As each of us endeavors to play our part to slow the Covid-19 Pandemic, more and more of our lives are becoming “virtual” and digital. I developed a Fall Devotional for our congregation with exercises and devotions that are designed to help you be present in the living world around you and within you.
The PEACE that God offers is more than just a spiritual or “virtual” experience. The Hebrew word for peace, “Shalom”, speaks about a peace which penetrates your body, mind and soul. Using Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, the Shalom Projects offer hands-on exercises for you to experience this wholeness of God in visible, tactile and relevant ways. Change is hard, and transitions leave holes in our hearts and in our lives. The Holy Spirit provides a sense of wholeness by strengthening our faith in the midst of this chaos. As we navigate these murky waters together, these seven Shalom Projects will act as guides to reveal the evidence of these subtle growth spurts.
For each of the Daily Readings, our goal is to read words on a physical page of a Bible in your hands or lap and get it done. Like eating your daily bread, the scripture will feed your soul whether or not you have the energy to grapple with the big questions of life. Just get started, and trust God to do the rest. Once you have read the scripture, use the space on these pages to imagine your five senses. What would you see, hear, smell, taste, or touch? Then imagine what emotions are being experienced by the witnesses, the speakers, you, and God. Close by using one of the Deconstructed Prayers. If you keep a journal, you may even want to write out the prayer.
In order to connect our worship services with your daily reading of scripture, the passages offered will follow the Sunday lectionary readings beginning with August 30th, 2020. Therefore, Monday, August 24th or Sunday, August 30th are the optimal days for you to start your projects and readings, since you will either be preparing for or reflecting on Sunday’s worship service. If you are beginning this devotional in a different season, I hope you still find food for your soul in these selections.
May our Living God become real to you in the coming weeks, and may you discover the PEACE of God in-person.
Shalom y’all,
Rev. Kati Collins
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