Walter read Ephesians 3.14-19 and shared a paraphrase of this beautiful prayer. We then spent some time asking “what gets in the way?” of receiving the fullness of this prayer. After sharing some answers out loud, we did some silent reflection while re-reading the passages and shared a bit more. See the handout for the paraphrase and the exercise.
Walter Thiessen tells the story of Mark 3,
paraphrasing the account of Jesus and the authorities worried about
losing their grip. With amazing boldness, Jesus speaks about the end of
the Enemy as he announces the good news that the “Strong Man” is all
tied up. Hope, courage and imagination are now possible.
Walter Thiessen suggests nine pathways that can help the hesitant and doubting parts of ourselves find their way back to trusting in God’s Love for us. Links to five songs and a poetry reading are in the powerpoint.
After sharing some obligatory grandbaby pics, Walter Thiessen reminds us of International Women’s Day (with a prayer shared by LA). Then we acknowledged the year we’ve spent with the pandemic and shared some memories and hopes.
Walter Thiessen – This is a follow-up to another reflection on the parable of the Persistent Widow by Mark Groleau at SCC on December 20. This explores the idea of active protest as prayer that enables imagination and keeps belief alive.
I’d invite you to follow up the talk by watching this video with lyrics (or this shorter video) of the song “Glory” from the film Selma (about the most important march of Martin Luther King, Jr.) – a march that was an act of prayer that kept alive the belief of millions, including John Lewis (who mentored the two new Georgia senators). I’d invite you to compare the dignity, compassion and beauty of this protest in comparison to what you saw this past week. Good protest is prayer.