

The North Saskatchewan River curves through our city and out through the parkland, flowing east and north to Hudson Bay. Walking the trail through Louise McKinney Park with my dogs Sunday, I was aware of the diversity of people I met and the pleasure I saw on people‘s faces. The movement of the river, dark and deep and cold, doesn’t speak of the variety of human concern it passes: logging in the mountains, hiking on the passes, industry on the flat land, harvesting downstream, and the footfall of ordinary Sunday afternoon strolls like my own. 

We cherish this lovely river valley, and the river’s journey connects us without our effort or thought. Similarly there is a love that holds us, connects us, and energizes us: I become aware of it in prayer. Somewhere, there is someone praying right this minute. The flow of blessing happens even when you and I are busy at industry, business, kitchen work, sleeping, or gazing out the window at the lovely afternoon.

I do hope the beauty of this season gives you inspiration. I deeply hope the presence of love fills your soul. And I draw hope that this love carries the burdens and heals the rifts in our human journey.

Blessings of light and love as we share the burdens of the journey,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, September 6, 2012

September 6, 2012


I appreciate recitations. When I find the pace of things heating up, reciting poetry can slow me down. When I get stuck waiting in a grocery line or in heavy traffic, a familiar passage can bring me patience - or at least distract me. One of my favourites is Matthew
11: 28-30.

 ‘Come to me,
  all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens,
  and I will give you rest.
  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;
  for I am gentle and humble in heart,
  and you will find rest for your souls.
 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

I love the part about rest. What I’ve been thinking about lately, though, is the yoke. Hmm. Oxen are yoked: two oxen, yoked together, pull heavy loads.

Perhaps Jesus is telling us that spiritual rest doesn’t remove the burden. We still live our lives, confronted by circumstances as well as events of our own making. We can draw a breath and rest because we can share our burden. And we, in turn, share his. We are not alone.

We do that for one another in a spiritual community, don’t we? We are given one another to help with our load. And we share burdens we would never know others carry, because of Jesus’ community.

One more thing: a good yoke fits smoothly. Good thing, that, because I know some of your burdens are pretty heavy.



Blessings of companionship as we share the burdens of the journey,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, July 26, 2012

July 26, 2012


When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,

   the moon and the stars that you have established;

what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
from Psalm 8


These summer nights a person has to stay up really late to see the stars. The moon passes through its phases above us, and the thunderclouds roll across the evening skies with power and beauty.


No wonder our ancestors in faith attributed each vista of beauty and each uncontrollable power to God’s creative hand. I am overwhelmed sometimes by the natural wonders around me and awe leads me to praise. Or fear. Or wonder.


I don’t really think God is painting each sunset. But I do believe that God loves this world, and that it is God’s World, not mine. I am part of it and God is mindful of me. Wow. I have that in common with the poet who wrote Psalm 8.


So I am primed for praise. Ready to listen for God’s love when I am afraid. And open to God with wonder, sheer wonder, at the earth and our part as mortals walking around on it.
  

Blessings of beauty and awe to you,




The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Friday, July 13, 2012

July 12, 2012


In the Gospels Jesus is portrayed as a border-crossing man. He went from Galilee to Samaria and back again. He traveled extensively in the region, and stopped in villages, cites, at the seashore and on hillsides. He brought blessing, healing, and wisdom.

Are you crossing borders this summer? Are you traveling across provincial boundaries, or national borders, or into parks? I wonder what it calls out of you to go to a different place: patience perhaps, or wonder or concern.

Perhaps you are enjoying the pleasures of our city this summer. Sunshine, thunderstorms, friendship, family, farmers’ markets: what do they call out of you?

Perhaps again this is a season with a different kind of border crossing. There may be a loved one who is looking toward the final crossing, the mystery of dying. May the blessings of our eternal loving God be with them, and you.

Maybe the border this summer is a line you drew in the sand and now the change is a household change, or an adjustment in your identity. Peace to you.

In all the borders we cross, God goes with us. Jesus went all over the places around him, with blessing, healing, and wisdom. Please trust that we are praying for those spiritual gifts to rest on you.



Blessings,
  
The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, July 5, 2012

July 4, 2012


This week we began our summer Sundays with neighbours at Knox-Metropolitan United Church. For four weeks they will come here and lead worship; we will offer hospitality, refreshments, a program for children, and babyfold care. Then we will be their guests for four weeks and lead worship there. Incidentally, worship time there is at 10:30, half an hour later than here. So if you come this week, come at ten. If you come to worship July 29 – August 19, come at 10:30.

