Song for Sunday: Gotta Serve Somebody

I heard this old Bob Dylan song while listening to a local jazz band on the steps of our library. Summer jazz on the library plaza is a great feature of my town.

It's message is a good one.

Who am I serving? A good thing to keep a check on.

Do I really want it to be God?  Attitude plays a big role in service (and worship!)

How can I serve God best? Examining my life and working to improve.


But it is also a good song. So be inspired by it or just enjoy it.


And have a blessed Sunday!

Song for Sunday: For the Fruit of All Creation

Happy New Year!

Today, the first Sunday of Advent, is the first day of the Christian liturgical year. Baptists like me tend not to pay overmuch attention to such things, but I usually give  a nod to this new start.

And what better time than the beginning of a new year to begin again with my blog? I've neglected it for a while.

So, Song for Sunday.


At our Family Thanksgiving Service, we sang this hymn. The piece that stuck with me was the second half of the second verse:

"In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God's will is done."
                   ~Fred Pratt Green

It makes me think, how am I caring for the hungry and despairing? How am I sharing my harvest? How am I offering my body as a living sacrifice?

I volunteer, participate in service projects, and go on the occasional short term mission trip, but my life is comfortable. Am I supposed to do more?

I need to pray....


In the meantime, may the words of this hymn challenge you as well.

What has challenged you recently?

Meme-ic Monday: Serving and Leading

Just a reaction today:  I believe this.

It reminds me of Christ's teaching:  “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” Mark 9: 36b

Let us first be servants. It is what we are called to do. 

God bless your day. 

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On Mondays, I will be posting and responding to memes, one each week. They will be ones that grab my attention, perhaps either resonate with me or annoy me. If you see a meme you would like me to react to, let me know.

New Words

When you visit a place, you learn new words. It's not really what you expect when you visit a section of your own country, where the speak the same language as you. But it's true none the less.


Here are a few words I have learned, or learned a new meaning for, this week.


hurrication -- evacuating for a hurricane, usually just for a few days. (hurricane + vacation)

neutral grounds -- these are what we call "islands" or "medians" in my area; raised places in the center of a road

krewe -- a group, or more formally a Social Aid and Pleasure Society, which organizes carnival parades and events in New Orleans. Many are also 501(c)(3) organizations that perform charitable acts. One such is taking parades to nursing homes and children's hospitals.

culinary medicine -- a new concept in medicine developed by a professor at Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans who is a medical doctor and chef. The idea is to teach healthy nutrition as preventative medicine. At Tulane, medical students are required to do a rotation on this which includes cooking and hands-on learning in nutrition.  Tulane is packaging this curriculum for other medical schools, who are sometimes sending students there for the course. We learned about "culinary medicine" when we visited Liberty's Kitchen a teaching program for homeless youth which gives them self-esteem, life skills, culinary arts training, jobs in the food industry and opportunities to study for work they want to do.

We are actually learning a lot on this trip -- my husband and son have been gaining tons of construction skills. We've tried new things (like poboys and real jambalaya) and stepped outside our comfort zones. (See my rat story.)


We also feel like we have been productive in a a wide variety of ways. While my men have repaired a house, I've served at a food pantry, done an intake at a transitional housing facility, sorted beads for reuse, and done office work at a school. Nothing large or exciting, but hopefully helpful.


What new stuff have you learned recently? 

Song for Sunday: For the Fruit of All Creation

We sang this song in church this morning and two parts grabbed my attention.

In our worldwide task of caring
for the hungry and despairing,
in the harvests we are sharing,
God's will is done.

and

For the wonders that astound us,
for the truths that still confound us,
most of all that love has found us,
thanks be to God.

The first, I suppose, is because of the spotlight those words shine on missions and justice ministry.  We are called to serve our neighbors, wherever they may be. 

 The second, because I have been reading An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'engle and that story emphasizes the mysterious nature of God. We really can't understand God fully. We must, for now, except some darkness in our comprehension of Him.

It is also a beautiful hymn, written in 1970 by Fred Pratt Green and using the tune of the Welsh folk song, 

Ar hyd y nos. I hope you enjoy "For the Fruit of All Creation."

