meeting notes: Rural Regional (Worship) Planning

Tonight's meeting was primarily spent planning for the upcoming Regional Rural worship service in Wardsville, March 30th, 10:30 a.m.

The theme is one of Good News and hopefully, the SMUCKY youth group will take the lead in developing this theme (where/what is good news in our world? how do we share it? ... or whatever track the kids want to take it).

"The Five Guys" will be special musical guests. Each of the participating congregations will share in the cost of their honorarium and provide 3 loaves of sandwiches for lunch following the service.

In other news, the next service is on June 29th at Melbourne United. Plans for a possible car rally service on August 31st were postponed and November 30th's worship will be hosted by Appin United. Trinity's concerns about the Sunday morning time slot and suggestion of an evening or afternoon alternative were shared.

meeting notes from Presbytery's February meeting

Meeting of the corporation of Camp Kee-Mo-Kee
- an unexpected grant of $10 000 for pool repair was received last year
- budget, officers and Board of Directors approved
- will undertake a Capital Campaign to repair the swimming pool (approximately $50 000 for concrete within the next 5 years)
- thanks extended to the camp director for her work; this coming camping season will be her last

Transitional Ministry Fund (TMF) & Transitional Accompaniment Program (TAP)
- program to allow for a 12-month period of transition and discernment for a sustainable ministry for pastoral charge and minister
- engage a consultant to train and supervise administration of the program
- funded through capital resources (seed money through Middlesex Presbytery’s United Church Council) and money from sale of assets to funnel back to the program
- this would be unique to Middlesex Presbytery, despite this being a common phenomena across the country

World Outreach
- $300 sent to Cross-Cultural Learning Centre for toys of Karen refugees
- “Wells for Life” continues; over 3 years, $50 000+ raised

Finance and Administration
Avon Crampton and Putnam congregations became one amalgamated congregation as of January 1, 2008. Changed name to Reynolds Creek congregation of The United Church of Canada, January 2, 2008. Meeting in the former Putnam building, proposing to sell the Avon Crampton church building. Dispersal of items by offering (for sale or donation) to churches in Middlesex Presbytery.

University of Western Ontario Chaplaincy Report
The chaplain now has a new office on campus. The ministry was extended until 2011-2012; the current chaplain's contract was extended for one year (with the understanding that next year her term will be extended to match the position's). Motions of thanks were extended to the Westminster Foundation for its funding and Robinson Memorial for providing initial office space.

Next meeting: April 22 at Mount Zion United, London

for Mar. 2: John 9.1-41

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who

sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”

But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.”

They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided.

So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?”

Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.”

Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.”

He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.

Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?”

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

* * *

What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "Feeding the Fire of Faith"

... We don’t have the luxury that Moses did of experiencing God directly. Yet, it is quite possible that even he would have missed that opportunity if he had been just a little busier that day. From Marc Gellman’s children’s book Does God Have a Big Toe? we have the story “Watching the Burning Bush Burn” (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1989. pp.68-71)…

The bush burns (and there is some scientific inquiry as to what species of bush this would have been, isolating a certain aspect of foliage that would take on the appearance of burning, but this again is a detail that distracts us from the main thing). The bush burns, attracting Moses’ attention long enough that he can hear God’s call.

Sometimes we need to be clobbered over the head by something fantastic or tragic so that we pause long enough for God’s word to get through to us. Feeding the fire of the faith is not something that happens by what we do. It happens when we stop doing whatever it is we’re doing. It is the pause that refreshes; we nourish our spirits by taking time.

Here in the story with Moses is the first time that the idea of a sacred place is introduced in the Bible. Not during the creation of the heavens and the earth, not during the flood. I’ve mentioned before that the Jewish faith, and therefore our faith, is one based on time: commemorating and setting aside periods of time for worship and festivals and purification and sacrifice. Much of the social code was outlining how best to spend our time in a manner befitting our God.

Here, with Moses, we are invited to remove our sandals because the presence of the LORD denotes holy ground. But what makes that patch of desert wilderness so special? The fact that someone took the time to notice God was there.

This is a message that I keep coming back to because it’s one of those things that easy to remember but hard to do: honour the Sabbath and make time for our spirit, not for the sake of the church but for our own health. We remove our footwear to respect holy ground, how do we show our respect for holy time?

Let us seek to be faithful people in the rushing world. Maybe we can be open to the possibility that time spent in rest and renewal can energize us and focus our energies. If we have a little more Mary and Moses in our life, our inner Martha can work that much better. Church is a place to be filled, not drained empty and so we’ll continue to work towards this vision and reality.

for Feb. 24: Exodus 3. 1-6

For the coming Sunday, we're moving away from Plan A and the lectionary readings to accommodate the story of Mary and Martha.

