Where do you practice your Christianity?

I don’t what to know what you do, or how you do it, but where.

I am guessing most of us would say we practice our Christianity in Church, in our homes, around the dinner table, in bed as we prepare to sleep, in the world as we strive to love our neighbors as ourselves.

But, beyond those quick and easy answers, where do you practice your Christianity? Where in your body does your Christianity live?

For many modern mainline Protestants, Christianity lives n the head. We think about what we read and hear. We discuss our thoughts with others. We make plans to turn those thoughts into action. That’s certainly how I tend to approach my Christianity. I read and learn and listen in an attempt to gain understanding.

But understanding alone is not enough. Like any human attempt to connect with the Divine, it is helpful but not sufficient.

At our staff meeting this week, Peter asked us all how we envisioned the Holy Spirit. One phrase immediately jumped into my mind: The Peace That Passes Understanding. For me, the Holy Spirit is What Which Passes Understanding. Sometimes it is peace. Sometimes it is courage. Sometimes it is the restlessness and anxiety that comes before a new and wondrous change. However it appears to us, it takes us somewhere understanding alone could not.

This January – in this time of new starts and resolutions – I would invite you to practice your Christianity not only in your head, but in your heart and body.

Specifically, join me in reading Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. The book explores eleven spiritual practices from the Jewish tradition that can help Christians embody their faith. Lauren, who converted from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity in college, quotes from Exodus 24 “we will do and we will understand” in her introduction.  In the life of the spirit, action creates understanding.

The book is a fascinating, easy read. It has enough explanation for us head-centered Protestants and just a little challenge to move our Christian practice into our bodies. Pick up a copy of Mudhouse Sabbath from the table in the Commons and find a way to embody your faith.

The School of Love is an excellent way to move your spiritual life into your heart. This late winter and spring we will be offering expanded Centering Prayer, Enneagram and Lectio Divina opportunities. Centering Prayer is a quiet, relaxed prayer which loosens the soil of our heart, allowing the Spirit to work in us. Enneagram is a form of self-examination that helps us let go of the compulsions and fixations that can interfere with the Spirit’s work in us. Lectio Divina, or “holy reading” is a way of reading the scripture, not for instruction but for transformation of the heart.

Watch for more information on School of Love classes, groups and retreats and prepare your heart for the Holy Spirit.

Beth Beaty

Spiritual Formation Director Adults and Youth

Hope is a tricky concept. So much is packed into it. When we hope for something, we know how things should be. We also know they are not as they should be Yet. We wait, joyfully, for good things to happen. Hope lives in the darkness, but waits for the Light that it has been promised.

Today, an email newsletter asked me “What habits do you have that generate hope?”

The article quotes the 20th- century English mystic and artist Caryll Houselander: “There is great virtue in practicing patience in small things until the habit of Advent returns to us.” The article goes on to say “The disciplines of Advent are ones that teach us to do small things greatly, to do few things but do them well, to love in particular, rather than in general. This habit of small successes generates creativity, a sense of well-being, a generosity of spirit rooted in satisfaction. It generates hope.”

The author also recommends simple acts of joy. “Dipping in the deep refreshing pool of joy and contentment is one reminder that the world and everything in it, good and bad, belongs to God.”

It never occurred to me that hope was a habit, or that habits could increase my hopefulness. But I got thinking: how do I bring more hope to my life?

I find that sharing and listening to stories of adversity overcome or happiness found restores my hope. When I was laid off a few years ago, nothing gave me more hope and perspective than talking to 80 year olds who had lived through the depression. Likewise, when I talk about my life – to a  close friend or casual acquaintance or even myself – as a series of joys and triumphs instead of a string a irritations and trials, I become more hopeful.

Changing my view – sometimes literally – gives me the space to let hope in. A new route, a new voice, new music, a new activity can give me a new insight and make the darkness seem not so everlasting.

