I've been busy and not feeling much like blogging lately ... I've refrained from ranting about the election, or offering my opinions about the economic melt-down we are continuing to witness, and I've been keeping my spiritual struggles largely to myself ...So, I've been quietly moving forward with my life journey ... enjoying the moment ... savouring time with family and friend ... and just being as present to what I have around me as I can ...
I'm at a place where I can look back and see where I've learned some harsh lessons, where life has disappointed me, where the Church (The United Church of Canada) has failed me and others, and I can see where my path has been ... while I can also look forward and for the first time in a very very very long time see a road filled with potential, possibility and affirmation of who I am and what I am about ...
The biggest challenge on my horizon right now is the struggle over whether I should stay in the United Church of Canada, or heed the call to another denomination ... my heart lies deep within the values and ethos of what the UCC claims to be ... but the bruises and experiences I've endured in recent years contrast sharply with the UCC values and ethos that I've been steeped in since my entry here over 40 years ago ... My struggle is whether the mistake lies in me, or in the Church ... and I just can't say for certain one way or another ...
So, I await the support, inspiration and guidance of the Spirit to show me where I should go ... I've never been lead astray by the Spirit, and so I wait and pray and KNOW that I will be shown where I shoudl go ... I just need to temper my impatience a tad ...
In the meantime ... I offer my latest sermon from a pulpit supply this Thanksgiving weekend at a NON-United Church congregation who have been inviting me back regularly ... I would like to preach in the United Church, but so far only one pastoral charge has shown any interest ... for the rest I seem to remain a pariah ...
OH WELL !!! THEIR LOSS !!!!
4 comments:
Shawn;
Patience is a vertue.
It is their LOSS. Go where your heart leads you to go. I know that God's plan for you includes the Church, just wait for his call to lead you the right way.
Me
It's not the UCC. I think you will find that any other denomination will eventually present you with the same attitude. Unless you unfailingly obey the first and greatest commandment (not God's, the church's): Don't Rock The Boat.
And you're all about rocking that boat, from what I see.
BTW; I liked your Thanksgiving sermon. That Raffi song is one of my favourites; it carried me through a very difficult year back in the 90s.
Shawn;
Just found this quote and thought that it fits in nicely here. Thought I would share it. Me
"We do not always know at the time why the Holy Spirit directs us as He does. The miracle worker's function is merely to follow instructions in a desire to serve God. Our compensation, materially and emotionally, will arrive in God's own time and way."
—Excerpted from A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles
Hang on, wait, be quiet and listen, you will find your voice and where to either whisper or SHOUT it!!
you will find yourself, keep writing and expressing! and, dont let the b***ds get you down...
Post a Comment