Shadows on the Sands of Time

Shadow of myself

taking a picture of my shadow

on the beach at St. Simons

Memorial Day, 2007

Photo by Linda McCloud+

What sorts of shadows are we casting on the sands of time?

In peace,

Linda +

The Rev. Linda McCloud

Founding Pastor

The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek

www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org

http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

Tonight at King of Peace

For three weeks while Fr. Frank, Victoria and Griffin Logue are away on a much-deserved vacation, I am filling in the pastoral duties at King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia. This means that I get to preach, teach, celebrate Holy Eucharist, baptize, and otherwise serve in the priestly role until the Logues' return.

Tonight I will begin a four-week teaching series called "St. Benedict's Toolbox" based on that book by Jane Tomaine. We will look at disciplines which will aid in our living as Christians.

St. Benedict's "Rule" which was drawn up almost fifteen hundred years ago, is designed not only to help us to take time to pray, read scripture and worship. The "Rule" is designed to help us to see God in our work, in our play, and in every aspect of our lives. This will help us to keep from compartmentalizing our lives into "Sunday" and "every other day."

I hope you will be able to join us for worship at 6:15 this evening, and then for "St. Benedict's Toolbox" at 7:00 p.m. For directions to King of Peace, see www.kingofpeace.org

In peace,

Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org
http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

Think Globally, Act Locally

Plaque at Fort Frederica

Saint Simons Island, Georgia

Photo by Linda McCloud+

John and Charles Wesley were the fifteenth and eighteenth children, respectively, born to The Rev. Samuel and Susannah Wesley. John's years were 1703 to 1791. Charles lived from 1708 to 1788. John was ordained Anglican Priest in 1728; Charles' ordination followed in 1735. Both attended Oxford University and were co-founders of the "Holy Club." They lived very disciplined lives and were derisively called "Methodists."

In 1735 John and Charles came to Georgia with General Oglethorpe as missionaries for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Charles returned to England in 1736. John stayed in Georgia for two years, but having alienated some of the colonists with his preaching against slavery and gin, he returned to England.

On May 21, 1738, Charles had an experience of conversion, and three days later on May 24, John also had a conversion experience. This was the famous meeting at Aldersgate Street where his heart was "strangely warmed."

John and Charles Wesley died priests of the Church of England, but John's followers separated and formed the "Wesleyan Methodists." During their lifetimes, they had itinerant ministries and preached in places other than churches.

Charles eventually settled in London and wrote more than 5,500 hymns. Twenty of those hymns are in The Hymnal 1982. Some of my favorites are "Christ, whose glory fills the skies"; "Lo! He comes, with clouds descending"; "Come, thou long expected Jesus"; "Hark! the herald angels sing"; "Jesus Christ is risen today"; "Hail the day that sees him rise"; "O for a thousand tongues"; and "Love divine, all loves excelling."

I find the sheer volume of their work astonishing. Maybe there is something about disciplined living that lends itself to productivity. When we do the best we can with what we have where we are, the world finds out about it.

In peace,

Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org
http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

June 4

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

May/June, 1989

June 4 is a date that snags my attention with each passing year. I remember where I was on June 4, 1989. I was sitting in front of a television crying my heart out. The students in Tiananmen Square were being massacred.

They were young and zealous for freedom. They wanted to be able to actually live with the person they married, instead of being sent to separate cities to work. They wanted to learn English so they could be citizens of the world. They were smart. They were China's finest hope for the future. And they were being shot by their own soldiers.

This would have been heartbreaking on any level, but it was intensified for me because just two weeks before that date I had returned from a three-week trip to mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan. I traveled with a group in China that was allowed to look for sites where Christian missionaries had worked before the cultural revolution. When our group arrived in Beijing our itinerary was changed because of the Tiananmen Square protests. The streets were jammed and we could not get to the ballet and the opera as planned. We spent more time at the Great Wall.

On our third day in Beijing we could see Tiananmen Square from the fifth floor of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. We spontaneously talked our interpreters into taking us into Tiananmen Square. That would have been on or about May 15, 1989. CNN had been barred from the Square. There were soldiers in green uniforms guarding the boulevard that led to the People's Congress Hall. Their formation stretched clear across the boulevard about twenty rows deep. We did not see any guns that day. We were not allowed to take our cameras for fear of setting off a disturbance.