When I feel my hope ebbing, I try to watch what I expose myself to. The dark times – whether they come at Advent or warmer time of year – are not the times for me to follow the news, read the opinion page, listen to grousing or read the latest depressing best-seller. Garbage In—Garbage Out, as my computer teacher used to say. Or as the writer of Proverbs says: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

As we await the coming of the Christ, how will you cultivate hope?

You can read the whole article here (free registration required).

Beth Beaty

Spiritual Formation Director Adults and Youth

Hamline Church was buzzing with the sounds  of Christmas preparations this past Sunday.

Children and families gathered in the Fellowship Hall to dip candles, create Advent wreaths, make wrapping paper and write Christmas cards to our home-bound members. After crafting and getting their faces painted, kids, parents and grandparents  enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies. Everyone left with a graft to decorate their home and an Advent Guide to help their families prepare for Christmas.

Meanwhile, adults hung natural wreaths and garland and decorated two beautiful Christmas trees. By the time they were done, the whole church not only looked but smelled like Christmas.

Thanks to everyone who participated, helped out or donated to the event.

For even more pictures, visit the Hamline Church Facebook page.

I am a road trip connoisseur.

I have always liked long drives, but I had to admit how much I loved road trips this past Thanksgiving weekend. I was on the second of what will be at least six, but more likely eight, out-of-town car trips in the next two months. I am probably not that unusual. So many of us hit the road over the Holidays; we visit family, catch up with friends, take advantage of the extra days off to get out of town.

What may make me unusual in that while driving on this particular trip I was planning, another, longer trip. Well, not so much “planning” as day dreaming about. I was reminiscing about a couple of my solo cross county trips and dreaming about another one. I even successfully talked my traveling companion into a future trip.

Like a true connoisseur I have rules (“No chain restaurants”). I have exceptions to those rules (“Except A&W”). I have methods (“Start early and stop often”). I have rituals (“First the road trip CD, then local radio stations”). I research where I my route and plan where I will go and what I will see. I deviate wildly from my plans.

But more importantly I have a philosophy. While most of my road trips are primarily a way to get from Point A (where I am) to Point B (where all the fun is), I believe the trip should be a thing in its own right. I love seeing the slow changes in the landscape and weather as I drive. I drive through unfamiliar towns and try to imagine I live there. I stop in the middle of nowhere, throw open my arms and yell “This is God’s country!”

I both dread and look forward to that moment when conversations have been finished, the music is stale, the radio and cell phone signals have died and I am left with space and silence and waiting. Road trips give my thoughts a chance to swirl and eventually settle into place.  I slow down. I try to focus on the journey, on the town or stretch of road I am on now.

Most importantly, I keep alert for the gifts.

There is always a gift in a road trip. It may be a simple one like a rare small town bakery or a roadside folk art display. It may be huge, like driving up and out of Salt Lake City to be completely surprised by the Bonneville Salt Flats or driving across Nebraska during a late-night lightning storm. Maybe the gift will not come from outside the car. It might be a conversation I never thought I would have, or a moment of enlightenment.

I never know what the gift of any particular trip will be, but if I slow down, focus on the moment and keep alert, I find it.

The same can be said for Advent. It is so easy to see these four weeks as simply the trip from Thanksgiving to Christmas, where all the fun is. But I have come to love Advent as its own thing, a time to slow down, be alert for hidden gifts both big and small.

Join me this Advent as we road trip toward Christmas. Watch the subtle changes in your home and your life as we move closer to the coming of the Christ. Remind yourself daily that this time of waiting, travel and preparation is as sacred as Christmas Day. Find the time and silence to let your thoughts swirl and settle. Create some new rituals.

Most importantly, expect gifts.

Beth Beaty

Spiritual Formation Director Adults and Youth

We have created an Advent Guide for folks of all ages to deepen our experience of Advent in what can be hectic season.  You can download the pdf in the INFO section on the right sidebar.

Practice your holiday baking!  We are recruiting bakers to supply about 400 cookies and bars for an event at Hamline University.  The university is hosting a festival on Saturday, November 19 to educate students and raise awareness on campus about the Imagine No Malaria campaign.  As a fundraising event at the festival there will be a bake sale.  In addition, they will be using the sale of the cookies and bars to promote the festival on Friday before the event.  Any actual proceeds from the bake sale will come back to the church and be included with our contribution to the Imagine No Malaria campaign.

