It was January 12, 1997. A few weeks earlier, my friend Kyle had asked if I wanted to go to church with him at the Episcopal Church in Almaden. Having accepted Christ into my heart a few years earlier and not having a church of my own, I said “yes”. It terrified me to walk into the church that morning because I am incredibly shy, but I knew in my heart that I needed to be there.

Over the next few weeks, my shyness started dissipating and I started getting to know more and more people. I was welcomed as a member of the church on May 18, 1997, which happened to be the day before my 17th birthday, and I was invited to join the choir that fall. Margaret Kvamme, the choir director, was a professor of music at UC Santa Cruz, and I ended up singing under her baton as a member of the Women’s Chorale during part of my time there. Andy Kerr, the director of the Folk Choir, recruited me as a member and even invited me to play special music at one of the Christmas services when he discovered that I was a classical pianist.

Perhaps the person who had the biggest influence on me was Winnie Jackman, one of the sopranos in the choir. I stood next to her every Sunday morning and I learned the liturgy by heart from hearing it spoken in my ear every Sunday. She and her husband Jack would sometimes give me a ride home from choir practice, and I would occasionally run into Jack when I was walking home from school. They were at my wedding at the church in March 2002, and Winnie remarked that she had not cried at her daughter’s wedding, but she had cried at mine.

In June 2014, I received an email from Margaret. Winnie had passed away after a ten-year fight with dementia, and her funeral was to be at the church that Saturday. I was living in central California at the time and was in the process of moving down to southern California with my former husband and my son Daniel, but I knew I needed to be there. My mom offered to watch Daniel for me, and I walked into the building for the first time in 11 years. The funeral was all familiar music, and it was good to see many of the people again.

As I was walking out the door to head back to my parents’ house, I heard Andy’s voice behind me.

“Jen, I expect you to be at folk choir practice tomorrow morning.”

I smiled. It was good to be home again.

Thank you, Lord, for churches that adopt 17 year olds and welcome them back with open arms. Amen.
-Jen McCabe

“In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” -1 John 4:10

I could write you a very lengthy list of all the ways that my love falls short of the Gospel message, should you have the time and inclination to read it. Out of everything on that list, however, the expression of love that I cannot imagine, let alone emulate, is sending my children (or grandchildren) into the world as an atoning sacrifice for my sins. But seeing as how the sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons (and daughters), isn’t this essentially what we do as parents?

The hard truth is that if we ever hope to bring about the kingdom of God on Earth, what choice do we have? And what choice do our children have if not to atone in some way for the sins of their parents’ generation? It’s either that or learn to live with those sins — and I hope for the sake of my children’s children that they don’t make that choice. Rather than dwell on the sacrificial nature of this passage from 1 John in an Abrahamic sense, I find greater comfort and hope in a line passage from a pop culture icon of my youth, Khalil Gibran:

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.

Lord, thank you for the blessings that are my children and grandchildren. Keep me ever mindful that our children come through us, but not from us. That they are with us, but do not belong to us. They are in your hands, as are all things , and we ask your blessing upon them. Amen.
-Michael Boss

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.” -1 John 4:9

One of my favorite lines from the 1896 Book of Common Prayer reads:

If … the Minister shall know any to be an open and notorious evil liver … he shall advertise him …

I don’t know of anyone who considers themselves to be an “evil liver” – notorious or otherwise – but the command to advertise them as such seems a bit much. I am glad we are past the age of naming and shaming those who do wrong, for the temptation (for me) in doing such a thing is to think that would make me a better liver. Well, I’m not. I tromp the same mud each day as the rest of us, and I come to church by God’s gracious invitation and not by my capacity to clean up the outside all nice and spiffy.

When I was conceived, I lay in my mother’s womb for a spell. I was nourished by her and kept safe by her so that in the fullness of time I would be born – a new creature. I believe this life finds us, through the miracle of baptism, gestating within the divine womb of God until the day God delivers us from the womb, through the tomb, and on to new life. We will be transformed from being evil livers to being holy livers. That’s why we pray: Good Lord, de-liver us!

