Author: Heather

May 11, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

It was a pretty typical day: At the computer, music blaring, iPhone ringing, texts beeping. Then a voice said something very strange: “You have no center.”

The voice was right. I was throwing myself into all that activity in hopes of gaining ground on the day but I was, in truth, flailing.

My tennis instructor once watched me serve. Badly. Everything was off. “You’re rushing,” he said. “You didn’t stop, breathe, relax, see the court – then serve.” He, like the voice, was right. I had no center. 

I turned off the music. I silenced the iPhone. I ignored the texts. I spun in my chair and stared out the window at the birds. For maybe a minute. 

I didn’t pray. I didn’t meditate. I…just…sat…in…silence. And my center showed up about a minute later: silent, calm, focused,  peaceful.

What was it again? Oh yeah! “Be still, and know that I am God.” 

Indeed.

Pete Taft

April 20, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

Compassion and being present.

“If you want to become happy, practice compassion.”  Dali Lama

“Self care is a divine responsibility.” Anonymous

“The greatest thing you can do in this life is to cultivate and exercise compassion.

Life is about learning how to flow with your basic goodness. it’s about entering the heart and making it the front of your being.”  Robert Lax

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.” Dali Lama XIV

We are celebrating the life of David’s mother, who lived 101 years, 50 of them in France and Italy.

Our children came to join us in the celebration. We had many things to do in a short time, but as my daughter said, “Let’s try to be present in the moment as we celebrate the things and places she loved. It is so easy to think about the next thing we have to do.”

So that was our goal.

 Be still and know that I am God.

Being present while packing up a lifetime,

Palmer Marrin

February 16, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

Projects, lists, things.

So much to do and so little time. 

So we cut out things that are often most important.

Care of self, prayer, quiet time for reflection……

Thinking of meaningful passages to help me find the way.

“Being content with less, creates space in the heart for more love.”

Margo Vader, “Take A Little Soul Time”

Self-care is a divine responsibility.  -Anonymous

But my favorite, broken down and meditatively said, centers me.

Be still and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

Knowingly,

Palmer Marrin

______________________

February 9, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

Whenever I’m unable to muster the energy – or imagination – to fashion a prayer, I often resort to reciting the Lord’s Prayer (not a bad backup!), breaking it up into bite sized pieces: “Our Father” (long pause) “who art in heaven” (long pause), etc.

The other day, the first two words of the prayer – “Our Father” – jumped out at me. And it struck me that if you simply repeat them, over and over, you have a pretty comprehensive mantra that comes in rather handy when time won’t allow for longer, more contemplative prayers (rushing for a train or doing the dishes, for example): 

“Our” — Not my, not your, but our. Some are artists, some merchants; some are rich, some poor; some are likable, some not. No matter. Our faith teaches us that we are all one in the eyes of God. What a lovely way to start! 

“Father” — Not king, not master, not teacher, but Father. A loving, caring parent who sees to our needs without us even asking. I’ve read that the closest translation of the Aramaic word Jesus used for Father — “Abba” — is “Daddy.” Imagine that. The creator of the universe is…Daddy. Breathtaking.

Nothing is more powerful than a deep recitation of, and reflection on, the Lord’s Prayer. But these two simple words come darn close. 

Pete Taft

April 5, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

“If our heads are full, and our hearts are empty, we will just tip over. “

Bob Goff

For some reason this quote suggests all sorts of wonderful, mostly amusing, images. We all know what happens if we stand up in a kayak, or a very tippy boat, for example. We tip over! For me, for some strange reason, the image is of the opposite. I am reminded of those crazy children’s toys, rounded and weighted on the bottom, so that even when you push them over, they pop right back up. No matter how hard you try to tip them over, they right themselves immediately.

So, what kinds of things fill up our minds and cause us to tip over? Busyness and long, involved to-do lists for starters. Then there are all those judgments, prejudices, and preconceived ideas about the way the world and other people should be and act, not to mention a whole host of things like knowing all the answers, wanting to be in control and needing to be right. All those things that make us top-heavy and can cause us to tip over when things don’t go according to our best laid plans.

 A full heart, however, a heart that is open, vulnerable and in a posture of surrender, is a very different matter. Such is the heart that is filled with compassion, peacefulness, joy, forgiveness, and all those qualities that lead to building up the kingdom of God. A person whose heart is filled in this way, just like those toys, can be pushed over by any of the storms of life and bounce back up, because that person is grounded, weighted, in God and Gods love for them.

What image does Goff’s quote suggest for you?  Is your mind so full that you risk tipping over or is your heart sufficiently full that it keeps you grounded no matter what happens? A little something to ponder as we enter into Holy Week when Jesus,  his heart filled with love, found sustenance in a way we cannot even begin to imagine.

Blessings, Cynthia.

April 12, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

“What now?”

That simple question resonated with me the Monday morning after Easter.

After all our reflections, celebrations, sacrifices, prayers, givings and fastings – what now? What, O Lord, are we to do in, and with, this radically new time and new place you have given us on this glorious morning?

