A Blog Reminder ...

Today I read an entry on Aerophant that called to mind a moment in ministry from earlier in my life ... It is noted at Aerophant that when walking in a state of confusion, one should gather beautiful stones and pebbles while walking along a beach, then fling them into the waves.

I can only concur ... but as I reflected on this delightful snippet of wisdom I recalled a time in ministry when I invited a congregation to pick up a stone as they entered the service.

During the evening service they held in their hands the smooth stones that had been gathered from a nearby river. As we moved through the worship they were invited to bring them forward and drop the stones in a basket ... as the stones fell into the basket they were accompanied with the worries and concerns of the holder ... each stone took the dark secrets of the soul of the person who had held and warmed the rock, and silently held those secrets ...

After the service concluded, we carefully carried the basket down to the river and with a prayer of release we poured the stones back into the icy green waters ... the stones took the secrets, and like the very act of baptism, the cold glacial waters carried the secrets out to sea, thereby releasing the holder of their burden ...

Stones are remarkable things ...