Ephemeral
Noun: Something that lasts for a very short time. Something ephemeral. Specifically, a plant that grows, flowers, and dies in a few days. Psalm 103:15-17 As for mortals, their days are like grass; they flourish like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. April Ephemerals My eyes scan the dead brown forest floor, searching for early emerging ephemerals, joyous sentinals of spring. Something about these fleeting flowers calls me back each year to witness their being. I recite their names like a seasonal litany or an annual reunion with old friends: Hepatica Cut-Leaved Toothwort Dutchman's Breeches Trout Lily Bloodroot Virginia Waterleaf Blue Cohosh Rue Anemone Spring Beauty Trillium Thanks be to God! Yes, I see you, and I see myself. Our lives, too, are short. You show us how to live with abandon and to to let our beauty shine, trusting the Eternal One, Beginning and Ending, to provide purpose and grounding, whatever the length of our days. - Wendy Janzen
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A prayer, poem, and benediction for Easter sunrise.
Out of the darkness the grace of God rises like the sun hope rises like the dawn. Into all that is cold and shadowed in our lives the Light and Love of God shines. Come to us, and renew us, O God of life. - by Dirt Church Liturgy “spring song” the green of Jesus is breaking the ground and the sweet smell of delicious Jesus is opening the house and the dance of Jesus music has hold of the air and the world is turning in the body of Jesus and the future is possible - by Lucille Clifton Benediction May Creator’s love ground you, may Christ’s love rise to guide you like the sun, may Spirit’s love be a constant presence within you and around you. Christ is risen! Amen - by Wendy Janzen March Eco-Spiritual Practice:
Spring Equinox Reflections This month, the Spring Equinox falls on March 19th, a day of equal daylight and darkness, after which we move into the season of spring and the lighter half of the year. Here are some reflection questions inspired by the equinox seasonal transition. Take these questions out onto the land with you and observe what you notice. Use them as journaling prompts or as inspiration for some creative art (a nature mandala is a wonderful way to reflect on the season and what is in balance). Examine the balance in your life - where is there balance (or tension) between perceived opposites? What do you want/need more of in your life? What do you need/want less of? What is awakening in you? What is ready to sprout? Greening God,
For fresh buds on trees, tender green shoots, ephemerals flowering, birds returning and nesting, We give thanks. Our hearts, too, are opening, blossoming, dancing and singing praise for life, for colour, fertility, birth and rebirth! Amen. God, thank you for this morning. May I be as joyful and enthusiastic as Robins. May I enter into this day with anticipation and energy like Cardinals. Provide me with what I need, just as you do for House Sparrows, and let me trust that is enough. I praise you together with my beloved neighbours whose voices I hear this day: Mourning Doves, Northern Flickers, Canada Geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, Crows, and Goldfinches. Amen. We gathered on Easter morning at twilight - the time between the two lights. The moon was setting behind us as we gathered on the east-facing slope awaiting the rising sun. The dawn chorus of birds provided music for our prelude. Our text was John 20:1-18. Step Chandler Burns, of Pastors in Exile, shared these words before we spend time 'wandering and wondering' and watching for the sunrise. "This morning, like every new day, Christ is alive among us. Each day, God is doing a new thing and inviting us to bring our faith and our questions and enter into the new life being made among us. So this morning, and all mornings, believe the gospel. The Good News is that new life is possible. Seek the new thing God is doing, whether you understand it or not. Resurrection is here and happening among us every day: the sun rises, the snow melts, the animals and birds sing to the morning, the cold gives way to the sun, the cycles of life and death keep moving. People heal and reconcile and learn and grow. Relationships mend, we’re made new. Even when we don’t want to be. Even when we’re not at our best, even when we’re hungry, angry, lonely and tired. Or when we don’t understand quite yet. This morning, you’re invited to take in the morning. Listen to the birds and the animals, the waking of the earth. Take in the new life, resurrection among us. And believe, or question it. Jesus will meet you there. May it be so." What ways are you experiencing resurrection? Where are you seeing signs of new life? Whether we believe easily, or are skeptical, Christ meets us in sunrises and in rain, in honking geese and songbirds, in our day to day lives. Halleluiah! God of springtime,
We thank you for the strength of the sun warming the soil and our souls. We rejoice at the drip, drip, drip of ice melting off branches. We celebrate the sweet sap rising from a winter underground. We listen for the songs of feathered travelers returning from the South. We even smile at snow turning to slush turning to mud. Bless the world rising from its winter rest. Bless this in between, messy time. Bless our anticipation and our longing. Bless the melting snow as it seeps deep down to roots, bulbs and seeds, all ready and waiting. As spring moves in and winter lets go, awaken us to new life and melt away the crusty, frozen places within us. Plant in us hope, deep and resilient hope, that will rise up strong and rooted. Amen Outside the flimsy walls my body feels the chill of this new day. I could have stayed under the covers, cozy and comfortable, dozing and content. But out here, in the open, I awaken - here is a living world where flowers dot the forest floor, breeze makes trees dance, dew sparkles on grass - delightful and gracious hosts to us visiting guests, gifts so easily missed by us indoor beings. God of wild beings and wild places, thank you for the birds and their exquisite songs, the variety of green, refreshing mornings that make us feel alive, awed and amazed at the world beyond our sheltered lives. May our encounters with places of wild beauty and the creatures who call them home expand our hearts, minds, imaginations. May we be open to your expansive presence, and may it expand our love and care for all creation. May we take time to pay attention to and find delight in the lives of those with feather & fur, fins & scales, and learn their names, sounds, habitats, and needs. May we remember you created and blessed them, and that you made an everlasting covenant with the land, all wild creatures, and us. May we love the world in each small detail, and also in its wonderfully complex fullness. May we tread lightly and leave no trace. Bless our summer travels and encounters. May they transform us into new creations. Amen - Wendy Janzen Blessed be the sun's warming power energizing all that exists. Blessed be the joyous flowers raising their beautiful faces to the sun. Blessed be the the nesting birds singing in each morning. Blessed be the vernal ponds nurseries of new life. Blessed be my place within this beloved community, giving and receiving the gifts of life. - Wendy Janzen Easter sunrise prayer
Divine Presence, Midwife of spring: Awaken us to your presence within and around us this holy morning. May we be alive to the mystery and wonder of this new day, and be reminded that each sunrise is a proclamation of resurrection. Amen. - Wendy Janzen |
AuthorReflections, poetry, prayers, photos, and resources written by Wendy Janzen unless otherwise noted. Archives
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