At home... (Pr. Craig Mueller)

Several weeks into the pandemic The New York Times suspended the travel and sports sections of their Sunday edition. Instead, a new section, At Home, includes simple recipes, ideas for family games and art projects, and creative suggestions for making the most of quarantine.

We are into the twenty-second week of this weird reality of staying home and experiencing much of life through our computers: video conferencing with work colleagues and families; classes, advocacy and interest groups; and yes, even church. Thanks to all who filled out Holy Trinity’s survey regarding online worship, communion, and returning to our building. We have had a great response so far, but we would like as many as possible to participate—this coming Sunday is the deadline.

The more we learn about the coronavirus and vaccines, the more we sense we will not be returning soon to the lives we knew only a year ago. It appears that most churches, schools, and other organizations will be moving to a hybrid approach in the future: a combination of in-person and online gatherings.

There are many losses that I grieve in not being together in person for the multisensory liturgy that we treasure. At the same time, these next months and years will be an opportunity for us to see our homes as a locus of ritual and spirituality. I envy Jews for the rich ritual experience centered in their homes: Passover seders, lighting Chanukah candles, and of course, the weekly Shabbat meal that ushers in the Sabbath. Throughout the day faithful Jews recite blessings, connecting faith and their everyday lives.

In some Christian circles the home is sometimes called the “domestic church.” Though we may gather on Sunday as the assembly of God’s people, it is in the home where most of the daily rhythms of life occur: preparing meals and eating, cleaning and working, conversing and sharing hospitality, resting and sleeping.

Yet to use the word “home” does not suggest simply one picture. It may be a large house, an apartment, a single room, or a bed in a care center. It can be a retirement home or a convent. It may include children with one or more parents. It may be for one person, a group of people living together, or roommates. In all these settings the ordinary patterns of daily life hold the opportunity for celebrating God’s gracious presence.

I hope that our congregation, denomination, and publishing house develop new materials to help us pray and observe rituals in our home. Someone suggested to me that we should not only bless backpacks, but we should also bless masks and computers, for example.

A simple way to begin is meal blessing and prayers, if you are not already doing so. Here is a starter kit. Mix and match among these options:

• Make the sign of the cross.

• Be mindful of the food before you. Pause, look at the food for a moment of silence before you eat.

• Come Lord Jesus, be our guest. Let these gifts to us be blessed. Blessed be God who is our bread. May all the world be clothed and fed.

• Bless us, O Lord, and these your gifts which we are about to receive from your bounty. Through Christ our Lord.

• O give thanks to the Lord whose mercy endures forever.

• The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord, and you give them their food in due season. You open wide your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

• May all be fed. May all be healed. May all be loved.

• For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful.

• O God, bless this food we are about to receive. Give bread to those who hunger, and hunger for justice to those of us who have bread. (Nicaraguan)

• Families: check out Peanut Butter and Jelly Prayers (Morehouse, 2016) by our own Julie Sevig.

Though not together in person on Sundays, may you experience blessings of grace these days even as you bless God in times of both joy and sorrow, plenty and want.

Winter Solstice (Pr. Craig Mueller)

The winter solstice this year will occur on December 21st at 10:19 pm. Following the shortest day of the year, days will lengthen and nights shorten.

During the final seven days of Advent the Church sings the O Antiphons during Evening Prayer. These antiphons are the basis of the beloved hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” which we will sing this coming Sunday. Read these reflections on all seven O Antiphons.

The antiphon assigned to December 21 is most appropriate for the winter solstice:

O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

During Advent we have been learning to sit in the darkness, savor the darkness, learn from the darkness.

In the darkness of the earth, a seed germinates. In the darkness of the night, sleep renews. In the darkness of a womb, new life emerges.

Winter has its own beauty for those who take some lingering moments to notice. May these lovely words from the sending hymn last Sunday be our solstice prayer as we long for Christ’s coming and the great celebration of the incarnation at Christmas.

Heavy clouds that block the moonlight

Now begin to drift away.

Diamond brilliance through the darkness

Shines the hope of coming day.

Christ, the morning star of splendor,

Gleams with a world grown dim.

Heaven’s ember fan to fullness;

Hearts grow warm to welcome him.

-       Mary Louise Bringle

Advent and Christmas blessings of grace and peace to you, whether you will be celebrating in Chicago or with loved ones in other places.

Intersections

Intersections can be risky and dangerous. Whether on foot, on a bike, or in a car, extra caution is needed when approaching an intersection.

Recently I was a behind a car turning left and was already in the intersection. The other turned car so late that by the time I followed, a red-light camera got a picture of my car and license plate and I got a very expensive ticket!

At Holy Trinity we make connections between church and world—how our baptismal calling intersects with the way we live, work, vote, serve, volunteer, and pray. Holy Trinity has a long commitment to bringing our faith into the public sphere. For many this intersection is reflected in the radical welcome we announce in worship.

Our community began to work on inclusivity in the early 1990s when gays and lesbians were publicly welcomed into every aspect of parish life. This passion for justice naturally leads to others. In fact, intersectionality is the way that many describe forms of discrimination (racism, sexism, homophobia, classism) that overlap. Our commitment to environmental justice is another example as climate change usually affects the most vulnerable in society.

Holy Trinity’s commitment to antiracism work has grown gradually over the past 15 years. At least 24 persons have attended a 2.5 antiracism training event. We have had several council and congregational retreats focused on racial justice. A number of books have been read and discussed. A passionate antiracism team has guided this work.

The weekend of September 28-29 will mark the beginning of Holy Trinity's two-year partnership with the Antiracism Team of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the ELCA. Through this partnership, Holy Trinity will work with a leader from the Synod Team to discern and enact a plan for the future. What does it mean to do the work of dismantling institutional racism in our church? The Synod Team describes the process as follows: "Challenging racism requires us to look beyond individual acts of prejudice towards the systemic barriers that marginalize members of our family; barriers embedded in our policies and procedures, in our faith tradition, practices and beliefs."

We ask that you join us for an important forum this weekend: following HTLoop worship this coming weekend on Saturday, September 28 and HTLakeview worship on Sunday, September 29.

We will make a commitment as a congregation to this work on Reformation Sunday, October 26/27. The church’s call to continuing Reformation is an intersection worth our reflection and response!