Leadership
Gretta begins with a lesson from grade 9 english class – foreshadowing – getting a sense of things to come. Writers of the NT used material from the OT as if it foreshadowed later events. What were these writers trying to do? Gretta suggests that they were preparing the people for someone who could be a leader. But what we understand by a leader today differs significantly from the received notion of a leader 2000 years ago. Maybe, today, we need leaders who reflect a multiplicity of attributes – more attributes than any one person can possess. Maybe the best leader is us – all of us – working together. The meditation ends with an exhortation to all of us to assume collective responsibility for our living.
Living with authority?
Children start their lives within a structure of parental authority – “Because I’m the mommy” is the reason for doing things. But as children grow up, that authority dwindles. Children discover that there are many alternate rules which must be weighed. Compare the rules that govern our spiritual life. In the earlier church, rules governed relatively isolated communities and were delivered by readily accessible authorities like Paul. But we live now in a world where our neighbours govern themselves with a wide array of “rules.”
We can use our prayer (adapted from St. Francis of Assisi) as a way to hold a mirror up to our lives in order to allow ourselves to walk a journey without authority.
As I live every day,
I want to be a channel for peace.
May I bring love where there is hatred
and healing where there is hurt,
joy where there is sadness
and hope where there is fear.
I pray that I may always try
to understand and comfort other people
as well as seeking comfort and understanding from them.
Wherever possible, may I choose to be a light in the darkness,
a help in times of need,
and a caring, honest friend,
And may justice, kindness, and peace
flow from my heart forever.
Amen
All Saints Service
The All Saints Service is 3 short readings followed by reflections and prayers as follows:
Awareness
Reading: Having Come This Far by James Broughton
Reflection
Prayer
Release
Reading: Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XXIX by Rainer Maria Rilke
Reflection
Prayer
Departure
Reading: Concerning the Atoms of the Soul by John Glenday
Reflection
Prayer