This is something The Mount’s Leadership Team has been reading and dwelling on this week in our quiet times…it’s from the book “Life Together” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
“Let the one who cannot be alone beware of community. They will only do harm to themselves and the community. Alone you stood before God when he called you; alone you had to answer that call; alone you had to struggle and pray…you cannot escape from yourself…if you refuse to be alone you are rejecting Christ’s call to you, and you can have no part in the community of those who are called.
But the reverse is also true: let the one who is not in community beware of being alone. Into the community you were called, the call was not meant for you alone…If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus, and thus your solitude can only be hurtful to you.”
Just like everything else in our lives as we learn and follow the way of Jesus, balance is crucial and to be polarized is dangerous and weak faith.
joy or sadness, war or peace, live or hate, purity or impurity, charity or greed, all are tremendous realities which are the hinges of our interior life. everyday things, relationships with other people, work, love or our family - all these may breed saints.
Jesus at nazareth taught us live every hour of the day as saints. every hour of the day is useful and may lead to divine inspiration, the will of the Father, the prayer of contemplation - holiness. every hour of the day is holy. what matters is to live it as Jesus taught us.
and for this one does not have to shut oneself in a monastery or fix strange and inhumane regimes for one’s life. it is enough to accept the realities of life.
| — | carlo carretto, letters from the desert (via beadearandcalltheparamedics) |
| — | philip d. kenneson, life on the vine (via beadearandcalltheparamedics) |
last night at the mount i shared a prayer from henri nouwen (original b.a.)…here it is:
“o Lord, who else can i desire but you? you are my Lord, Lord of my heart, mind and soul. you know me through and through. in and through you everything that is finds its origin and goal. you embrace all that exists and care for it with divine love and compassion. why, then, do i keep expecting happiness and satisfaction outside of you? why do i keep relating to you as one of my many relationships, instead of my only relationship, in which all other ones are grounded? why do i keep looking for popularity, respect from others, success, acclaim, and sensual pleasures? why, Lord, is it so hard for me to make you the only one? why do i keep hesitating to surrender myself totally to you?
help me, o Lord, to let my old self die, to let die the thousand big and small ways in which i am still building up my false self and trying to cling to my false desires. let me be reborn in you and see though you the world in the right way, so that all my actions, words, and thoughts can become a hymn of praise to you.
i need your loving grace to travel on this hard road that leads to the death of my old self and to a new life in and for you. i know and trust that this is the road to freedom.
Lord, dispel my mistrust and help me become a trusting friend. amen.”
| — | dietrich bonhoeffer, life together |
2.22.2012
Lent is appreciated and lived best through spiritual discipline. These disciplines need to be at a level realistic to our own faith and ability. For example, fasting three times a week is probably steeper than most of us can really do. Also, while Lent is often a time of giving…
2.21.2012
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which begins the season of Lent. This is from Churchyear.net and helps us understand the significant of this season for our faith as Christians:
The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, spiritual growth, conversion, and simplicity….
Pastor Phil is in Myanmar for two weeks, here is the first of his posts while teaching Pastors there about the Bible.
utahgrace:
“How was your sleep” is often the first question of the day from our fellow pastors and Christian leaders here in kalay myo, myanmar. So I said I woke up about 2 AM to the chanting of a male voice on a loud speaker which seemed to be coming from about a quarter of a mile away.
None of our friends…
| — | Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together |
On February 12th, The Mount will roll back our start time from 6:45 pm to 6 pm. We have one basic motivation for this decision, but our hope is that everyone could benefit from the move.
For the last year and a half we have heard from families with small children that The Mount would be more of an option for their family except that by the time we let out, it’s already past bedtime for a school night. So without changing what we do or who we are trying to reach we thought the simple logistical adjustment of starting 45 minutes earlier could free up some more marrieds with young kids to attend weekly worship services.
Questions you might have:
Q: Is this just because Chad has a kid now?
A: Nope, Chad and Phil have been looking at this for a year and a half and prepping it with the leadership team since last year.
Q: Isn’t The Mount just all college kids? Why does it matter if families can attend?
A: The Mount has a large number of college kids, but you’d be surprised how many regulars are in the 25-35 age bracket. Funny thing about college kids is that they fall in love and get married and have babies. We don’t want people to think of The Mount as something they can only attend for a while (until they grow up); we want to grow with people as they move from one season of life to the next. Also, we’re better when we spend time with people who in different life stages and this move might bring in some different demographics.
Q: Will there be more restaurants, pubs and coffee shops open on Sunday nights to choose from now?
A: Yes. Lots more. This is one way the time change could affect almost everyone in a good way.
Q: Is The Mount changing who it is reaching out to now?
A: Not one bit. We’re going to stay who we are, just 45 minutes earlier so that families with kids could attend if they wanted to. We have several families already who are people you would recognize that will be helped by this logistical change.
Q: Why February 12th?
A: It’s the Sunday after the Super Bowl and also we wanted to create some distance from the holidays since so many people are gone it would be hard to communicate the change.
Q: Why were we ever meeting at 6:45 pm in the first place?
A: No one really knows. We used to meet at 5:45 pm when The Mount started in 2006 and have jumped around a bit every few years.
If you have feedback on this issue please feel free to mention it to Chad or someone on the Leadership team. We’ve looked at this from every angle and we’re hoping this won’t be a significant problem for anyone. Thanks for growing with The Mount.