If you are willing to bake a batch or two of cookies or brownies and package them in $1.00 size packets of 3 or 4, please contact Diane Krueger at 651-645-3255 or dkkrueger@comcast.net.  In addition to supporting a very worthy cause, it’s a great way to connect with students.

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Opportunities for Holiday Giving!  Keystone Community Services, which operates our local food shelf and provides other services to needy families in our community, provides opportunities for supporting our neighbors during the holiday season.  On Thanksgiving morning, they are seeking walkers to join team Keystone and participate in the Walk to End Hunger.  For more information, please check the link below.

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=0b0f82d6a5900c7cd23ff9202&id=070707efff&e=a27024d26b

In addition, Keystone is seeking generous families or groups to participate as sponsors in the Gifts of Hope program. Many families served by Keystone assistance programs face great hardship —   poverty, illness, depression, family instability. Gifts of Hope matches such families with sponsors who purchase specific household items needed by the family as well as toys for the children. Keystone case managers and social workers identify families who are in special need of assistance.   Call now to become a Gifts of hope sponsor — 651-603-6650. Sponsor registration ends in mid-November.

I love little articles with bulleted lists that tell me how to improve my life. I don’t necessarily do all the things on the list, but it’s nice knowing there is an checklist I could follow to solve this problem or that. I suspect a lot of people feel the same; we want quick easy answers. That’s why so many magazines, newspapers and even more websites feature them.

This morning’s article hit all the buttons. Four Habits of Mind That Will Improve Your Career. Only four things! And I can do them with just my mind! No going to the gym!  Improve! Career! And to make the point even stronger, there was a graphic of the Superman red “S.” How could I lose?

But as I read the first bullet point, I was reminded of this week’s scripture and this month’s theme of Being New Peacemakers.

Look for the bright spots.

The first habit the authors want us to cultivate is not to “always look on the sunny side,” which they rightly say will make you annoyingly optimistic. Rather we should stop asking ourselves What are the problems I’m facing and how do I fix them? And, start asking: What’s working now, despite the obstacles, and how can I do more of it?

This is a habit we need to cultivate because when it comes to our thoughts, we have a bias toward bad. Critical comments, negative reactions, bad feedback all have a bigger impact on us than positive ones. The thing that amazes me about “bad influences” is how they spread out like ripples on a lake. I get have a bad phone call, and now my outlook is changed. Problems, whether in my personal life, my work life or my church life loom large. I focus on them, feed them with attention. Meanwhile, the things that are going good, my joys, our successes languish.

When I was first learning to program computers (back when you had to learn a “computer language” to work with them) I learned the concept “Garbage In/Garbage Out.” It was our teacher’s way of telling us the computer will not fix your work. You get from the computer what you put into it. Over the years I have found that’s true for so many things. Child rearing, cooking, project management, relationships.

What happens if we work to overcome our bias for negativity? Will a kind act, a good review, an encouraging email, a celebration of success also ripple through our community and our lives? Can we change the world around us with simple acts of love? David Brooks in his book The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement maintains we can.

Certainly, as Christians, we are called to act as if we can. Paul calls us to “encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing….Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5: 11, 14-16).

This week, join me as I try to overcome my ow bias toward the negative and live by Paul’s instructions. Each day, find someone to encourage. Help someone. Tell someone they did a good job. Ignore a slight and cherish a complement. Find something that is working in your life, at your job, in the church and do more of it.

Commit one act of peacemaking and watch for the ripples.

Beth Beaty

Spiritual Formation Director Adults and Youth

Mark your calendars for Sunday Nov 27th.  From 3-5 Pm we will have an advent workshop with lots of fun and creative crafts for Kids and join the adults upstairs in the Sanctuary for the hanging of the greens to prepare the Sanctuary for Advent worship.