Knitters' Devotional: Service

Many knitters serve others on a regular basis. People knit sweaters for orphans, blankets for babies going to foster care, helmet liners for soldiers, ditty bags for merchant mariners and prayer shawls for those in distress. The list goes on and on. Whether we are knitting for strangers and friends, we are often providing loving help and care.

In serving we emulate Christ, who washed the feet of His disciples, fed the multitudes and healed the sick. He was not above doing the tasks of lowly servants and neither should we be. In every area of our lives we have chances to act as servants to others. We should recognize these opportunities as chances to serve Jesus. It is good to look for Christ in the people we help.

Remember the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10? Two people who should have known better passed an injured man by. The third, a political enemy, stopped to help. He acted as a servant. Jesus held this fictional man up as an example of what a neighbor should do. “Go and do likewise,” he said. And so we should, with our knitting and with all our lives.

Lord Jesus, help us to serve others, knowing that in doing so we really serve you. In your precious name, Amen.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

                ~Matthew 20: 25-28

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, serve one another humbly in love.  For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

                                          ~ Galatans 5: 13-14

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I am writing a knitters' devotional book and would love constructive criticism and feedback on content, grammar, etc. Thanks!

Real Diversity

As I mentioned in my last "Song for Sunday" post I spent the end of last week at the Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries' Intercultural Conference and Multicultural Festival.

I also mentioned in that post we had been reminded there that real diversity is hard. The U.S. is on the way to having no majority ethnic in the fairly near future. The American Baptist Churches USA is already at that point.. We count people of multiple races, cultures and ethnicities in our churches, ministries and missions program. We hope to set an example for the future U.S. and be a beacon of how to manage diversity well.

But it's not easy.

So at this conference, we worshipped and ate together. We enjoyed music and dance from each others'  cultures. We witnessed a beautiful multi-church believer's baptism service, with six candidates making a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And we talked.

We talked about how to get along, how to share ministry, how to overcome barriers.

Language of course is one barrier. Within the US, English will eventually be the "lingua franca" that will allow us to communicate with each other to a point, but new immigrants and refugees will often need their native languages at first. Also, many people new to English will wish to, and should,  worship in their "heart languages."

Still their is much we can do together, especially outside the doors of the church. We don't need to have the same first language to serve together.

Another barrier is -- well, cultural differences. Sure they are rich and we want to celebrate them, but they can also lead to misunderstandings. Fear of making a misstep, being misunderstood or causing insult unintentionally will sometimes -- often-- keep us from interacting with another culture. At my table at the "Conversation Café" we discussed the need to be willing to take risks and engage with a new group. We also talked about the receiving group needing to be willing to offer grace -- something Christians should be good at.

One speaker talked about what she considers to be the main ingredient for successful multicultural ministry -- maturity. We all need to be willing to step back, especially when we feel we have been hurt. We need to ask ourselves, was that meant to be hurtful or does that action or phrase mean something else in their culture? Are they trying to be difficult or do they just have a different way of doing things, a different view of time or a different method of conversing?

Here's the thing: we aren't trying to make everyone the same. We don't want  a melting pot, we want a tapestry with various cultures maintaining their unique identities even while we are being woven into a whole. So we need to interact with each other on that basis.

And we can. I know we can. Besides, it'll be good practice for Heaven where:

".... I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb[Jesus]. " 
                                                                                                    ~Revelation to John 7:9


God's kingdom will be and already is multicultural.



What has been your experience worshiping, serving and interacting with other cultures?

Paying Attention

I went grocery shopping the other day. Not terribly unusual, I do it every week or so. This time, though, I did it in a wheelchair, because of my broken foot. My son went in and requested one and an employee soon arrived with an electric scooter. Very helpful.

Using the scooter was an adventure in the crowded store. I frequently had to navigate around other scooters and, also, a manual wheelchair or two. There were at least six other people in wheelchairs.

There were a few people who got aggravated and pushed past either me or one of the other chairs and some who just didn't notice them. There were also several people who were very helpful. The woman ahead of me in the checkout line unloaded my basket for me.

But here's the thing. I shop regularly at that store. I can't imagine that if there were six wheelchairs there that day, there have never been any on other days, but I can't remember ever seeing one before. I must have missed them. I am an advocate for disabled children by profession, so it's pretty embarrassing to admit that.