Thoughts raced through my head. Then quietly (as so often happens), this benediction, repeated time and time again in my hometown church (and St Andrew’s): 

“Go forth into the world in peace.
Be of good courage.
Hold fast to that which is good.
Render to no one evil for evil.
Strengthen the fainthearted.
Support the weak.
Help the afflicted.
Honor everyone you meet.
Love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power

of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” 

Eleven lines that say it all. 

May the new time, new place, and new power of Easter Monday be with us all — now and forever. 

Pete Taft

January 12, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

“Thy will be done.”

The phrase jumped out at me while reciting the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done.”

Then I remembered Jesus’ agonized prayer in the garden: “Neverthess, thy will be done.”

So, with what I hope was appropriate humility and respect, I decided suddenly (and perhaps impestuously) to make this my mantra for the day. 

How exciting! Letting God’s will be done in every aspect of my life. What a difference this will make!

I got about ten minutes in. 

Then life took over. 

“Thy will be done.” No, gotta make coffee. “Thy will be done.” Hey, I’m hungry. Time for breakfast. “Thy will be done.” No, it’s too cold outside. I’ll wear a parka. “Thy will be done.” I wonder what’s on television?

On and on it went, until I realized after about ten minutes how damn hard it is to let God truly enter into, and rule, our lives. When does God speak, and when am I speaking?  When is it MY will, and when is it THY will.

“Thy will be done.” 

Still working on it….

Pete Taft

January 19, 2023

Our Weekly Meditation

As we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on Monday, here are a few quotes:

“Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame but for greatness, because greatness is determined by service.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“No work is insignificant. All work that uplifts humanity has dignity.”

“Unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”

I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

Ephesians 1:16

In love,

Palmer Marrin

To all the wonderful folks at Saint Andrew’s,

On behalf of Fr. Chip, The Rev. Cynthia Hubbard and the Laboratory of Love group at St. Andrew’s, we would like to invite each of you to review the heartfelt letters of support received by St. Andrew’s in response to the emergency needs of 50 Venezuelan immigrants for shelter, food and human services on the dates of September 14th,15th and 16th.  

These letters share heartfelt and direct testimony to the power of upholding Jesus’ message in today’s world. Especially the need to show charity for one another! Please come to this Sunday’s service at 8 am or 10 am and, following the 10 am service, stay for our potluck Breakfast-in-Between which will continue until noon. There will be stations in the Parish Hall for writing and mailing thank you notes to the over 200 people who felt called to share their messages of support. Even if you have time for one thank you note, your heart will be filled with the testimony to the living Word.   If you cannot come in person this Sunday, please respond to this email and we will get information and materials out to you. 

Letter writing is an effort that is not overlooked by the recipient.  Please stay tuned for additional letter writing campaigns offered at St. Andrew’s during the holidays and advent for the people of Ukraine, the U.S. Armed forces and for churches who are opening their doors to immigrants around the world.  

Laura Noonan

A note from Cynthia Hubbard:

This morning, I had the opportunity to look through some of the large stack of maybe almost 200 cards that were sent to Saint Andrews with checks to help with the care of the 48 Venezuelan migrants who landed on our doorstep. They are truly remarkable. Here is just a sampling. Many, you will note, are from people in Florida!

 “ to the wonderful people at Saint Andrews – Thank you for treating the migrants as people. It is what God would have done“

 “Bless all of you at Saint Andrews for all you are doing to help these migrants.  I hope this check will help a little.” (a parishioner from Ithaca, New York.)

“God bless you and your ministry. Sorry our governor is not an easy guy to work with.“

 “Please use this to help the refugees kicked out of Florida by our ‘lovely’ governor. Thank you for truly doing God’s work that a governor could not exercise God‘s grace when he had the chance. He says he’s Christian but I have yet to really see it. Hope this helps some. Best I could do. God bless you and your family.“

 “A little help from a Floridian (ashamed) thank you for your loving help and compassion. “

 Interestingly, Heather Anne also reports many telephone calls from people in the sunshine state.

In any event, we want to acknowledge all these people who felt moved to send financial assistance for the migrants. To that end, we are inviting you to come to the potluck breakfast between the services and/or stay after the 10 o’clock service this Sunday to personalize a thank you card or two, and address and stamp envelopes. These notes are so touching that we want all of you to be able to share in the reading of them.  Let’s make this a parish-wide event as we are reminded of Jesus’ call to care for the least among us.

See you Sunday!

Cynthia

Our Weekly Meditation

“God, I believe, likes us to struggle with God,” says Brother Geoffrey Tristram of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. “For that is how we grow.”

Rabbi Abraham Heschel, meanwhile, once said that what God revealed to Israel throughout history is the “bold and dangerously paradoxical idea” that God needs human beings.

For me, these two radical thoughts have one thing in common: God wants us to be in relationship with God – struggling, questioning, laughing, crying, demanding, rejoicing, weeping. 

I think of Job, who angrily demanded answers from God — and got them. I also think of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, who in almost every scene will look to the sky to laugh, cajole, question or complain to his God. 

More often than not, when I find myself in the middle of a convoluted prayer of my own making, I throw up my hands (thank you, Tevye) and say aloud, “Oh, the heck with it, God. Here’s the deal. I’m unhappy about this or that, and I want to know why…”

Sure, answers don’t come right away. But I feel like I’m in relationship. And that feels very, very good. 

Pete Taft