Claimed, gathered and sent

Yesterday while I was at teaching parish, Ray, still at Seeing Eye in NJ, took new guide dog Amity to church for the first time. All went really well until...communion distribution. Amity was seated beside Ray who was kneeling and waiting for the pastor to give him the bread. As soon as the pastor offered Ray the bread, Amity stretched, reaching her head forward like she wanted communion too. Ray, the pastor, and the Seeing Eye trainer lost it. They couldn't help but laugh. That was Amity's first church visit. She's already a good Lutheran dog. As one friend remarked, "Okay - so THAT dog needs to go to First Communion class!" For Abby it's compline, for Amity it's communion. What can one do with dogs like that? If only all God's people were as interested in the means of grace as these dogs are! Flickr pictures

Corporate prayer is one of the great joys of seminary life. Along with worship, it is at the heart of why we're here, what we do, and how we are empowered for service. One of our favorite prayer times is compline or evening prayer. Each night at 10:00 we gather in the courtyard for this student led prayer service. For the Lutherans, it begins on p. 320 in the ELW. Whether spoken or sung, it never fails to move me. It's like God is tucking me in for the night. Tonight was my turn to lead compline. At 9:45, Abby stood up in our apartment and looked at me. Her expression was, "Mom, it's time to go now." Normally her sense of time revolves around meals and snacks. But tonight it was for prayer time. She enjoys it because she gets to see people that love and pay attention to her. But it was still amazing to me that she has the timing down now for compline. Thanks be to God to have such a sweet reminder. Flickr picture.