Seen God Lately?

A friend directed me to this cool website: othersix.org.
Where have you found God today? Where do you need to find God today?
Check it out!

They are my kids, too

It had been a very long day--the first full day that Graham had been with his babysitter--and I was committed to going to an action for Action in Montgomery (AIM) that night. I got a little more than an hour with him and Nora before I had to hop back in the car to fight the rush hour traffic and get to Rockville. I cried all the way there, thinking about missing my babies.

But when I got to the action, I saw the Plum Gar Cobras waiting in the lobby, getting ready to do their cheers. One of the youngest girls said on her way into the large meeting room, "I'm nervous!" I told her that she didn't need to be nervous, that she was going to be great, and she smiled sheepishly, but she was great--waving those little pom poms with her big huge grin. I also heard Ty Mason, a third grader who goes to the after-school program at Good Hope Community Center, get up in front of one thousand people and talk about how "Ms. Cookie" had taught him how to speak in public by making him and his fellow students read their books out loud. And I was in tears again, and I knew that I had made the right decision to come to this action and show my support for this community centers campaign.

I can feel in my bones that maternal instinct that makes me want to protect and provide for my children. I would do anything for them--to make sure that they are healthy and safe and happy, that they have every opportunity to learn and grow and thrive. I am sure that nearly every mother feels this way about her kids, too. But as a Christian, I feel that I can't just fight for the good of my own kids, but that I should do what I can to make sure that all God's children have the love, the care, the opportunities that they need. Those kids, and their parents, who depend on these run down, neglected Montgomery County community centers deserve so much more than they are getting. And those kids are my kids, too.

Back in the Saddle Again

Saddled...
Originally uploaded by schooksonruss

Yesterday was my first Sunday back at church from my maternity leave, and for the most part it felt good to be back. Everyone welcomed me back so warmly and that really helped. I think they were almost as excited to see me as to meet Graham.

A friend of mine, who is also a pastor and a mom said to me, "Admit it--you couldn't stay home with your kids full time, could you?" And I don't think I could, really. My maternity leave has been such a special time, but I know that God has called me to both being a pastor and a mom, and so I am trying my best to balance doing them both as well as I can. I am really thankful that I have so much help though--I couldn't do any of this without Marcus. And the church has been, and continues to be, so wonderful.

So, giddie up! Let's go!

Ashes to Ashes

Today is Ash Wednesday and Graham and I met Marcus downtown for a noon service. It was a lovely, contemplative service that included the ritual imposition of ashes, which I always find to be a moving reminder of our brokeness, our mortality, and of God's grace and our redemption.

Before we went to receive our ashes, Marcus asked if I thought that Graham should get ashes on his head as well. My knee-jerk reaction was "No. He's got nothing to repent for." Sure, I'm his mom so I'm biased, but seriously, what sins could a seven week old commit? (His three-year-old sister on the other hand is another story :)

But when Marcus went up to the altar with Graham in his arms the pastor put the sign of a cross on both of their heads.

As I looked at the little black soot mark on my son's little forehead, it made me want to cry. But my tears of sadness soon turned to tears of gratitude and joy. Because the more I thought about it, he, like me, like his dad, like his sweet big sister, like all of us, is human. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Being human means that he is imperfect. He is part of this world and surrounded by great joy and great sorrow. He has within him the capacity for goodness as well as sin. And most of all, he is a child of God--loved, forgiven, and redeemed by God.

It also reminded me of a great article I read in this month's Sojourner's magazine called "The Heresy of the Perfect Parent" by Kari Jo Verhulst. She raises a lot of interesting points, among them questioning the validity of the idea that we, as parents, somehow think it's our job to make our children perfect people--as if. She writes: "For it is in those moments when grace cracks through, and I realize that [my daughter] is not mine, but belongs body and soul in life and in death, to her faithful savior Jesus Christ (to borrow from an old catechism), that I feel the least overwhelmed by the task of mothering her for the foreseeable future."

