Intermittent Fasting–For all Embodied Souls
March 9, 2023
In a diet culture of striving for the perfect body, we miss the essential power of perfecting the soul. Our bodies are the “temple of the Holy Spirit.” (1 Cor 6: 19) A healthy physique, internally and externally, is only one aspect of approaching our capacity for well-being. How are you nurturing your soul?
Lent is a season 
to remind us of this essential component. Fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines of Lent. It is not the intermittent fasting of a weight-management plan. It is an ancient practice of a burden management plan. Fasting is meant to help us release the weight of pleasures that obscure the joy of faith.
Have you created a Lenten fast? Would you for the last few weeks of Lent? A daily prayer, 20 minutes, in which you refraining from your usual routine everyday until Easter morning. Our SAPC Facebook page is providing daily reflections from A Sanctified Art, and our website has a link to a daily devotional.
May this Lenten season provide you a path to unburdening your life of the heavy weights that keep you from attending your soul. Be freed to discover the power of daily or weekly personal worship that reveals the one thing necessary:
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure. (Ps 16: 8-9)
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Seeking Unity?
Can division ever be holy?
As part of our commitment to our new vision and mission, the session approved three objectives for this years ministry:
1. Connect with each other in friendship,
2. Learn together about our God-given faith and purpose,
3. Practice peace and love through acts of healing and reconciliation.
You might guess that joining each other in a conversation about differences and how to navigate our relationships in light of these fulfills all three. I hope you will join each other in this journey beginning in Lent.
Join each other Wednesday evenings 6:00 to 7:30, beginning March 1. Bring your own supper and a hunger for good conversations. Yes, if you are a choir member, you are welcome to leave early when rehearsal begins—let the conversations fill you with both holy harmonies and holy discordant musicality!
You may purchase your own book or ebook, or sign up for a paperback copy to be provided by emailing secretary@standrew-pres.org by Monday, Feb. 27, 9 a.m. In preparation for the first class, please go to
https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Disunity-What-Separates-Save/dp/0664265669, click “Look Inside” and read the Introduction.
One in Christ,
RevBev
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Courage, Connection, Covenant
Keep alert; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.
1 Cor 16: 13-14
Presbyterians are a “connectional,” church. We believe that our God made a covenant to be our God; and; we believe the Presbyterian churches are connected to one another due to this covenant. When connections involve covenant they become more than commonalities.
Our new vision and mission is going to be challenging. Here at SAPC, we are making a renewed commitment to be for one another, to engage the courageous and hard work of healing relationships. That is a covenant calling us to become connected with an intentional purpose for well-being.
We are acknowledging that neither a system of congregational care, nor a pastor making a visit, will ever replace the person on the pew making direct contact. My invitation to you is to keep narrowing the focus of what it means to do the healing work of reconciliation in this new covenant. What is the least you can do? We grow by beginning at the beginning.
The smallest step is drumming up the courage to say, “Here I am—thinking of you,” to a specific person, in writing or in person. Seems simple, huh? But it is not if you are not naturally gifted with reaching out. Trust me—I know this personally! So, I am telling you that you are not alone if you hesitate to make a connection more than that Sunday hello.
Be brave—once in the next 7 days. The prayer list might be a good place to start. Or offering a thank you to someone in the church who has meant something to you in your spiritual journey. Trust Holy Spirit, pray for Holy Spirit, to open that door, open your eyes, and help you reach out, to become more than connected—become transformed in the covenant bond of Christ.
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Though the earth should move
St. Andrew Presbyterian joins the global community of care for the people of Syria and Turkey. Today’s post comes from the Director of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Rev. Edwin González-Castillo.
“As we watch the images and begin to receive news about the aftermath of the 7.8 on the Richter scale earthquake that hit near the border between Syria and Turkey, we invite you to join us in prayer for all the communities impacted by this disaster. PDA has already reached out to our partners in the areas affected by the earthquakes. Along with our prayers, we have offered our support and will be providing initial grants to attend to immediate unmet needs. To support our response, designate gifts to DR999999.
Dear God, as the days go by, provide wisdom and discernment to the local government agencies. May they be instruments of your grace as they care for the people affected. That they may receive help and support from countries near and far, and that, as they provide assistance, may there be enough for everyone. As the stories are shared, and the recovery process begins, may your Spirit be with those who will be called to listen and to be agents of peace and hope.
Dear God, be with those
who weep,
who are angry,
who have lost hope,
who mourn out loud and in silence,
who don’t know what the future will bring.
May the prayers of your children rise to you.
May they feel your presence and comfort in the embrace of a stranger,
your love in the care of their neighbors and loved ones,
your grace in every word and every silence,
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How long? Not long.
February 2, 2023
An ancient prophet wrote words we could, or perhaps do, pray today:
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise.
So the law becomes slack, and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous; therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
It’s Groundhog Day. The shadows are long for us and the winter of our discontent seems unending.
Like Phil in the movie, we are caught in a time loop that seems inescapable. Even Habakkuk felt stuck in cycles of injustice and destruction.
What will it take for you to shine the light of peace and love so we never have to say another name, with the shame of inexplicable violence upon a Black man during a traffic stop? What will it take for you to shine such that we can learn our nation’s history with the conviction that truth is the foundation of reconciliation? What will it take for you to shine such that the spiritual quest for life becomes a common ground for common goodness, regardless of the religion providing the north star for its followers?
May the light of Christ shine in you this week, even if you are praying the words of the prophet, or because you are willing to pray those words, “How long.” Jesus says, “Not long–You are the light of the world.”
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Practice, Practice, Practice
Peace be with you!
Rev Bev
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2022 Blog Posts are archived HERE.