EDIT: Onto Plan C! Mary and Martha will be the basis for the Children's Story, the sermon will relate more to Moses and the burning bush.

* * *

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’

And he said, ‘Here I am.’

Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

* * *

What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "Old Dogs, New Tricks"

(John 3: 1-17, Genesis 12: 1-4a)

Folklore tells us that a leopard can’t change its spots, that a scorpion will always sting, or that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

On the other hand, faith relies on the fact that anyone can change their ways and become a new person. After all, it is through Jesus that we are born again. I have to confess that I have an aversion for the whole idea of being born again. Not to take anything away from people who have newly and enthusiastically come to a life of faith, but from what I’ve experienced the whole notion smacks too much of an individual salvation that is self-centred and self-righteous. The phrase can also be translated as being “born from above” which points to a source and origin beyond ourselves. Maybe it’s a minor point of difference, but for me it’s an important one.

It was a dark night when Nicodemus slipped out into the streets. Looking all about, over his shoulder and around corners, he took care not to be seen or noticed. He was putting his career and credibility on the line by arranging to meet with a troublesome, backwoods preacher who was making enemies of some very powerful people.

He is deeply troubled, facing questions that he cannot answer, riddles that he cannot solve. Nicodemus arrives at his secret meeting and cuts to the chase. He wants to know more about Jesus, who he is, how he does what he does, if he might possibly be the Messiah.

Jesus interrupts with a cryptic reference to being born from above and proceeds to walk Nicodemus through the notion of baptism (being born of water and spirit), trusting in the unknown and unseen, and hints at the coming events of crucifixion and resurrection. This is a pivotal point in Jesus’ ministry; not only do we have someone of the established power structure and social system seeking, and believing, in Jesus, Christ himself declares that the promise of eternal life is met through him.

Here is where we find the classic verse John 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life”. It is a message of hope and promise, especially at a period in history where it was dangerous to be Christian. While it removes fear of death, it has also promoted the same selfish, self-interested idea of salvation that pushes me away from the overly fundamentalist, evangelical understandings of God, Jesus and the church. It is ironic that this scripture where Christ is trying to teach the religiously righteous Nicodemus not take things so literally, is itself interpreted literally!

Can someone really and truly change? Can someone like Nicodemus who put a lifetime of study and learning into becoming the person that he is, cast it all aside, wipe the slate clean and go back to the beginning? Is there an old dog that can learn new tricks?

What do we have to unlearn ourselves and come to Christ in innocence and trust? Is that what is meant by being born from above? ...To be born from above requires water and the spirit, symbolic death and resurrection. What would it mean for the church to be born from above? We have spent generations building up and protecting our traditions, heritage and legacy. In the face of some real struggles of finance and governance, we need new tricks. Or is there a chance that the institution has to symbolically die first? That is a terrifying proposition.

We know that following a new course through life is not easy. Consider that Abram was called to leave the country of his ancestry to venture to an unknown place. He was in a place where his roots ran deep and wide, in the land of his father where all the years of work and investment had made him a success.

We are meant to be people of a journey, spiritually moving forward to a new place. Whether we look to Christ hoisted up on a cross or to a healing serpent on a pole, we seek God’s assurance and promise of salvation. And I don’t mean a salvation of “it’s OK whatever else happens to the world, as long as I have my place in heaven” type of thinking.

Being saved, or born again, or born from above, is a recognition of the bigger picture, honouring the spiritual reality of our existence and seeing our connections to one another and to creation. In light of such teachings, the question still boils down to asking: can a person really change?

Nicodemus, Abram, you and I, the church itself, cannot help but be changed by experiencing God’s spirit, Christ’s teachings or the spirit of community. Are we born from above, or saved, or born again? I don’t think it matters what we call it, we just know that we are different because of it. We are not alone; thanks be to God.

notes from Trinity's Annual Meeting

Aside from the "standard business" of budgets and nominations, a couple discussions of note took place.

While a motion to withdraw from the Regional Rural worship services (held on any month there was a 5th Sunday) was defeated, there is a strong wish to avoid the Sunday morning time slot for these gatherings. A special evening service was suggested instead.

The proposal to change the current cost-sharing ratio with Appin United (presently 2/3's Trinity: 1/3 Appin) to 62% Trinity, 38% Appin did not pass. Concerns were raised about the start date for the change (2009) , the length of time before reviewing the ratio again (5 years). More dialogue along these lines will occur at the next Official Board meeting.

for Feb. 17 - John 3.1-17

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."

Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"

Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?

"Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

* * *

What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? What about hymn suggestions or ideas for Children's Time? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

sermon excerpts: "Lead Us into Temptation"

(Matthew 4: 1-11; Genesis 2: 15-17, 3: 1-7)

Apparently there’s a bumper sticker that reads, “Lead me not into temptation: I will find it myself!” If we live in this world, we are tempted everyday. From moment to moment we are bombarded with things we might do or not bother doing, items to purchase, people or objects to covet, shortcuts to take, behaviours or desires to indulge. We are very good at explaining to ourselves why it’s not so bad, or why this time will be different, or why this will be the last time.

I’d like to take a few seconds now for all of us to think about things that tempt us ... Thinking such things, even in church, is not a sin; thinking about such things proves that we are normal, that we are human. There is no way to avoid these wishes, wants and wonderings.

I will go on the record here to say that I do not believe in the Devil. Not the red-faced, goatee-wearing, double-horned, pointy-tailed, pitchfork-carrying demon of fire and sulphur. I think it’s an easy cop-out for us to blame the evils of the world, and in our lives, on the work of a supernatural being.

Within each of us, we have the lure of temptations, our fears and insecurities, our self-rationalizations. This is where our so-called devil comes from, and when we turn to Satan, the Lord Prince of Darkness, or whatever other titles the movies come up with, we deny the real source of our troubles. This is a little heavier than what I usually come up with, but personal accountability is something that needs to be emphasized in our day and age. Besides, I’m not finished yet; there is always a message of hope that emerges.

After forty days and forty nights of fasting, Jesus was famished. In this hunger, he found the devil offering the things he wanted most. And in finding the devil, Jesus found himself and he knew that God was there too.We all have choice and free will.

For the longest time I used to think of God as a puppet master setting out every single little detail of my little farm boy existence. And I would wonder why God made me pull my brother’s hair, or throw that rock, or make my sister cry, or not practice my piano lessons. I would face an obviously a wrong thing to do, but because I did it anyway, it must have been because God made me.

I grew up with a God of power and might, where there was nothing that God couldn’t do. It’s in our hymns, it’s in the Bible, God is all knowing and all-powerful. So God surely has the power to cure cancer in someone I love, or prevent a traffic accident, or feed that homeless person, or stop a rape from happening. But when these tragedies happen anyway, despite our efforts to pray, live a good life, it makes God seem random and arbitrary. Cruel even.

I hadn’t yet heard of the riddle that wondered if God could create a rock so big and heavy that even he couldn’t lift it? Many years later I actually came up with an answer to that question. It’s not that God couldn’t lift the rock, it’s just that she chooses not to.

God makes decisions to not interfere. So in not lifting that rock, God also accepts the consequences of that inaction. When tsunamis and hurricanes flood into towns, planes crash into skyscrapers, governments kill their own people, it takes infinitely great strength not to act. Especially knowing that she has the power and might to do such a thing, God suffers with us.

In the same fashion, Jesus decides not to use his power to influence the ways of the world. He’ll do things the hard way, as ordinary people would labour and toil. So he rejects the devil. Rocks were not meant to be bread. Gravity cannot be dismissed. The natural flow of leadership and governance can’t be cut short by a cosmic takeover.

God trusts us and our abilities and our wisdom and our faith. God knows full well that we will fall short, but that is how we learn. From the movie “Batman Begins”, Bruce Wayne’s father asks and answers the question, “Why do we keep falling? … So we might better learn how to pick ourselves up.”

Here again is the lesson; our life is up to us. Ever since Adam and Eve gained the knowledge of good and evil, we say that we’re fallen people. Sure, we blame the snake or the apple, but we’re the ones on the hook for our actions. We can never again say, “I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to do that”. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. We are fully aware of the moral consequences of our actions.

To face temptation means that we are alive, that we are called to use our judgment. Different things tempt different people: sex and drugs and rock n’ roll. Or chocolate. Or gambling. Or whatever. Choice and free will, we decide how we respond to our temptations.

Why is it easier to believe that there is a devil inside each of us than it is to think that a spark of the holy divine might be there too? Can we not accept that God dwells within each and everyone of us? We all have the power to forgive and create, to love unconditionally, to work for peace, to be a miracle to someone else. That’s the hope and assurance.

Lead us into temptation and let us be grateful for the gift of free will and choice, let us choose justice, peace and abundant life. God’s grace and mercy be with us this, and every, day.

for Feb. 10 - Matthew 4: 1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'" Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

* * *

What feelings, questions, thoughts and prompts to personal action arise from this scripture? Share them as Comments below or in an email, and help shape Sunday's worship service.

Inviting Input

In the spirit of collaboration and open-source creativity, I've posted the scripture lessons for the upcoming season of Lent here, along with some of the suggested that match up with those readings. (The highlighted selections are ones that I'm leaning towards using).

