麻豆区

Countless times I have heard it said, 鈥淭his is the most important election of our lives.鈥� I do not disagree. Yet, I have also heard a few voices remind us: 鈥淓very election is the most important election of our lives because every election has significant consequences for our life together.鈥� It is always good to ground hyperbolic statements of our present reality within the full arc of history鈥檚 unfolding, where the past鈥檚 importance and the future鈥檚 significance have and will be keenly felt for the living of those days. Still, I feel it 鈥� this election is of the upmost importance for us all. I have felt it on campus, seen it on your faces in Zoom calls, and experienced it in our communal COVID-impacted life together as the endless election soundtrack plays out on the 24-hour news cycle, is plastered all over social media, and blurs by in the reds, whites, and blues of ubiquitous yard signs painting our pathways.

 

These are the final days leading to Tuesday, November 3^rd and the subsequent results of this ever-important election. The results may be known hours after the polls close or in days thereafter. Whatever the timing and whatever the results, this is a prayer for the space between, the hours leading up to this time of choosing for the leaders of our nation, our state, and our local communities.

 

Let us pray:

God of all time and every moment to come,

these days are rife with anxiety, fear, and distrust.

We see it on our Facebook feeds; we know it at our dinner tables; we feel it in our bones.

Compounded by the dangers of COVID-19,

our country and our communities linger in the in-between spaces:

between unknown and known;

between votes cast and votes counted;

between political discourse and political action;

between discord and the frail hope for unity;

between the now and the future of our democracy.

Hold us, ever-present God, in all our between spaces.

And no matter what the unfolding days bring,

secure us in the truth that nothing past, nothing present,

and nothing to come will separate us from your love

borne out in Christ Jesus

and calling us through your Holy Spirit

to be beloved community beyond every between. Amen.

 

Rev. Justin Lind-Ayres

University Pastor

 

 

When Amy Coney Barrett was nominated to the Supreme Court, those persons in support of her nomination have suggested that one of the reasons she should be given a lifetime appointment on the highest court of the land is that she has seven kids. According to Senator Thom Tillis, Barrett is 鈥渁 remarkable mother鈥� with 鈥渟even beautiful children,鈥� 鈥淪he and her husband have seven children,鈥� Senator Lindsey Graham said in his opening remarks, in case anyone hadn鈥檛 heard, before giving her two more. 鈥淪he and her husband have seven children. Two adopted. Two of Ms Barrett鈥檚 children are Haitian adopted. Why is it necessary for anyone to single out the two adopted children? Because they are Black children.听

Barrett said her daughter Vivian who came to them from Haiti, when she arrived was so weak that they were told she might never talk or walk normally. But now she deadlifts as much as the male athletes at their gym, and I assure anyone listening that she has no trouble talking. And John Peter who joined them shortly after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, described the shock on his face when he got off the plane in wintertime Chicago. Stating once the shock wore off he assumed the happy-go-lucky attitude that is his signature trait. Barrett also shared intellectual traits of her birth children, such as law career minded, loves liberal arts, math gene, smart, strong, kind, and writer.听听听

It is an insult to our intelligence to think that we did not notice the stark difference in how Barret affectionately describes some of her children. Vivian and John Peter we see you. You are smart, strong, determined, gifted and Black! There are families all around the world who adopt children transracially and internationally that do not feel the need to clarify their adopted children.听

 

Today we offer a scripture and Prayer for the gifted children of adoptions.

Romans 8:14-19 (NRSV)

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 鈥淎bba! Father!鈥� 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness] with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ鈥攊f, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

 

Let us Pray:

Mothering God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you for the spirit of adoption and for all who bring children into their homes as their own. We ask your blessings of protection and inclusion for all your children. We honor the birth parents and pray for their well being.听

Lord, I play the words over and over in my head and I ache for the children sitting under the sound of their mother鈥檚 voice. Give the parents new ways to describe their gotcha children. Words that speak life and blessings. Words that affirm and inspire them to be their best selves.

Lord, we also ask that your Spirit moves parents who bring Black Indigenous Children of Color into their homes that they would read and seek out information that shapes their understanding on racial disparities and the challenges that impact the lives of Black and Brown people.

Oh God, give courage to transracial families to advocate with boldness for equity and inclusion.听

Lord, you created us all in your likeness. And knowledge and understanding comes from you. Move us towards your light and love that we might truly become the children of God, caring and loving all of your creation.听 In your name we pray.

 

Rev. Babette Chatman

 

On Thursday, October 1, the Rev. Dr. Robert M. Franklin, Jr., addressed the 麻豆区 community for The Bernhard Christensen Symposium. His topic: 鈥淢oral Leadership: Integrity, Courage, and Imagination.鈥� As Dr. Franklin listened to insightful Auggie students鈥� inquiry and questions to his presentation, he lifted up the call for us all to 鈥渟teward your moral authority.鈥� In doing so, he quoted the recent departed civil rights activist and U.S. House of Congress Representative from Atlanta鈥檚 5th district, John Lewis. Rep. Lewis wrote in his final words to the American public in the July 30th The New York Times Op Ed piece, 鈥淭ogether, you can redeem the soul of our nation.鈥� Leaning into MLK鈥檚 words, Rep. Lewis went on to write, 鈥淓ach of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up, and speak out.鈥澨� Thank you, Rep. Lewis and Dr. Franklin, for reminding our Auggie community that our call to serve as neighbor to each other neighbor is a moral obligation. May we have the integrity, courage, and imagination to do serve.

