Fall is here now and most of us are happy to spend as much time as possible in “the great outdoors.”  Whether it’s a simply one more cook-out, or a trip to the mountains or the ocean, it’s impossible to resist that strong urge that comes with the season: to stay connected with God through our enjoyment of his beautiful creation.

It’s also impossible to avoid thinking about caring for the earth, about our role of being good stewards of the creation all around us.  In the fall when I’m out walking on the trail, I recall the wisdom of the laws concerning creation that are found in the first books of the Bible.  I find myself connecting their message with what I see around me today.

The old Sabbath laws guaranteed every human being, and every plant and animal, a seventh day of rest.  It even guaranteed a yearlong rest to the land every seventh year.  Don’t we need that kind of respect for ourselves, for others, and for all that is alive and gives life, to begin to offset the environmental disasters that we have allowed?  Don’t we desperately need a seventh day of rest, a simpler way of life, and another order of priorities?

Fall, with our busy schedules, is a great time to think about who we are and how we relate to God and to God’s world. Maybe when we show more respect for animals, plants, water and the sky, we will respect ourselves, and our fellow human beings more.

In Christ,
Pastor Ana

For this mornings devotion I would like to share with you a meditation by Mecrina Wiederkehr.

    There was a day in July
    many mornings ago
    (7:15 a.m. to be exact)
    when my hope was so small
    I didn’t know I was alive.
    The doctor placed me aside
    and announced the sad news of my death
    right in the middle of my birth.

    But God was good
    and gave someone enough hope
    to believe in me.
    She leaned forward,
    believing in darkness
    what some folks refused to believe
    in the light.
    She believed in me;
    and she held me as though
    the stirring of the eternal
    had just begun,
    as though the mystery within
    was just being born.

    And the joy of it is:
    She was right!
    Because of her hope in me
    I live!

    And ever since that day in July
    the mystery within me has grown.
    The eternal within keeps stirring anew
    like a fountain of living water
    like a spring that never runs dry.

    Could it be true
    that some folks die
    because our hope is too small
    to bring them forth?

    It is good to remember:
    We do not give birth to ourselves.
    We give birth to others
    by believing in that first, small spark of life
    the spark we can barely see.

    It is called hope.
    It is immensely helpful
    at birth.

With my prayers for God’s blessings on your life,
Pastor Ana

This morning for our devotion I would like to share with you a meditation by
Brother Roger, of the Taizé Community of France.

Lord Christ, you take us
with our hearts just as they are.
Why should we wait for our hearts to be changes,
in order to go to you?
You change them, day by day,
without our knowing how.
You have all that is needed to heal us:
prayer, hymns, forgiveness,
and the springtime of reconciliations.

Praised be the living God
for the multitude of women, men, and children
who throughout the world
are searching, striving, and giving their lives
in order to be bearers of reconciliation.
Through the repentance of our hearts,
and the spirit of simplicity of the Beatitudes,
you clothe us with forgives, as with a garment.
Enable us to welcome the realities of the Gospel
with a child-0like heart,
and to discover your will
which is love and nothing else.

Blessings of strength and joy,
Pastor Ana