Clarence is one of the gardeners at the Friendship Center. At first, he worried that he wouldn’t be able to do the job, but he can and he does! Overcoming our own fears and self doubt takes a whole lot of strength.

Oh! for Thy mercies’ sake, tell me, O Lord my God, what Thou art unto me. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. So speak, that I may hear. Behold, Lord, my heart is before Thee; open Thou the ears thereof, and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. After this voice let me make haste, and take hold of Thee. Hide not Thy face from me. Let me die—lest I die—only let me see Thy face-St. Augustine

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following your will
does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though
I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Let justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness an ever flowing stream. Amos 5:24
Art work by Bob Wardrep, church member and Friendship Center participant.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before ... What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon. -Jan Richardson

Offering takes so many shapes. We offer ourselves as servants to God and to neighbor. We offer our hearts when we ask for help. We offer our bodies at the altar when we receive communion. We offer our bounty when we give money, time, and talent to churches and causes that we believe in. When we offer ourselves, it’s true that we pour out, but it’s also true that we fill up with rich and abundant blessings from our Maker.

One Sunday we asked folks to draw God. No rules, no expectations, just God. Darius drew this beautiful image with the words “Praise God” on top. Of course, all art is open to interpretation, but what comes to mind with this image is that perhaps to imagine God is to praise God. When we imagine God, we locate ourselves as the created believers in awe of God’s big and mysterious glory, and that is praise.

Everlasting•Mary Oliver

I want to make poems that say right out, plainly what I mean, that don’t go looking for the laces of elaboration, puffed sleeves. I want to keep close and use often words like heavy, heart, joy, soon, and to cherish the question mark and her bold sister the dash.
I want to write with quiet hands. I want to write while crossing the fields that are fresh with daisies and everlasting and the ordinary grass. I want to make poems while thinking of the bread of heaven and the cup of astonishment; let them be
songs in which nothing is neglected,
not a hope, not a promise.
I want to make poems that look into the earth and the heavens and see the unseeable. I want them to honor
both the heart of faith, and the light of the world; the gladness that says, without any words, everything.

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Today’s Advent word is repent. This means to turn in a new direction or change your path. Perhaps you’ve spent a lot of money this holiday season at Target, Amazon, and other big corporations, but now you’d like make up for that by supporting local artists, bakers, and gardeners. Well, tomorrow is your chance! Repent your way to Holy Comforter between 11 and 3 to see what our friends have created this season!

Splendour In The Grass • William Wordsworth

What though the radiance
which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass,
of glory in the flower,
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;
In the primal sympathy
Which having been must ever be;
In the soothing thoughts that spring
Out of human suffering;
In the faith that looks through death,
In years that bring the philosophic mind.

There is a way between voice and presence, where information flows. In disciplined silence it opens; with wandering talk it closes. -Rumi

On Sundays we hear scripture proclaimed by messengers within our congregation. Sometimes those words hit deep, other times they fall flat. When we sit in the silence after the message is delivered, the space becomes thin, the words bounce around in the air, and sometimes it’s there where we see God showing up for us.

Delicately nurture that which we expect to grow.

Recently, we were able to give our members some bags of groceries to take home with them. Because we were working from a limited inventory, each bag was unique. In some of the bags there were large canisters of coffee grounds, a coveted treasure among pretty much any group of people. As folks looked through their bags, they realized that not everyone had coffee. At that moment, those with coffee began to ask for plastic baggies so that they could pour from their canisters and share with friends. As it’s compared to a world riddled with greed, this scene was amazing. At Holy Comforter, it was pretty ordinary. We are fortunate that our system is one where sharing is usually the rule, not the exception. That makes all the spilled coffee not such a big deal.

Kenneth singing songs at our annual Christmas Party today was absolutely joyful exulting!
Psalm 5:13-14
But all who take refuge in you will be glad; they will sing out their joy for ever.
You will shelter them, so that those who love your Name may exult in you.

Today we borrow from Bob Marley’s lyrical genius to consider both instructions from God to us, and a prayer from us to God:

Stir it up, little darling, stir it up.

It’s not hard to find gladness around Holy Comforter, just ask Neil!

Our relationship with Concrete Jungle often blesses us with a beautiful bounty of fruits that go straight into the bellies of our members. This week, we got persimmons which will turn into delicious treats for the new year. We are grateful!

She who sings prays twice

At Holy Comforter, we feed a lot because we eat a lot! Sometimes we’re able to feed one another and our neighbors from our own garden. This gorgeous pepper sauce is one example!

If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Isaiah 58:10

The genealogies in scripture can be a bit tiresome, but at Holy Comforter, they tell stories of our long rich history and so many generations that have come through the red doors and into this sweet community.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

For the flocks we see, and those we don’t.

Snow Geese by Mary Oliver
_ _ _
Oh, to love what is lovely, and will not last!
What a task
to ask
of anything, or anyone,
yet it is ours,
and not by the century or the year, but by the hours.
One fall day I heard
above me, and above the sting of the wind, a sound
I did not know, and my look shot upward; it was
a flock of snow geese, winging it
faster than the ones we usually see,
and, being the color of snow, catching the sun
so they were, in part at least, golden. I
held my breath
as we do
sometimes
to stop time
when something wonderful
has touched us
as with a match,
which is lit, and bright,
but does not hurt
in the common way,
but delightfully,
as if delight
were the most serious thing
you ever felt.
The geese
flew on,
I have never seen them again.
Maybe I will, someday, somewhere.
Maybe I won't.
It doesn't matter.
What matters
is that, when I saw them,
I saw them
as through the veil, secretly, joyfully, clearly.