Steven Johann is the minister at Knox-Met, and he preached Sunday. He asked us to look at our hands. Look at yours. How have your hands been busy? What stories could the marks or wrinkles or blemishes tell?

He read the Bible stories from Mark about Jesus healing a woman with a haemorrhage, and a little girl. 
We can restore people in our own ways, he reminded us – how do we use our hands? How do we embody God’s love with the work of our hands? 

Good food for thought. Good question to ponder as you dry dishes, or grasp the car steering wheel, or shake a neighbour’s hand. Good news that we reach out with God.



Blessings,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

June 27, 2012


This year our church Board put a lot of energy into what we believe. An Awesome Faith: Inside Out and Outside In was our theme. What we think affects what we do, and what we do informs how we think.

As it is with individuals and congregations, so it is with denominations. These last few years our United Church has been examining what we believe – we have been so active in our communities, governments and family lives that surely what we believe has been well toned.

Indeed. Our founding denominations created a Statement of Faith just before the inauguration of the United Church in 1925. The writers were quite clear that it was a statement of and for that time. As the years have progressed, our articulations of faith have changed, both in vocabulary and in content. Some articles of faith remain constant too.

Our founders made sure that we would not be a church that requires subscription to a set of beliefs: we don’t shun or excommunicate people for their faith. We encourage conversation, questions, growth, experience, prayer, and the trust that comes from being honest about our doubts as well as our convictions.

From sea to sea to sea, congregational and presbytery leadership have voted clearly to add the 1940 Statement of Faith, We Are Not Alone, and A Song of Faith to our 1925 doctrine. We have the material at St. Paul’s and you are welcome to look at it. Or open united-church.ca and put Our Words of Faith or Remit 6 in the search box. Truly An Awesome Faith: Inside Out and Outside In.    


Blessings,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Friday, June 22, 2012

June 22, 2012


Wednesday I went to City Hall. I drew a breath in Churchill Square. The fountain splashed in the sun, and smiled as I remembered being part of the crowd there last week for Pride. The Art Gallery shone beautifully in the morning sun and of course there were people milling around the Stanley Milner Library, and the open space at the doors of the Winspear. 

I had been invited to give the opening prayer at Edmonton City Council. Each meeting opens with prayer. For 35 years, councillors have begun their deliberations with a voice from our many faith communities. They begin their business in prayer. Wow.

Two items from their agenda are on my mind. The Edmonton Symphony, whose home is the Winspear, played at Carnegie Hall, home to beauty and sound; the orchestra was honoured by Council. 1100 Edmontonians accompanied them to New York. And an Edmonton Transit driver was recognized for his achievement at the 2012 International Bus Roadeo. Larry Waselenchuk placed 5th! I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a bus rodeo.

We live and move and have our being here, where people hear prayers that are familiar and foreign, where music soars and where bus drivers are expert. Hurray for a community that cares.


Blessings,

  
The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

June 12, 2012


Lord, listen to your children praying.
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.
Lord, listen to your children praying.
Send us love, send us power, send us grace.

Right in this time, right here, we call on God to be with us. Smack in the middle of our everyday doing, we ask for God’s grace. Precisely in the dilemmas and discouragements of living, we ask for God’s power. Immediately, no waiting or bargaining, we ask for God’s love.

Sometimes we think of our lives as a journey. We even speak of
passing away when a friend dies. If life is a pilgrimage, then we need places of nourishment, rest and protection along the way. Medieval pilgrims in Europe wore a shell on their cloak or hat, and looked for the mark of a scallop shell to indicate safe haven.     


We find it, too. All along our journey, in all our passages, as pilgrims we find the nourishment, rest and protection our souls need for the living of our days. Believe it: right in this time, right here, in this spot along your journey, as you call on God to be with you, God is. And Sunday, we sang for you:

Lord, listen to your children praying.
Lord, send your Spirit in this place.

Blessings,



The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

May 31, 2012


There is a character in a Dickens novel who travels abroad and in order to be understood by people who don’t speak English, raises his voice. When comprehension doesn’t set in, the voice goes louder.
Sometimes when we have something really important to say, we deliver the message with increasing volume. Sure of our conviction and the usefulness of our information, we increase the volume.
Do you know how frustrating it is to know the answer and not have your listener get it?
Jesus’ disciples had good news to offer, a message that would save lives, mend relationships and change the world. When the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost (Acts 2) “the crowd gathered and was bewildered. Each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.”
The disciples were able to speak so the listeners could hear. Knowing how our listener hears is essential.
When you and I speak of love, joy and peace to friends, neighbours and the world, we need to be mindful of how our listeners will hear us. Sometimes that means saying very little. Often it means listening first, to discover the other’s true dilemma before we hold forth on our own solutions.
This is a challenge when we can see the speck in the other’s eye. But oh, yes, a great teacher once admonished us to remove the plank in our own first. Food for thought.

