Claimed, gathered and sent

We received some troubling news yesterday concerning a pastor friend. Let us pray. Ever-living God, strengthen and sustain pastors...that with patience and understanding they may love and care for your people. Grant that together they may follow in the way of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic church. Fill it with all truth and peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in need, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord. Amen. Evangelical Lutheran Worship , (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2006) 73. Picture from Dawes Fine Art.

Each fall for 15 years, up to 100 people gathered every Wednesday night at Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee, to explore the meaning of the Sacred Journey. Led by the Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey, the participants in the class listened and talked about their own journey and the journey of others. The class affirmed the individual nature of each journey and each person's need to explore the questions that can shape their path. The people who journeyed together each fall learned about prayer, community, death and resurrection. They heard questions and reflections from others, and through them came to a better understanding of their own spiritual growth. We have included an overview of the Journey material here in hopes that some of the ideas may help you on your own Spiritual path. The questions are meant for you to ask yourself and those traveling with you. Use those that are meaningful to you as guideposts, pointing down a road you may not yet have explored. Prayer Pray...

We don't know what to do or say in the midst of what seems like a world gone mad. As friends, neighbors and co-workers ask the question, "What is going on in our world,?" this statement by Bishop Hanson states it eloquently. April 16, 2007 ELCA Presiding Bishop's Statement on Virginia Tech Tragedy With the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) community and the nation, we mourn, we pray, and with the Psalmist we plead: "Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!" (Psalm 130:1) As family and friends grieve the deaths and injuries of loved ones, we claim the promise of Christ's Resurrection. Campus ministries, congregations and leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are offering support and spiritual care to the local community. Through the deep wounds of this tragedy, let us renew our resolve to live together in peace. "Holy One, you do not distance yourself from the pain of your people...