[the Gospel]

I believe in the power of [the] Gospel.

[A Moment of Silence]

A spoken word piece by Doria Roberts.
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A moment of silence for justice
A moment of silence for our rights bein wronged
A moment of silence for an eye for an eye
A moment of silence instead of lies
A moment of silence for the neighborhoods of my youth
A moment of silence for minimum wage
A moment of silence for the daily death of dreams
for the invisible man and his place to be seen
A moment of silence for her unborn child
A moment of silence for that moment of truth
A moment of silence for the labor of choice
A moment of silence for the silenced voice
You say this is no time for silence
There is no place for the quiet ride
Your voice is steady and you're ready to use it
and if its not heard you're liable to lose it.
Well I don't always take the path of the Samurai.
I don't always play the part of the passionate poet.
My enemies you know, I seldom warn em.

All these moments of silence are the calm before the storm.
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This speaks so much to the important of silence in our lives.
God, give me the grace to rest in silence.
"A moment of silence for the silenced voice." Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Magnificat, Magnificat]

Here is the article I wrote for the December Congregationalist. (If you feel the need to read the scripture referenced, you can find it here.)

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Well, Thanksgiving is in a couple weeks and here I am writing for the December newsletter already. It's hard to get in the Christmas spirit when a) it's November, b) it's 85 Degrees outside and c) I'm so far removed from anything related to the holidays. With that said, however, here I am to deliver yet again another article of some sort for your reading pleasure. I decided that instead of writing a narrative about my life I would rewrite Mary's Song of Praise. In Luke chapter 1, Mary has gone off to Elizabeth's house to seek refuge and get away from Nazareth for a few months after finding out she was pregnant. When Elizabeth greets Mary with praise saying, "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb," Mary responds in a joyous song. Known as the "Magnificat," Mary sings her praises to God as an act of faith and proclaims the greatness of God. As I read over these verses I felt a deep connection with Mary. (And to be honest, quite possibly my first connection with Mary... ever.) Her desire to praise God is one for which I long and one that I admire. I found in her words praise for the work that I am doing at My Friend's Place, praise for God's work in my life, and praise for God's people. What song of praise do you have to lift to God in this hol(y)day season?

Emily's Song of Praise

My soul reaches out to God and praises God with great magnitude;

my spirit dances to the abstract rhythm of the Holy Spirit,

for God has embraced the loneliest of the lonely.

God, my life-source, has blessed me from the beginning with

experiences, people, and places.

Praise be to the Divine for all things bright and beautiful.

God has shown mercy to those who stand in awe of Her goodness.

God has shown me care and compassion through case workers

and direct service counselors.

She has looked down on all her people with concern.

God has knocked me off my high horse and given me insight

into the lives of these youth who are beautiful and unique.

God has used me to nourish the hungry stomachs of Her children with food

and their souls with hope.

God has helped me remember my heritage and history as a Christ-follower,

and as a member of the United Church of Christ;

a history that calls me to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with My God.

God promised a full life here and in the next

and for that I give thanks, for God's grace has showered me

and will continue to drench her people forever.

Praise be to the one whose birth we await,

Emmanuel, God with us.

And now for something completely different: I will miss you all this Christmas. Homelessness doesn't stop for the holiday season, so I must remain here in LA. Send traveling mercies with my family as they come to visit in December and know that I am thinking of you and praying for you all as the busyness of the holidays approach. Safe travels in all that snow and good luck bearing the frigid weather!

Peace, love, and all things good,

Emily

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You can listen to the Taize song, "Magnificat," here.

"Magnificat anima mea Dominum."

My soul doth magnify the Lord.

[transformation]

Just some thoughts on transformation via stream of consciousness. Let's first start by having you read my casamate Hannah's blog where she explains the situation. Read her blog here. Now that that's out of the way, allow me to reflect on this a bit.

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Some people say "Everything happens for a reason." With this phrase comes a harsh assumption: God allows bad things to happen to people. That word "allows" doesn't fly in my book. Leah spoke to this in a sermon (that can be found here) in which she explores the question "If God loves us, why do we suffer?" It speaks to the depth of grief we hold in our souls when we think God is behind the awful things that afflict us. So check it out when you get a chance (and then watch all of her others sermons. They're great:]).

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Nonetheless, here's what followed the discovery of Hannah's eaten shirt: a thorough cleaning of everything in that closet. Hannah mentioned some really nasty things but there was certainly more. It was a disgusting cave in there and we somehow (over the course of a couple hours) Dave, John, Hannah and I delivered it from its misery. We put stuff on the curb for people to take (which they did) and we threw things out (filling up all our curbside trash cans) and we cleaned everything with clorox and a vacuum. By the time we were done with that, I was on a cleaning spree which led to the makeover of our cluttered living and dining rooms. By the time we were done, the first floor looked marvelous. I stood outside the newly renamed "Shitless closet" door with Hannah, looked at it, and said, "See what transformation can come from such a gross and awful thing?" We laughed, she told me to blog about it, and so here we are.

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Also, as Hannah mentioned in her blog, she has been the recipient of a lot of unfortunate things over the past few months: computer and jewelry stolen, scabies (hope that was public knowledge...haha), moths eating her clothes... let's just say it hasn't been picture perfect (although, whose life ever is?). Some may say that God is punishing her for X Y or Z, but in fact, I think "shit happens" and God helps you deal with it. We are supposed to turn to God when we are "afflicted in every way... perplexed... persecuted... and struck down"** and trust that with our faith and God's love for us, somehow we will not be "crushed... driven to despair... forsaken... or destroyed."** So, no, God isn't taking anything out on Hannah.

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Instead this is our opporutnity to recognize the importance of transformation. And while sometimes it may be spiritual transformation or physical transformation, other times it can be a literal and material transformation. We were given the opportunity to totally revamp our closet and while it may have been disgusting for reasons we'd rather not discuss, it was re-energizing. I can now walk out of the bathroom and not feel anxious and overwhelmed for half a second when I see all the shit laying around in the closet. It is literally like taking a breath of fresh air look in there. And for that, I praise God because breathing is important (... duh). I guess that's what having faith is like... breathing. In one aspect it is much harder than breathing... but being able to take a deep breath after being in the midst of affliction is transformative in itself. Whenever I'm in deep conversation about matters of faith or am in the middle of a stressful issue and I finally feel settled about the issue at hand, I naturally take a deep breath, signifying that my heart is at some sort of resting point and I can walk away from the current issue. (Props to Leah for helping me figure that out about myself...)

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So tell me: what are your thoughts on transformation? What experiences of transformation have impacted your life greatly-- whether they are physical, material, literal, or spiritual?

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** These excerpts came from 2 Corinthians 4:7-18. I preached a sermon on this passage last summer and it can be found here in my blog.

[amazing grace]

THIS is the kind of grace I have experienced