One of our interpreters was a college professor in Beijing. He took off his blue windbreaker and handed me a sleeve. He took the other sleeve and the body of the jacket flowed between us in the breeze. I dropped the sleeve and said, "Nick, this is dangerous. It looks as if we are marching in protest." He said, "On the outside I'm walking, but on the inside I'm marching."

I still pray for the Christians in China. From what I know, there is a strong underground church. There is also a visible church. We visited one in Shanghai and the singing was amazing. I complimented the music leader about this and he said something like "In China we know how to sing together. Those of you in developing countries are still working on it."

If Christians were under persecution in this country, would we sing better together?


In peace,

Linda+

The Rev. Linda McCloud

Founding Pastor

The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek

www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org

http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

Go Figure

On this Trinity Sunday we are still trying to figure out how God can be One in three and three in One when most everything God created is more than the sum of its parts. Here is a new way of looking at an old adage about how to give more than 100%. It comes to me from my sister-in-law, Joyce McCloud.

From a strictly Mathematical Viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 101%? What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:

If: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you...

L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that: While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

Good thinking, Joyce.

In peace,

Linda +

The Rev. Linda McCloud

Founding Pastor

The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek

www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org

http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

Trinity Sunday

Icon of the Holy Trinity,

painted by Andrew Rublev in 1425

Our Gospel selected for tomorrow is John 16:12-15, which reads (NRSV):

[Jesus said] "I still have many things to say to you,

but you cannot bear them now.

When the Spirit of truth comes,

he will guide you into all the truth;

for he will not speak on his own,

but will speak whatever he hears,

and he will declare to you

the things that are to come.

He will glorify me,

because he will take what is mine

and declare it to you.

All that the Father has is mine.

For this reason I said

that he will take what is mine

and declare it to you."

This scripture is a snapshot of the Holy Trinity -- God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The icon above is an artist's conception of the Holy Trinity. Andrew Rublev painted this icon in memory of the Russian saint, Sergius (1313-1392).

In his book "Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons", Henri Nouwen said this:

"Saint Sergius, in whose honor and memory Rublev painted the Trinity icon, wanted to bring all of Russia together around the Name of God so that its people would conquer 'the devouring hatred of the world by the contemplation of the Holy Trinity.' Fear and hatred have become no less destructive since the 14th century, and Rublev's icon has become no less creative in calling us to the place of love, where fear and hatred no longer can destroy us." (p.28)

Does this sound like something the Holy Spirit might whisper in our ears, whenever we are able to hear it?

In peace,

Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Founding Pastor
The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek
www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org
http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com

The Billy Graham Library

L-R: Billy Graham, former presidents

George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton

I'm glad he has lived to see his library dedicated to the greater glory of God although it is very sad that Ruth Bell Graham was unable to attend yesterday's ceremonies due to health reasons.

Some years ago when I lived in Louisville, Kentucky, I saw Billy Graham when he spoke at a large gathering. It was not a crusade, but instead was a singular event. I remember well the princely way in which he carried his tall frame. He had fire in his bones and a tinge of John the Baptist in his demeanor as he asked us what we expected to see. He pondered aloud about why we were focused on him. We should be focused on Jesus, he said, and proceeded to preach the Gospel as though we had never heard it before.

Here is a portion of the news release from his evangelistic association:

Mr. Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories—through various meetings, including Mission World and Global Mission. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through television, video, film, and webcasts.Billy Graham concluded his remarks by pointing the audience to the same message that has been his focus throughout his life's work."This building behind me is just a building," he said. "It's and instrument, it's a tool for the Gospel. The primary thing is the Gospel of Christ."It is estimated that 200,000 visitors will tour the Billy Graham Library each year. The Library is expected to open to the public June 5. Admission will be free. For more information, visit the Library Web site.

For the full text of this article, see http://www.billygraham.org/News_Article.asp?ArticleID=160. You will find there that the "free book of the month" is Mr. Graham's classic: "Peace with God." I read this book when I was fourteen because it was a gift from the pastor who baptized me. He kept a carton of these books to give to new Christians. I don't remember everything about this book, but I do remember that it seemed to have been written with a particular passion for the topic. I read it straight through. I feel sure that if you visit his library, you could do the same.

In peace,

Linda+

The Rev. Linda McCloud

Founding Pastor

The Episcopal Church of Our Savior at Honey Creek

www.oursaviorhoneycreek.org

http://oursaviorhoneycreek.blogspot.com