Good morning—
Every time I write to you, I try to imagine what it looks like at your house. This week, while we are all staying home, I am particularly wondering if you have some sort of sacred space in your home, a place where you can spend a little soul time.
In normal times our sanctuary does that for us. We enter the sanctuary and the enormous ceiling gives us a sense of something lofty. The stain glass windows bring light and color. Each window is a story told in symbols. The trumpet pipes on the organ seem ready to announce something important even when they are silent. The cross looms over us all and it carries the story of Christ throughout the centuries.
I think part of why our sanctuary feels sacred is because the walls and ceiling are coated with a hundred thousand prayers. The sanctuary is just a room, bricks, and wood. But so many of the turning points in our lives have happened there. Our joy at weddings and baptisms and Holy Communion has seeped into the carpet. Our children run forward for children’s time and our confirmation students kneel at the steps to commit themselves to Christ. And we carry our sorrows into the sanctuary, too.
The sanctuary holds our longing for the kind of world Christ told us about, where all would be fed, where justice would be shared, where the love of God would be the full measure of life for every person on earth.
So in this time, when you can not come to the sanctuary, I wonder if you might need to create your sacred place in your home. I would encourage you to follow your heart on this. I bet your soul has already told you where it feels most comfortable in your house. It might be a place where the light comes in just so. Or it might be sitting in an old rocking chair that has belonged in your family for a long time. It might be somewhere outside now that spring has arrived. Last night I saw my neighbor sitting quietly in her garden and just watching her, I felt more peaceful.
What material things hold special meaning for you? Do you have a coffee mug that has been your morning companion for years? Has someone given you a gift that holds special meaning? I have a small blue bird made from glass that sits in the kitchen window. It is a small point of beauty. Maybe you have a cross you like to place before you. Bring these reminders of comfort into your space. Use what speaks calmly to you to create your sanctuary.
And parents and others with children around, this could be a good time to introduce children to the idea of holiness, of listening to their souls and to God. Maybe you could invite them to create a holy space for prayer. Just for them.
In this time, when we are so conscious of what is wrong in the world, I think it would be good to have a place to remember what is good. A place to pray. In the last week of Christ’s life, he went to a garden for prayer. His soul needed rest and reassurance. Ours does too.
Easter Morning we will celebrate the Good News! Christ is Risen! (And I am hearing you echo “He is Risen, Indeed!”)
Every blessing,
Pastor Cindy
Pastor Cindy Hickman
West Des Moines United Methodist Church
720 Grand Avenue
West Des Moines Iowa 50265
515-279-0826
Like us on Facebook or visit us at wdmumc.org.
Holy Week Worship Livestreaming
Easter Prayer Vigil from sunrise on Saturday to midnight. Look for details on our Facebook page or email Pastor Trevor.
The Tolling of the Bell Friday at noon. The bell will toll 20 times for the Pandemic of 2020.
Good Friday worship at 7 pm.
Easter Sunday the Tolling of the Bell at 9 am. Christ is Risen!
Easter Sunday Worship at 9:30 am.
Sweet Gossip! Looking for your bits of good news! Email them to Pastor Cindy and we will share them in the link.
And a huge thank you to all of you who have continued to support the church through your financial support! Your gifts are arriving in the mail and through on-line giving. Through your generosity, the church goes on!
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