Blessings,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

May 22, 2012


Hush! Somebody’s callin’ my name …
God whose Voice calls my name, I pray this afternoon
            for all who look for friendship
               and crave the wonder of your presence;
            for each one who seeks comfort
                and needs the support of faith;
            for the city around me
                and the wonder of community.
God whose Voice calls my name, I pray this evening
            for friends who need a word of reassurance
               that even in rough times you are never far away;
            for families who could do with a word of love
               to call them back to hope and trust; 
            for souls who crave a word of love
               to speak the serenity on which they can rebuild their lives.

God whose Voice calls my name, I pray this morning
     for each person who needs a “wake-up call” to better living
         that they may receive it with grace;
     for our governing bodies and responsible neighbours
         that we may act in compassion & with community-minded vision;
     for the single moments of each day
         that are truly the crucible for our ethics and behaviour.

Amen.

Blessings,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, May 17, 2012

May 17, 2012


This sunny morning the lilacs seem to be racing against time to produce green leaves and the ensuing promise of purple flowers. This is a tender season as buds force themselves into the light so quickly, and the canopy of green elm and ash reasserts itself against the lengthening blue in the sky.
The sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
I didn't resonate with the biblical need for shelter from the sun and sky until I moved here, where the long days and dry heat - and cold - are so unrelenting. Beautiful but unrelenting. On the east coast, sunshine and heat are welcome respite from grey fog and summer rain. Here I have learned a different sense of sun and long evenings.

I always appreciated the part of the biblical passage that follows: and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. But now I have a fuller sense of the protection we need from the open sky. I am watching the trees on my street form a sheltering green cover, and hour by hour I see a difference.

Tender and brave, those buds are. They press against the morning air and break open with a shimmering green of hope.
I trust that in your rough, unprotected times, when the heat of life seems set to scorch you, that the promise of Revelation 7 brings you relief. I trust the gentle hand of God will wipe away the tears, and a canopy of fragrant greening hope will protect you.  


Blessings,

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

May 2, 2012


Denise Davis Taylor began a sabbatical Sunday. She will be away from St. Paul’s for three months. Her area of study is mentoring
leadership in young adults, in these changing times. Denise is the
Minister of Faith Formation here at St. Paul’s, working with youth, young adults and families. She is also the chaplain of Faith Lift, our University of Alberta presence. Her sabbatical project suits that
ministry well.

We bid her farewell in worship and blessed her on her way. We had two lilac bushes in pots, one for her and one for us. Each Sunday morning, we will water ours in the sanctuary and say a blessing for her. As the weeks unfold, so will the leaves and our prayers. Similarly, she will think of us as she looks after her lilac.

The lilac is purple, and Denise often wears vivid blues, pinks, and purple. The leaves are heart-shaped; she certainly has a big heart, and is well loved here. As the lilac bushes begin to bud, we anticipate the beautiful blossoms and lovely fragrance. Sabbatical holds the promise of refreshment for Denise.

When you catch sight of purple or pink lilac flowers this spring, and when you notice the scent wafting through a window, please say a little prayer for Denise. This time of rest, reflection and renewal is an opportunity churches offer ministers these days, and it bears
wonderful fruit for us all.


Blessings,


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012


When I moved to Yellowknife twenty-two years ago, of course I wanted to understand the community. I was living as a guest on First Nations land. How would I get to know the culture? Language has always been a way for me to learn about people, so I signed up for language lessons. I took Dogrib. I learned a great deal – and here’s a word I heard a lot: ketetso. It was an election year, and ketetso is the word for election in that Dene language.

As an Albertan, I have learned a great deal about my neighbours this spring, too. An election is a peculiar experience of trust. What do the lawn signs mean about the people who live in those particular houses? How do property rights, care of the vulnerable, and change invigorate us to act together?

So here we are, post-election day, savouring the votes delivered and decisions made. What do we do about platforms stated, promises made and disappointments endured? How, as the trendy say, do we move forward?

The gospel keeps us moving, I think. Jesus made his way to Jerusalem and his disciples made their way to Ephesus and Rome and India. They crossed each river, walked each road, and stopped in each
welcoming home bringing peace and a word of respect for every
person. They did this confident of the love they knew in Jesus.