Anyone who wants to help in the creation of worship service is most welcome to suggest other hymns or possible Children's Time stories or prayer wording ... Because Sunday worship isn't about me - it should reflect the congregation.

Appin Annual Meeting

Although I arrived late to the meeting after all the reports had been presented, that won't prevent me from chronicling some of the goings-on and outcomes from the meeting.

The church wishes to express its disapproval of the decision to centralize all ministry payroll through the national church office, by an outsourced service.

The decision to change the cost-sharing ratio from 2/3 Trinity, 1/3 Appin to 62% Trinity, 38% Appin (to be in effect for the 2009 fiscal year) was approved.

A discussion about the future of the Sunday School brought out concern and the need for new ideas and leaders.

An update about the Regional Rural United Churches group was given, including mention of some generic church advertising in the Transcript and Free Press for Christmas, which will be tried again for Lent/Easter.

sermon excerpts: "Sabbath - Back to the Future"

Leviticus 25: 1-21; Deuteronomy 15: 1-11

In the Leviticus reading, we find ourselves on Mount Sinai, the same holy mountain where Moses received the covenant with God, the Ten Commandments, including the 4th commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. Here, we learn that Moses also gets instruction from the LORD about the 7th year.

God instructs us to take an agricultural and ecological Sabbath, to let the land lie fallow and labour not upon the fields. God will provide. In our present day world of markets and quotas and agribusiness, this is impossible.

The lesson in Deuteronomy speaks of an economic Sabbath. In addition to responding generously and uncomplainingly to the needs of the poor and disadvantaged, all unpaid debts are to be forgiven and forgotten. In our present day world of mortgages, credit cards, interest rates and stock markets, this too is impossible.

... Might we be able to see the benefit in a fresh start for all people, for creation? But to ask farmers and bankers to give up their livelihoods for a year seems far-fetched. Outlandish even. Unrealistic.

Yet no more or less so than the plagues that attacked Egypt, the Angel of Death passing over, or the Red Sea parting for the Israelites, or the manna and quails feeding the people in the wilderness for 40 years. But these are all acts of God, all the people had to do was choose to believe, to receive. In the miracle of grace, all we have to do is open the gift that has been wrapped up and set in front of us.

What is truly miraculous would be the fact that Sabbath and jubilee, forgiveness and rest depends on us. This time we are the ones who have to take action, not God. It is our turn to give: to creation, to the less privileged, to the needy, to our own spirits. And in doing so we give to God.

Everyone receives God’s grace and forgiveness. The basis for these extended Sabbath traditions is a remembrance and thanksgiving for the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt, from a time when the chosen people of God were nothing but slaves in a mighty empire’s economic machinery. It was a reminder to treat others as they would have liked to have been treated; it was a command to care for the slaves, immigrants and aliens in their midst.

It’s a built-in safety net, the assurance that well, no matter how poorly my life turns out, at least in 7 years I get a chance to try again. Everything will be reset, the playing field is leveled and every person will have every opportunity to make of their life what they will. It’s like the reset button on the Nintendo or Xbox, we get to start all over again without past mistakes or episodes of bad luck to haunt us.

Yes, a lot can happen in 7 years, a business can begin boom and bust. So could a musician. A TV series can go to syndication and reruns. A student could get a high school and college education. But at the end of all of that, it bears remember that we are no better or worse than anyone else, that we all are equal in God’s eyes.

So why can’t the world see with God’s eyes? Sabbath is an attempt to do this: one day a week, even every 7th year. Leviticus goes on further to introduce the idea of a year of Jubilee after 7 sets of 7 years – the fiftieth is particularly hallowed.

All real estate and property is redistributed equally. There’s a built-in system of checks and balances that ensures that all people would have enough, that the rich would never get too rich or the poor never gets too poor. I could launch into a whole other sermon about Jubilee and its promises and hopes for this world.

Hopefully after 3 weeks of this theme, you get the point that Sabbath is more than going to church and not having any fun on Sunday. It is an expression of faith, of relationship with those around us, of feasting, celebrating, easing burdens. Which is why Sabbath is so biblically diversified with a real and significant impact on economics, agriculture, societal dynamics, political history, as well as spiritual care and growth.

The ongoing message is that no one should be in need. We cannot afford to be hard-hearted or tight-fisted with our resources and energies, with our love and compassion. We know that the world is overworked and undernourished. We are working harder, not smarter.

For the future of the Sabbath, and for our sense of spirit, we turn to an ancient Hebrew vision of Jubilee and the seventh year. And this little-known, often ignored directive captures a lot of what Sabbath is about: hard work and sacrifice, easing burden, giving rest to others, finding meaningful rest for ourselves, preparation for a new beginning.