Faith in Progress

Last Pentecost, Christ the King Sunday November 23, 2008 For the morning services, this sermon included props - a chance of stoles to illustrate the color changes each season, a Godly Play wall-sized calendar of the Church year (and a child-sized helper to move the arrow) - and after each discussion of a season, we sang a verse of a hymn that expresses particularly well the theology of the season.  For the late Celtic service, there were no props or hymns and instead I added reflection questions and some silence for each season. Happy New Year’s Eve!   Or almost, anyway.   This is the last Sunday of the Church year.   Next Sunday, with the first Sunday of Advent, we’ll begin our cycle of seasons and celebrations again.               And so this seems like a good time to reflect back on the seasons that make up the Church’s year, at the same time, of course, knowing that we are also looking forward to our journey for the coming year.   We’ll do it partly through th

November 10, 2013 Pentecost 25, Proper 27, Year C Haggai 1:15b – 2:9   Last Sunday I was the storyteller in our Godly Play Sunday school room.   I heartily love Godly Play, but I have to admit that the story as written for last week is one of my least favorites.    In the story, the people of God have received the Ten Best Ways (which is Godly Play speak for the Ten Commandments).   The people know they are incredibly precious, a sign of the relationship between God and the people, and so they build a beautiful gold box to put them in.   And then they put an altar of incense in front of it.   And then they put an altar and menorah in front of that.   And then they build walls around it, and wall off the Ten Best Ways to create “the holy of holies.”   And then they hang four coverings over the roof made from precious materials.   Then they put an altar and cleansing bowl in front of the whole structure.   And then a fence around all of that.   And then they only allow priest