My Shadow

 I remember one evening noticing how long my shadow was! I was still living in Salem, so I must have been younger than 7 years old. I remember looking on the grass at my shadow and seeing that I had the longest legs and shortest body, if my shadow was to be trusted, but of course it was just natures fun-house mirror! I watched myself step high, or raise my arms up or fisted on my hips just to see how it would look. I don't know how long I played, but it is one of my sharpest (and fondest!) memories of my childhood.

Pentecost - The Birthday of the Christian Church.

I originally wrote this on Pentecost in 2022 -

Happy Pentecost! and Happy Birthday to the Christian Church!

Today in the liturgical year, we celebrate the time after Jesus has ascended to heaven and when the Holy Spirit came down, not quiet and gentle as a dove, but as loud as a violent wind and the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit and what appeared to be a tongue of fire came to rest on them.

I think passages like this is why so many people have a hard time describing the Holy Spirit. Sometimes, the only way to talk about spiritual things are in metaphors.

May you be filled with the Holy Spirit this day and always.

The Power of an Affirming Community ~ on October 19, 2017

This is a blog post that I wrote for a church I attended a few years ago -

A few weeks ago, I was having a bad dream. I’m not sure if I was talking in my sleep or what, but my husband, Steve, somehow knew and rolled over and put his arm around me and said the most powerful words I’ve ever heard, “It’s okay; I’ve got you.”

At the TENS Conference (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship - more about TENS here) that Peter+, Shaunna, Ginny, & I attended in May, we were reminded that the only way that people feel comfortable offering their gifts, be it time, talent, or treasure, is if they feel safe and secure.

At St. Mary’s, I’ve experienced just that. Very often at St. Mary's, we get visitors who are among the most marginalized in [my] County. A couple of Sundays ago, a girls’ home brought their girls to worship with us. A few months ago, I experienced a moment with a mentally ill man sitting on the back steps of the church who told me, as he patted the wall, that this is his church. LGBT individuals feel secure at St. Mary’s because they are reassured that God loves them just as they are, which isn’t a message they get often in [this] County. And for myself, I found refuge when I left my childhood religion and was deeply hurting.

Peter+ teaches us stewardship of our resources - time, talent, and treasure & to not squander what we have, yet the most valuable lessons that I have learned while attending St. Mary’s is watching the clergy and the congregation when they discover a need someone has. They all come together to help, in effect saying, “It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

~ Melody