Worship God, Love People, & Enjoy Beauty This Weekend: the universal and the unique roads we’re all traveling edition
A curated list of what I've been up to lately: places, people, books, podcasts, music, links & more for your weekend downtime with thanks to the creators and cultivators filling the internet to help us worship God, love people, and enjoy beauty.
First, a photo from the past couple of weeks!
Joyce Marie Robinson Hill (September 1, 1927 - March 18, 2020)
We lost my paternal grandmother, Joyce Marie Hill, on March 18. She was and will always be a larger-than-life figure in my heart and memory. Almost every party of my life carries her imprint.
You might remember that my grandfather, Douglas Hill, passed away in December. My grandmother was 92 years old and she spent 92 days alone after Grandpa died. It seems fitting and, I suspect, 92 days longer than she would’ve liked to have stayed here. It’s been especially painful to not be able to be together with my family to remember Grandma and thank God for her life in a funeral service. I feel like part of me can’t fully grieve until that happens.
For now, here are some places I’ve talked about my Grandparents on the blog over the years:
A video interview on the occasion of my grandparents’ 67th wedding anniversary: When did you first notice the one you love?
A hilarious family photoshoot: In honor of monotonous matrimony
One of my grandparents’ very best gifts to us: A Place For Rest
The one I keep writing for everyone who’ll read it: All Who Enter Here (Here’s another version.)
I still think about this story every time I look at a photo of my grandparents’ living room: Dismantling the Family Enterprise
The Preacher’s Family is a Dancing Family (and my grandparents started it)
Flying A Kite in a Hurricane (aka, Our Family Tradition of Honeymoon Babies)
Speaking of postponements, in the same week we lost my Grandma, we had to help our daughter Kendra navigate the decision to postpone her April 25 wedding. There’s no other way to describe this feeling than the Proverb: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” I keep saying to those I’ve met with for spiritual direction these past two weeks that in one way we’re all experiencing the same suffering right now and in other ways were all walking our own unique trail of hardship. Let’s keep telling our stories, friends.
Very soon, I’ll be able to share a delightful post script to my daughter’s wedding story, but for now here are a few other things I’ve published lately.
Preparing For Holy Week Livestream - An invitation to our Patreon community to share their stories for the 8th Annual Retrieve Lament series during Holy Week.
Fourth Sunday in Lent: I Shall Not Want (public post)
Each Sunday in Lent I’ll share a free Daybook devotional post at the Patreon page for everyone to enjoy. To receive notifications for the free public posts, click "follow" at the bottom of the profile page. The daily devotional posts will then be available to those who subscribe at the Daybook ($5 a month) level.
I’m soooo close to reaching my goal of 50 patrons in order to publish my first e-book. I need 5 more patrons by tonight (Saturday, 3/28) to reach my goal. Will you join us?
7 Literary Books Our Church Read Together in 2019 [Apostles Reads]: Both my reading life and my blogging about reading life are struggling under the weight of this global crisis. I did manage to (finally!) share this list from 2019,
The post includes what we’re reading in 2020 and into 2021.
Peace of heart, mind, and body to you all, reading friends!
Now for more online truth, goodness, and beauty, I’ve enjoyed this week. I hope you enjoy the new streamlined format - 10 categories gathered under 3 umbrellas: Worship God, Love People, and Enjoy Beauty!
Living Sacramentally While Social Distancing: Church of the Apostles, Bridgeport, Ct
On March 11 when Brian began trying to decide if our church should meet in person that Sunday or not, I could only think about the decision on a theoretical level. It probably won’t surprise you but my brain first went to the sacramental implications of meeting virtually for worship and my brain almost imploded. The implications of what it means to be embodied, worshiping, loving humans right now unfold exponentially every day. For now, I’m finding great joy in the ways we’ve been able to gather with our church family via social media.
If you don’t have access to regular online interaction with a church community right now, we invite you to join Church of the Apostles via Facebook Live:
Sunday mornings at 10 am (ET) for extended Morning Prayer service
Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30 pm (ET) for Evening Prayer
Fridays at 8:00 am (ET)
There’s always a link available for the liturgy and you may discover you love the children’s storybook Bible stories we hear on Friday mornings as much as the traditional prayers we say together.
If you’re paying attention, you may also get to see me pop into the scene to save our house from burning to the ground when one of those candles gets carried away.
At least, this catastrophe hasn’t happened to Brian … yet.
What Is An “Elder Orphan”? by Michelle Van Loon via The Perennial Gen
I read this brief essay just a few days before I realized we’d all be figuring out how to live in quarantine. I’m grateful for the ways Michelle Van Loon’s insight has helped shape my perspective on what sorts of living arrangements might be considered actual suffering and what might be considered mild to severe inconvenience. One of my friends in the age category considered especially vulnerable to COVID-19 described herself to me this week as “hermetically sealed”.
Presciently, The Perennial Gen had already planned to dedicate the month of March to the theme caring for “elder orphans”:
“I’m raising this issue to help each one of us reading these words to look around you and take heed of the elder orphans in your community. … There are certainly ministry opportunities to older singles through your church or various community agencies. And there may be someone you know who needs practical help. But even more than that, there may be someone who needs a team member, which is another way of saying “friend”.”
When This is Over
by Laura Kelly Fanucci
When this is over,
may we never again
take for granted
A handshake with a stranger
Full shelves at the store
Conversations with neighbors
A crowded theater
Friday night out
The taste of communion
A routine checkup
The school rush each morning
Coffee with a friend
The stadium roaring
Each deep breath
A boring Tuesday
Life itself.When this ends
may we find
that we have become
more like the people
we wanted to be
we were called to be
we hoped to be
and may we stay
that way — better
for each other
because of the worst.
From laurakellyfanucci.com.
What have you been reading, watching, making, or doing the past couple of weeks? Share with me in the comments below!