Once my foot has healed, I am going to plan a shopping trip so that I have some extra time. I want to go a little more slowly and notice those around me. I especially want to be aware of anyone who might need an extra hand.


Will you join me in paying attention?




I am participating in the January 2013 Ultimate Blog Challenge.

What teens think about serving

Following on from yesterday's post, I have a few quotes from some of our students at CYC who participated in Ventures service projects. They were asked, "What's good about Ventures?"

The first two comments:
"We get to spend time helping the community."

"Helping others."

This, of course, is the essence of serving. It is, ultimately, why we should do it. Jesus told us to serve, to help.

Another person said:

"Knowing the caring presence of Conference would linger in OP [the town] after our two weeks were over."

Building bridges between people, between our teens and the community, is part of our purpose. Service is a good way to do this. It also helps the community at large to gain a postive impression of youth and their potential.

"Finding out what kind of missions you have a passion for; exploring the possibilities for service in the future."


This is an awesome outcome of service. Helping kids to find their gifts and how they can use them for God should be a real focus of youth ministry. Providing opportunities to serve is a great way to accomplish this.

All of the above are true. As a leader I am glad that students are thinking about their service's effect on others. Or about the ways that serving will help them to minister in the future. This is why Ventures is such an important part of our program...and will be for years to come.


Blessings on your day!






Christian youth Conference at Ocean Park is a two week ecumenical conference for high school students held in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. The theme for the 2011 conference is "Face to Face" and will look at restoring relationships between God and individuals, and amongst people. Click here for more information.

Love is a Verb!

Defining love can be a tough thing, but assigning it a part of speech is big step in the right direction. I don’t know who first came up with the phrase “Love is a Verb” but I do know that we used it as a theme at CYC one year. When asked about a significant thing they had learned at CYC, one of our people answered with that theme.

When love is a verb, service becomes very important. Teaching teens to serve is both exciting and rewarding. That is why at CYC we spend one morning on Ventures, going out to serve the community. As the kids work together in groups to help others they create an energy that is palpable. Sure those others benefit, but quite often the teens reap even more positive results. Teamwork, responsibility and putting the needs of others before your own are all important lessons than can be part of a volunteer effort.


Often, serving is a positive experience. The teens have fun. Perhaps they work with children who are cute and enjoy having them around. Perhaps an elderly woman thanks them for stacking her firewood. Perhaps after hours of clearing trails, they plunge into a river and splash each other for a while. At CYC, kids have known these experiences and as a leader I have been thrilled to see their excitement.


But, sometimes, it’s not like that. Maybe a group with Alzheimer’s was tough to deal with. Or people at the soup kitchen made nasty comments. Our teens have had those experiences, too. In one case that I remember, we sent a Ventures to clean the dunes along the town’s beach. The dunes were fenced in at that time and the townies did – and still do feel very protective of them. After all they are an important part of the town’s defense against flooding and beautiful besides. Town officials had asked us to go inside the fence and pick up trash so we sent a group to do just that. And people yelled at them. “You shouldn’t be in there.” Repeatedly, the team leaders explained who they were and what they were doing, but many people up and down the beach expressed displeasure. The townies are actually a nice lot, generally speaking, but protecting those dunes was high on their priority list and they didn’t know who the kids were. Our students were a bit discouraged when they got back. Still, they stuck with it, finished the job and grew through the experience. We tried to help them learn that serving is not for a reward or praise. It’s to help.

We teach that “Love is a Verb” through this hands –on experience every year. We also talk about it, conduct classes on it and model it. We hold up two exceptional servants of God, Adoniram Judson and Ann Hasseltine Judson, as examples. Their lives, dedicated to serving the Burmese people even in very adverse circumstances, have a lot to teach us. So we tell their story each year and commemorate their lives with awards at graduation.



Service is part of the Christian life. It is a high calling and should be undertaken with prayer and careful consideration of our gifts. It’s good to remember that there is no harm in having fun while doing it. Laughter is good in many places.


How are you serving?

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10: 23-25

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[b] .

Galatians 5:13-14





Christian youth Conference at Ocean Park is a two week ecumenical conference for high school students held in August on the beautiful southern coast of Maine. The theme for the 2011 conference is "Face to Face" and will look at restoring relationships between God and individuals, and amongst people. Click here for more information.