This week's author is Karen Ziel, Minister of Christian Education for the Connecticut Conference, UCC.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?" Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Are you familiar with The Word and You?* It is a lectionary based devotional resource that can be found at the Ruth Dudley Resource Center at United Church Center in Hartford. My call is to be a steward for these materials, and to assist patrons with finding those resources which might enlighten their minds, open their hearts, ground their work with a particular body of knowledge, find a good book to share with a grieving child, and more.
I opened the book The Word and You in preparation for this meditation. The author for this particular devotional offers readers an exploration of Isaiah's message and Psalm 147.
The key questions in these words of Isaiah, the author suggests, are twofold: "How does God empower people?" and "When has God bolstered you in a time of weakness?"
My answer to these questions will, perhaps, sound like a statement of faith. I can't imagine my life without faith, without the still small voice, the comfort I receive during times of challenge, the sense of purpose and vocation I have found by opening my life's work to my relationship with God. I first knew faith in a large and dark church in early childhood. I think I was in second grade when I began to understand that God would be in my life. Despite my sense of loss when my grandpa died, I knew as I knelt in prayer in that dark and awesome sanctuary that God was there with me. When I am angry, sad, feeling lost -- through all manner of conflict and challenge -- even during those moments of levity and irony, somehow they are all smaller in significance when I am close to God. Conversely, each of those moments is made more meaningful and more significant when I am somehow with God --- even if my prayer or plea remains unspoken.
I believe God empowers people in many ways -- in the comforting presence of a good friend, through the relationships we develop with those we meet, in the trials we face, in the quiet of a winter snowfall, in ways too numerous to mention. If we have faith, we will be reminded that God empowers and sustains us, no matter the difficulty.
* From: The Word and You, Nan Duerling, Editor (United Church Press, 1999).
I give you praise and thanks, Almighty God, for your empowering and sustaining presence. Amen.
Please remember our Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Davida Foy Crabtree, as she continues treatment for breast cancer. You can follow her progress and leave messages for her at this site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidacrabtree
Please also remember:
the loved ones of Helen Irwin, mother-in-law of the Rev. Dr. Ray Odiorne, Interim Pastor of the Milton Congregational Church UCC and pastoral counselor in Waterbury, who died after a long illness;
those without electrical power following the ice storms in Kentucky;
Peg Zappulla, wife of the Rev. Jon T. Zappulla, interim pastor of Bunker Hill Congregational Church, UCC, of Waterbury, who is seriously ill with cancer and receiving care at a rehabilitation facility;
Cheryl McNamee, daughter of the Rev. Al Turner, pastor of South Congregational Church UCC in East Hartford, who had breast cancer surgery on Jan. 21st;
the loved ones of MaryAnn Halibozek, church secretary at Immanuel Congregational Church UCC in Hartford, who died after a short struggle with a malignant brain tumor;
Alden Tyrol, retired Director of Silver Lake, who is recovering from pneumonia at home;
members of the Conference staff who are ill or recovering from broken bones;
the Rev. M. J. Hinchliff, pastor of First Church of Christ, Congregational, UCC of East Haddam, who is being treated for breast cancer;
the leaders of this nation, that they may meet the challenges of the day with insight, wisdom, and compassion;
those suffering due to the ongoing financial woes of the nation, be they struggling to meet an unaffordable mortgage, confronting the loss of a job, or working to find just resolutions to the crisis; and
those serving or living in war or conflict zones around the world, or where terrorists have struck, particularly in Gaza, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, Georgia, India, Pakistan, and the Sudan.
To be added to the prayer list, please send an email to your Regional Minister or to webmaster@ctucc.org.
Hartford
First Church of Christ in Hartford
IN The Rev. Paul F. Goodman
PE The Rev. J. Alan McLean
CE Ms. Patricia Anderson
Hartford
Immanuel Cong'l Ch., Inc.
P The Rev. Edward G. Horstmann
AP The Rev. Nancy E. Allen
MM M. Singleton
Hartford
Warburton Community Cong. Church UCC
IN The Rev. Ronald Simpson
Hartland
First Church in Hartland, Cong'l
P The Rev. Kurt Satherlie
Harwinton
Harwinton Cong'l Church
P The Rev. John F. Wilmarth
To read previous editions of the Spirit Calendar, visit:
http://www.ctucc.org/fido/spiritcalendar/
To learn more about or subscribe to the Spirit Calendar, visit:
http://www.ctucc.org/fido/
The Spirit Calendar: February 02, 2009 by Karen E. Ziel, Minister of Christian Education
