Autumn - the Turning of the Year
The arrival of autumn always feels like a particularly sacred time of year, to me. After the frenetic energy of spring, even this year, and after the languid endurance marathon of summer, autumn is both a time of new beginnings and a daily reminder of the beauty in letting go. Autumn always reminds me of Ecclesiastes: to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.
Autumn is both reckoning and renewal, it is death and the promise of life. In autumn we see trees shed their leaves, leaves that served a tree very well, providing nourishment to the tree for many months. The leaves the tree grew were good things, but the leaves no longer serve the needs of the tree. In fact, if the tree still has the leaves on their branches when the snows arrive, the tree is in mortal danger. It is good that the trees shed their leaves in autumn; it is the right time.
We also go through seasons like the tree. Our seasons are not as regularly scheduled as the rhythm of the tree, but we will experience autumns and winters and springs and even summers, even if these emotional growth seasons do not line up with the turning of the earth around the sun. We can practice our response to our mental seasons by immersing ourselves in the natural seasons. We practice letting go and letting God by tuning into the rhythm of the trees.
This autumn season, I would have you join me in an exercise involving trees. Identify a tree that you see most every day. It can be one you view out a window, or one you pass by on regular walks. It can be at your home or somewhere else. I want you to watch this tree. Watch the leaves, see how they change color and pattern. Does one branch change before the rest? Is the tree green for a long time, and then overnight changes nearly uniformly? Does it lose its leaves one at a time or all in a rush? As you watch this tree make ready for the next season, what can you let go from your self as the tree loses leaves? The tree is preparing for something new to grow. Are you prepared to welcome God's renewed Word to your life? Are you ready for Emmanuel?
I love you all
Stay Safe and Healthy
Wash Your Hands
Peace be with you
~Rev. Andrea Joy Holroyd
80-Day Kindness Challenge Pledge and Prayer - week 3
To the God who shows us how that which leaves our mouth makes us clean or unclean, let only your love and compassion flow from me.
When I am frustrated, bring me calm
When I am hurt, do not let me harm another
When I hear hateful speech, let me come to the defense of the wronged person using your language of love and teaching instead of hurling more vileness in the air.
Bring me awareness of my impact on others that I may learn my blindspots.
Teach me, O God, your Kindness, which is loving awareness
Teach me, O God, your Compassion, which is empathy
Teach me, O God, your Justice, which is uplifting of the oppressed
Teach me, O God, your Civility, which allows for disagreement with respect and without rancor.
Your way, God, is never easy, but it is right. Let me be an ambassador of your kin-dom where we know how we are connected one to another, all part of your family.
This is my pledge: that I may showcase your lovingkindness, that I embody your compassion, that I engage with civility when disagreements abound, and that I act with your justice, supporting your people who need to know they are not alone. When I falter, O Mercy, sent the Canaanite Woman to me in the guise I need to see most, that I may be cleansed of my error and return to my pledge. Amen
