The Wisdom of Seeking God-- Mid-Week Vespers

Last night's theme for Mid-Week Vespers was "The Wisdom of Seeking God" from A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God.  When we arrived to the sanctuary, there was a box of Play-Doh next to the bulletins.  During the greetings time, we learned that the play doh was for us to play with during the service.  It was a hands-on way to remember that we are malleable, pliable in God's hands.  It was pretty awesome to watch everyone pick a can of the stuff, pop open the top, and begin to squish it between their hands and fingers.  It was a great way to allow the mind and spirit to free up while the physical let out stress on the substance.  How God spoke to each person with the Play-Doh, who knows?  For me, it was therapeutic to manipulate the stuff throughout the service and to realize that I am to remain pliable in God's hands.

Last night's Vespers was the service of help, hope, and healing which is done once a month in the rotation.  There is an opportunity for folks to come to the altar for anointing and prayer.  It is a special and holy time.   Pastor Reed Shell introduced the time of anointing and oil in a beautiful way.  It was a blessing for me to participate and pray for others.  It was also a blessing for me to stand in the gap for someone else and to be anointed and prayed for by Pastor Reed Shell. 

These evening services of prayer, song, and reflection continue to meet me and my spirit in that place that needs the space to breathe, the space for the body to catch up with the soul, the space to "be".

My soul is refreshed from Sunday worship services, from Scripture study, from prayer, from being out in God's creation, from silence, etc.  Different spiritual practices refresh in different ways as different exercises build different muscles in the physical body.  For me it isn't a matter of "either/or", but rather a situation of "both/and".

If you live in the local Chattanooga area, I encourage you to come out one Wednesday evening to Hixson UMC to check it out.  Come at 6:10pm for Holy Communion in the Parlor, then head into the "old" sanctuary / Chapel for the Vespers service at 6:30pm.  The service usually ends around 7:10pm and then folks head to the Parlor for coffee, dessert, and fellowship.

Blessings on your journey,

Debra

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A few quotes from this week's reflection readings that stood out to me from A Guide to Prayer For All Who Seek God:

Rueben Job-- "Seeking God first is not just good advice; it is the only way to a joyful and faithful life in companionship with the One who made us and loves us without limit." (75)

William Paulsell-- "It is unlikely that we will deepen our relationship with God in a casual or haphazard manner." (76)

Shawn Copeland-- "If we are to enhance and build up the capacities for a good, wholesome, and holy life, we must learn to say yes to what affirms and renews wholeness and life.  And we must learn to say no to what induces and brings about destruction and ruin." (77)