God, you know us all so well. You conceived us, nurtured us, tended to us through thick and thin, and despite all we do that may frustrate you to no end, you hang onto us and call us your beloved children. Help me to believe you believe that about me, and help me live into the reality towards which you are leading me and guiding me. I ask this in the Name of the One who has delivered me from evil. Amen.
-Keith Axberg

“Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.” -1 John 4:7-8

People show love in so many ways. Those who serve others, with love for them and love for the work that they do, seem to be the happiest people that I know. In every ministry, affiliation and career, we are reminded that we are to love one another. As I look at people who really love their jobs, I see that they really love the people they serve as well as the work that they do to serve their customers or clients. In my work as a teacher, I have to take actions sometimes that look a bit unloving and harsh from the outside. These actions are really taken out of love. The students need to be held to a high standard, and I believe that having a high standard for the students and knowing that they can reach this standard shows that I love them and want them to be all they wish to be. Children need us to love them and believe in them, even when they don’t believe in themselves or love themselves. If I did not love the students, I would not care for them so much. It would make my job so much easier if love for the students was not there. I could teach a science lesson, give assignments, grade them and not worry about how they perform. I could leave school at the end of the day and not think about my job until I returned in the morning. I wouldn’t wonder whether my students ate breakfast, were well-rested, or if their homes were safe. I wouldn’t be sad when the end of the year came, and they moved out of my class. I don’t know any teachers that can do their jobs well without love first.

Gracious God, thank you for all the teachers in our lives and the ways in which they do small things with great love. Amen.
-Bonnie Schuh

A couple of years ago my family suffered a devastating shock, one of those moments when the course of life changes on a dime. No warning, inexplicable- things will never be the same again. One of the most important things I learned from this time was that feeling anxious is a perfectly normal reaction to grief. The body and mind brace for “what might be next”, the next unexpected thing around the corner. Everything seems like something to fear.

Although it’s hard to put into words, the greatest love that was shown to me/my family during this time was offered by a couple close to us. While there was never going to be a “fix” for this situation, they showed up and sat shoulder to shoulder with me, prayed for me, and sat with me through many difficult moments. The act of physically surrounding me on either side meant so much- it felt like the only thing grounding me in this time of tremendous change when there really was no “normal” left for my family. I began to think of them as my “guardrails”- they kept me moving forward and safe on the road I was about to travel.

May we all remember that just showing up–without the right words to say or a solution–is proof of our love for each other. Standing shoulder to shoulder with someone suffering or anxious is a physical demonstration of emotional support, proof that we are not alone.

Lord, I ask that you quiet my mind during this time of prayer so that I can look back and give gratitude for those that stood with me during troubled times. Thank you for the gifts of friends and family who took time to be present despite their own struggles and challenges. Lord, help me to honor you and learn from their examples and be present for those that need me now and in the future. Amen.
-Lara Cole

“Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” -1 John 3:18

And here we go! On the surface, to love “in truth and action” seems clear enough. But whom are we to love in truth and action? And how? That’s when the monumental implications can strike us with dismay.

The admonition in 1 John follows Christ’s leading – “he laid down his life for us” – and then insists that we too are to love every day, every way, at all times. “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?” (1 John 3:17)

When Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” he was pointedly reminding us of what was required in the Torah:

“For the poor will never cease out of the land, therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land. (Deuteronomy 15:11)

We live in a broken world. And should we enjoy “the world’s goods,” we are called to act in love for those who do not. It’s not just about money. We all have something to give to meet the needs in our world. But which needs?

You probably are already doing charitable financial giving and are already working with others to restore the balance, to help lift those who need what you can offer. You cannot fix everything out there that needs fixing. But you cannot excuse yourself from the action of doing your part, either.

Refugees in Syria? Neighbors in Need in Skagit County? Wilderness protection? Research for solutions to diseases? Abandoned pets? Undocumented families in the U.S.? Political action to support the forgotten ones? Earthquake preparedness for your community? Volunteering in schools? Helping out at Friendship House? Habitat for Humanity? Places of refuge for the abused? Foodbank donations? And so much more! You can’t do everything. But you can follow your heart, and in so doing, restore the world.

We pray for God’s leading.
-Tom Worrell