I am not a perfect person, not a perfect mom. And Graham will not be perfect either. But that's what grace is for after all. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...

Skipping Church?

Someone from Woodside asked me the other day why they hadn't seen Marcus and Nora in church lately. The truth is that we have been going to church, just not at Woodside. We are taking advantage of my maternity leave to "church hop" (not shop...just hop) and to hear my friends preach, to visit old friends and to worship in new places to see what other churches are doing. It's been great to worship together as a family. It's also been interesting to be anonymous and have no responsibility on a Sunday morning except to worship God (and try to keep my kids quiet in the pew!). Here's an update on our local church tour:

On Epiphany Sunday we went to Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC to hear my good friend Amy Butler preach. The sermon was excellent and the people were very warm and welcoming (Nora loved the nursery). I noted that, at least this particular Sunday there wasn't much congregational singing, and I missed that, although the choral music was beautiful. We were served communion by the ushers and took communion in our pews and it confirmed for me that that way of receiving communion just doesn't feel as meaningful for me as approaching the altar.

The following Sunday was Baptismal Renewal Sunday and we went to Bethesda UMC--the church I served before Woodside. It was special because we got to see a lot of old friends and introduce them to Graham (some of whom said "I didn't even know you were pregnant!"), and because that's the church where Nora was baptized it was very special for us to renew our Baptismal vows there. We heard our friend Jenny Cannon give the sermon and saw the beautiful new chancel renovation (and enjoyed the comfy new pew cushions!).

Last Sunday we went to the church at the other end of our street, St. Luke's Lutheran Church, for their Jazz service. Lutheran services seem a lot like the Catholic Mass to me (all of the liturgy but none of the guilt?) and nearly everything was sung. The music was pretty traditional, except for the accompaniment of a jazz quintet, so that was a little disappointing. But the Postlude, "Jesus is a Rock in a Weary Land," was awesome and the musicians really got into it. Their Bishop preached a homily that covered the Gospel lesson, the church's anniversary and MLK in about 7 minutes, and we had communion again, this time at the altar with real wine (which was pretty exciting for us Methodists). Nora's usually in Sunday school or the nursery when communion is served at Woodside, but she was with this week and got to take communion, which was great. Marcus did a good job explaining the significance to her and she enjoyed being part of the ritual. We walked to church, but still managed to be late. We have actually been late to church every week--not on purpose, just because it's been hard to get our act together. I have even more sympathy for the parents of young children in my church now that I am the mother of two.

In the coming weeks we are planning to go to River Road Unitarian Church to hear another friend preach (and because Marcus is interested in how the Unitarians worship) and to Foundry UMC to worship with some friends. We are planning to skip church one week next month because we'll be on Kiawah Island, SC with my mom, aunt and uncle and grandmother, but other than that, we'll be continuing our tour of local churches, and enjoying my stress-free Saturday nights.

Maternity Leave

OK, so this isn't the most "spiritual" of posts...but here's what we're up to:

Today, after two weeks of having grandparents here visiting, Graham and I are spending a quiet day at home together. Nora is back at school (and I miss her already) and Marcus is back at work. Nana and Poppy should be getting on an airplane back to Memphis within the hour. And I am still in my pajamas! Graham is dressed, but needs his diaper changed again, and can't decide if he wants to take a nap or not.

The baby thing is certainly easier the second time around--we are much less anxious and used to be sleep deprived. Balancing the needs of an active three year old with a newborn is a different challenge, but so far we're doing OK. It has been great to have family here, but we are looking forward to getting back into a routine.

The biggest challenge for me is just to be in the moment--to enjoy these days with my baby and not try and do too much. I feel some "church withdrawl" and as I look around the house I am constantly making a list of things I need and want to do. But I remind myself that in seven short weeks I will be back to the church and I will long for lazy these mornings with Graham and evenings doing puzzles and reading books with Nora.

An Advent Story

This is so worth reading...

http://www.textweek.com/advent_story.htm