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Someone said to me just the other day, “The church mayyyyy be broken.”

I can’t say I totally disagree, as there is so much about our church that simply doesn’t work anymore, or that sorta, kinda works, but desperately needs transformation.

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It has been a difficult few weeks for me, particularly as I watch the civil rights of my LGBTQ siblings stripped away. It has been difficult to assure my children that it will be ok when they saw the news report of Russia’s downing of a US drone when I have no power to give that assurance. Or to again think of the thousands living in the aftermath of earthquakes and war, to hear stories of Afghani women and girls still banned from education and work.

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[Jesus] cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.” Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. - John 11.43

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Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world. These words are familiar – the creed we speak in community, boldly proclaimed as one when the body of Christ gathers in worship.

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Today is the commemoration of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a Salvadoran priest who was assassinated while standing behind the altar as he prepared to preside at mass. He is known as a martyr and prophet, using his voice to speak out against the human rights violations of the people of El Salvador. As we look at Bp. Romero’s life, it is easy to see that indeed the Spirit dwelt within him, and even with the daily threat of death and violence he continued to speak boldly to the powers that oppressed the Salvadorans.

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Have you ever felt the satisfaction of bringing something to life? Maybe you had an idea that became reality maybe, or a seed (literal or figurative) planted and grown?

I often marvel at the power we humans have to create life, and was struck this year as we have been reimagining different aspects of our faith, how Ezekiel plays a role in this story of the valley of dry bones.

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Back in the days of the pandemic when I had a little more time to sit at home and watch TV, I found myself drawn to a show called “Good Bones,” a show about a mother/daughter duo who buys dilapidated houses with ‘good bones’ and rehabs them – transforms them – into beautiful places for others to make a home.

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In a recent episode of the podcast Hidden Brain, researcher, and author Dacher Keltner talks about what happens when we experience awe. It turns out that stopping to look at nature creates deep joy and happiness in human beings.

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Buried with Christ in death, joined to him in the waters of baptism, and raised with him to new life every day by default means that we are ‘in the Lord.’ And being joined to God in Christ Jesus means that God’s vision of mercy, justice, and love become our own vision…

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The Lord will preserve you from all evil and will keep your life. The Lord will watch over your going out and you're coming in, from this time forth forevermore. —Psalm 121.7-8

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The [formerly blind] man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.”

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Catching a new vision can be messy business. In Jesus’ case in John 9, it was a muddybusiness, that included literal dirt, bathing, and neighbors arguing. Do you ever get the sense that we are living this story?

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Being open to God’s vision can be something of an enigma for me. I don’t know about you, but I often start to dream, plan, pray about, and imagine how a certain thing might turn out.

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I can really sympathize with Samuel . He was called by God to anoint Saul as king over Israel, only Saul disobeyed God – and God decided to go another route. Reading 1 Samuel 15-16 over again, it doesn’t even seem like Samuel and Saul were good friends, and yet Samuel grieved that what was potentially going to be a good thing never panned out.

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The daffodils in the courtyard at the Synod Office started poking through the ground this week. Seems a little early to me, but these beautiful green shoots are just one more reminder that this world is bigger than this moment. It’s bigger than the war in Ukraine, it’s bigger than hateful legislation, hungry people struggling to get out of poverty, and my own brokenness.

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Looking back over this week, we’ve asked questions like, “Is God with us or not?” We’ve wondered about where and how God shows up, as we look at sanctuaries that sit emptier than they used to be. We’ve wondered, what is the harvest God has in store for us? With whom can we share the story of Jesus’ selfless love and grace?

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A modern day monologue version of the what the Woman at the Well said to Jesus (John 4:3-30).

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