May you and I have the grace to greet our neighbours with peace,
act with respect for the vulnerable, and move forward in love. It’s been quite a ketetso


Blessings,



The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, April 19, 2012

April 17, 2012

A single word can make such a difference. Sorry of course, and thanks. A single word can change how we feel about someone and can turn a bad day into a good one.

Last week a person graciously pointed out to me that I had the Wordsworth poem wrong. All these weeks I have been writing to you with a mistake! I left out the word we.

It turns the poem from a mystical piece about God into a mystical piece about us with God. I choose to think this deepens our reflections.

Here it was:
Trailing clouds of glory do come from God,
who is our home.
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.

And here we are:
Trailing clouds of glory do we come
from God, who is our home ...
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.


May you trail clouds of glory.
May you remember that you come from God.
May you light this day with the assurance that God is your home.


Blessings,



The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

April 10, 2012

A Spiritual Practice for Lent and Holy Week

Trailing clouds of glory do we come
from God, who is our home...
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.
W. Wordsworth, 1807

As we have moved through this season we have prayed all through the day. Now, at Easter, you may put them together and frame the whole day in words of prayer. This week:upon waking in the night.

Deliver me from this day.
Free me into the night.

May the dark envelop me
in peace.
May the quiet grace me
with contemplation.
May the stillness give me
wisdom.

Take the fretting away.
Restore me to
the breath of life
that is the beginning of all creation.

Teach me to breathe
and to love the world.
For you first loved the world
and I am your wakened child.    Amen.


The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean

Thursday, April 5, 2012

April 2, 2012

A Spiritual Practice for Lent and Holy Week

Trailing clouds of glory do come from God,
who is our home.
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.
W. Wordsworth, 1807

All our day God comes to us in prayer, all through the day. As we move through this season we are praying all through the day. Each week you find a prayer for a different part of the day published here. At Easter you may put them together and frame the whole day in words of prayer. The first five prayers were on first waking, then just before launching the day’s activities, next noon, followed by grace before supper, and sunset.

For this week: preparing to sleep.

Deliver this day
into quiet sleep.
May today’s problems slip into shadow,
and today’s pleasures inspire my dreams.

May this beloved earth rest too:
persons and crowds,
fields and oceans,
all your Created Wonder.

Open my soul
to love
to wonder
to peace.


The Rev. Dr. Catherine MacLean

March 26, 2012

A Spiritual Practice for Lent

Trailing clouds of glory do come from God,
who is our home.
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.
W. Wordsworth, 1807

All our day God comes to us in prayer, all through the day. As we move through Lent let’s focus on prayer all through the day. Each week you will find a prayer for a different part of the day published here. At Easter you may put them together and frame the whole day in words of prayer. The first four prayers were on first waking, then just before launching the day’s activities next noon and grace before supper.

For this week: sunset.

Trailing clouds of glory surround
the sun,
and dusk creeps up tree trunks.
May this moment fill
my heart with your love
my soul with holy wonder
and this prayer
with care
for the earth.

The Rev. Dr. Catherine MacLean

Monday, March 19, 2012

March 19, 2012

A Spiritual Practice for Lent

Trailing clouds of glory do come from God,
who is our home.
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.
W. Wordsworth, 1807

All our day God comes to us in prayer, all through the day. As we move through Lent let’s focus on prayer all through the day. Each week you will find a prayer for a different part of the day published here. At Easter you may put them together and frame the whole day in words of prayer. The first three prayers were on first waking, then just before launching the day’s activities and noon.

For this week: grace before supper.

I take pleasure in eating
today, God.
Deliver me from taking it
for granted.
Forgive me for hurry
or gluttony
or not acknowledging
the work that goes into cooking
and the production of food.

May I marvel at food
as pleasure and fuel
as gift and hospitality.

The Rev. Dr. Catherine MacLean

Monday, March 12, 2012

March 12, 2012

A Spiritual Practice for Lent

Trailing clouds of glory do come from God,
who is our home.
Those shadowy recollections,
be they what they may,
are yet the fountain light of all our day.
W. Wordsworth, 1807

All our day God comes to us in prayer, all through the day. As we move through Lent let’s focus on prayer all through the day. Each week you will find a prayer for a different part of the day published here. At Easter you may put them together and frame the whole day in words of prayer. The first two prayers were on first waking and just before launching the day’s activities.

For this week: noon.

It is the centre of the day
- the mid point -
and I stop to remember you,
O God.

May I let my morning activities be
now, and pick up
the energies of the afternoon
with pleasure.
May I remember your presence
in all I do and say,
in all I do and say.

The Rev. Dr. Catherine Faith MacLean