Shabbat Shalom!

Eager to experience different forms of vital worship, I was glad to hear from Hank that there was a lot of good stuff happening at the Synagogue at Sixth & I.  I headed there tonight for their "Sixth in the City Shabbat" designed for those in their 20s and 30s.  (You don't need to remind me that I am no longer in this target group.)  The evening began at 6:30 p.m. with socializing, drinks, and appetizers.  The Shabbat service began at 7:15 p.m. and was followed with dinner at 8:15 p.m.  As we entered, everyone who greeted us with, "Shabbat Shalom!"

The service was led by Rabbi Shira Stutman and musician Sheldon Low.  Sheldon is a wonderful musician who played the guitar and led the congregation in song, mostly in Hebrew.  Rabbi Stutman is a vibrant person who quickly drew me in with her warm smile, easy manner, and obvious delight in being with the group who had gathered tonight.  I loved how she talked about the value of Shabbat and taking time apart from the typical rhythm of our days. The service drew heavily from the prayer book and included a teaching moment, some words about infusing the mundane tasks of life with the holy, prayers of healing, as well as the ritual of breaking bread at the end of the service.  Rabbi Stutman called forward a couple who had recently been married to hold the bread for the blessing; tonight she added honey rather than salt to the challah as a blessing of sweetness for their first year of marriage  After a prayer, she passed the bread throughout the congregation.   The loaves were passed through the several hundred people who were gathered there tonight quickly - some pieces were even tossed to the back!  I loved the eagerness I saw!  Everyone can understand, "take, eat, this is for you" as an act of love. 

After breaking bread in the sanctuary we went downstairs for dinner - chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans, ratatouille, brownies and cookies.  All of the tables with seats were taken so we stood at a bistro table with Andrea and Evan, new friends who talked with us about their faith and lives, as we broke bread together.


Breaking bread, authenticity, vibrancy in sharing, music that stirs my soul, a sense of community (even amongst people I do not know) - these are some of the things that make worship meaningful for me.  What makes worship meaningful for you?


"Shabbat Shalom!" A peaceful Sabbath.  


 

Breaking Bread

I like Tuesday mornings.

They begin with my spending a couple of hours reading and studying the scripture that will be used in worship on the following Sunday.  Typically, I become so absorbed in what I am doing that I find myself jumping in the shower at 9:45 a.m. or so and (literally) running over to the church (some times with a few hairs still a little wet) to the Tuesday morning Bible Study that begins each week at 10 a.m.

As predictable as this pattern of mine is becoming, so are a few others.  I will walk into the Saegmuller Room and the coffee will be brewing, the Bibles will be placed out on the table, people will casually be gathering as they share what has been going on in their lives.  And Dick will be carefully cutting a loaf of zucchini bread for us to share from Pastries by Randolph. 

Soon we will begin reading out loud the texts I have been engaged with all morning.  We will talk about them, ask questions, and talk some more.  We will share some zucchini bread.  Often, in the midst of all of that I will have an "ah-ha" moment.   I find that more often than not my "ah-ha" moments happen not when I am in holed up with my books by myself, but when I am in conversation with others.  Might that have been what the disciples meant they said Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread? (Luke 24:35) Maybe it was zucchini bread.

When Two or Three Are Gathered

What is your favorite story about Jesus and why?
What is our understanding of who Jesus was/is and why is he important?

These are a couple of the questions that we wrestled with on Sunday evening at the New Christianity class.  I am enjoying our lively conversations and have been thinking since Sunday how appropriate it was that of all the topics we are exploring in this class, Jesus was the focus as we began Holy Week.

However, not one of us mentioned the crucifixion or resurrection as his or her "favorite" story.  For some Christians, the events that we remember during Holy Week comprise the only story of Jesus that is important.  I am so glad that I am a part of a community that sees the events of Holy Week as a part of a larger narrative that continually challenges us to to live fully, love generously, and boldly strive to bring heaven to earth.

Someone in the class shared that their favorite story was the Feeding of the 5000 so I shared a close runner up for me: Jesus meeting the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).  Every time two or more are gathered together, God is with us.  I am certainly experiencing that on Sunday evenings as we break bread and talk with one another.