 

Let us pray:

O God of righteousness, stir us to stand up, speak up, and speak out with moral courage. The very soul of our nation depends upon it. Too often we are witness to and, at times, part of the failure of leadership to address the four-fold pandemic of COVID-19, systemic racism, climate change, and economic injustice. Embolden us to:

seek forgiveness where we have failed;

re-orient ourselves to your ways of mercy and loving-kindness;

listen to the needs of others with humility;

heal the hurt within us and around us;

work alongside each other for shared liberation;

imagine new ways of living into reconciliation and peace;

and celebrate love鈥檚 truth and power alive in each other and in all creation.

This we pray in your holy name. Amen.听

 

Rev. Justin Lind-Ayres

University Pastor

We are all holding so much in these unnerving days. Heavy stuff鈥�the stuff of lamentation and heartache. But alongside our laments, there exists the stuff of rejoicing and thanksgiving. So recognizing this tension, I invite you into this brief moment鈥�to breathe鈥�to settle into quiet thought or silent prayer for the people, places, and circumstances held close in your heart鈥�your lamentations AND your thanksgivings!

Holy One, hear our petitions and our pleas as we lament the hurt and brokenness in our lives and in the world.

Prayer of Lamentation

For the pain and suffering caused by Covid-19鈥�(pause for reflection)

For systemic racism and injustice woven into our culture and institutions鈥�(pause for reflection)

For climate change 鈥� fires out West, floods in the Southeast, hurricane devastation along the

Gulf Coast, warming oceans and changing ecosystems鈥�(pause for reflection)

For upended norms of our daily lives鈥�(pause for reflection)

For transitions and relationship changes, including friends and colleagues who have left our 麻豆区 community over the spring and summer months鈥μ�(pause for reflection)

And now, Blessed One, hear our praises and our prayers of thanksgiving for the good at work among us.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

For all essential workers 鈥� health care providers, teachers, first responders, farmers and grocers 鈥� working for our wellbeing and flourishing in these days鈥�(pause for reflection)

For the rallying cry and invitation to seek racial justice for black, indigenous, and people of color鈥�(pause for reflection)

For firefighters, disaster relief workers, social service agencies, non-profits, and scientists working to address the effects and causes of climate change鈥�(pause for reflection)

For new patterns and rhythms found, technologies that connect us, and life reformed for the sake of communal health and safety鈥�(pause for reflection)

For this 麻豆区 community, the students who give us purpose and hope, and the work of faculty, administration, and staff called in joint-service here and now鈥�This we pray. Amen and amen.

Rev. Justin Lind-Ayres

University Pastor

This evening (Friday, September 18), begins Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The two-day holiday falls at the beginning of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, or the Sabbath of the year. It ushers in the ten High Holy Days in the Jewish tradition, culminating with Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Tradition holds that Rosh Hashanah is a time to show gratitude to YHWH for Creation. It is a time of both celebration and a time of serious introspection. A person is to celebrate the completion of another year, at the same time, take stock of one鈥檚 life.听

The idea of a holiday that is both festive and serious reminds me of the idea of paradox that runs so deeply in Lutheran tradition. We often refer to this idea as both/and. We see it when in the Apostle鈥檚 Creed, one confesses Jesus to be both fully human and fully divine. Martin Luther鈥檚 simul justus el peccator, simultaneously sinner and saint, is foundational to the Lutheran tradition.

The very idea paradox is confusing. Was Jesus half human and half divine, are we 50% sinner and 50% saint? It seems easier to just blow past the whole mess, but when we do that, we miss out on the amazing wonder of who we are and how we understand our God. We鈥檝e come to understand that somehow, Jesus was all of it at the same time, and so are we. We are more. We are amazing creatures, and we have the capacity to be and feel, and do more than one thing at a time.

With that in mind, following in the tradition of our Jewish ancestors, we can celebrate and reflect at the same time. Like our Lutheran foreparents, we can express our gratitude and our repentance at the same time.听

We offer this prayer of gratitude and celebration, together with lament and sorrow as we take stock of the world.听

Scripture

Psalms 44:1-2 We have heard with our ears, O God, our ancestors have told us,听what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free.

Prayer

O God, you have so generously given to your people, through all the generations.听 You have given us an amazing and mysterious planet with the capacity to sustain and nourish us, with gratitude, we stand in awe of all that you have made. At the same time, we repent that we have not taken care of what you have provided. We have caused devastation to the earth in order to fulfill our own ever growing greed. Wildfires, drought, flooding, and hurricanes are just a few of the things that continue to destroy what you have made. Not only have we harmed the earth, but we have caused greater harm to one another in the process. In your generous ways, God, forgive us and turn our focus to restoration.

God of all nations and people, whom you have made in your divine image, in whom you breathed the divine breath of life; the variety of each of us is cause to rejoice. Our skin is black, and brown, and white. Our hair is light and dark, some of us have no hair, for this we rejoice. While we celebrate the unique and beautiful differences you have given each of us, we lament that those gifts you have given to us all have been cause to see some of our siblings as less than. Help us to recognize you have made us each in your image and we are as we should be. Let us celebrate the diversity with which you created us all.听

God of mercy and grace, we know that in your generosity, we are forgiven for the ways we have missed the mark, and are free to rejoice. We are grateful for the both/and. We are both able to see our mistakes, and at the same time, celebrate the gift of your grace. Help us to live fully in the both/and of this complicated and messy world, in these complicated and messy times. With a sorrowful and joyful heart, we pray in the holy name of the One, Jesus, the Christ. Amen

Jenn Luong

麻豆区 Campus Ministry Pastoral Intern