Claimed, gathered and sent

One of my favorite prayers is: O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting up; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (ELW p. 317). The first time I prayed this was at an evening prayer service at Emanuel Lutheran Church in RI. It struck a chord with me then and continues to do so. As the time approached for the move to seminary and since our arrival, these words have echoed in my heart, "...not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us..." I don't know where we'll go after graduation in 2012. I don't know where my internship will be my third year. I don't know where my CPE will be this coming summer. Until today, I didn't know where my teaching parish would be that starts this Sunday. Today I f...

Thanks to RevGal Leah Sophia f or this YouTube of beautiful scenery and one of Rich Mullins' songs, "Calling Out Your Name." It seems a fitting way to begin the week. Peace.

I was first introduced to Frederick Buechner by a pastor who quoted his well-known wisdom on discerning vocation as "That place where your great joy meets the world's great need." Buechner has a new book out and Jim Martin offers a thoughtful reflection on it . Please check it out. By the way I just joined Twitter, so if any of you are members, let me know. Blessings. Flickr picture