Joan Clark Houk

We had a pumpkin for Halloween, and when the season was over, we cooked, mashed and froze the pumpkin for future desserts.  As I was cooking pumpkin custard this morning, I thought about our global community and how we support one another.  I thought of the local farmers who raised the chickens and milked the cows so that I could have eggs and milk.  I thought of the workers in a warmer southern country who harvested the cane for my sugar, and the people far off on an Eastern continent who provided the spices to make the custard smell and taste so good.  My simple dessert depended upon all of these people, in all of these lands.  I could not have had custard without them.  As I enjoy my special treat today, I think of my global community where life has been turned upside down by a virus that is affecting each and every one of us.  I am grateful for you, every one of you.  May we all work together to defeat this deadly virus.  May you be blessed with good health.  And may we all remember our global community.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday as I sat at our dining room table gazing across the pond, I had an experience very similar to something our daughter wrote in her e-mail to us today: 

 This morning I had to get up early to go get a mammogram (just a routine screening), and as I was grumpily walking to the clinic, the birds were all singing away, and I was like “How can you be singing?!  Don’t you know that we are dealing with the coronavirus?!”  And then I realized what a nitwit I was. Nothing like birds singing to help you see the long view. 

 During Lent this year it is easy for us to get caught up in all of the late winter darkness, the seriousness of this pandemic, which has now reached South Bend, the divisiveness of political fighting, the daily news that beats us down.  Yes, we need to pay attention and do what we are capable of doing to prevent illness, to heal the pain, to comfort and care for one another.  However, in doing so we must not forget to experience God’s good creation, to see the beauty, to observe the little things, and to stand in awe of the mystery before us.  The song of the bird is one of hope, of springtime arriving soon, of the light overcoming the darkness.

Blessings, 

+Joan

This Lent, O God,
enlighten my mind so as to know your Word,
let me see and appreciate beauty, mystery and diversity that is around me,
let me hear the voice of the poor,
fill my heart with compassion,
let me wrap my arms around others with love,
move my legs where you want me to go
as I journey with your people towards Easter sunrise.

Allen and Sue is a novel-length story written in collaboration with my husband, John, as an extension of our ministry. It is our hope that this story will be of interest to those who have experienced PTSD, suffered domestic violence, struggled to find help in community, mistakenly believed that sex and salvation are incompatible, searched for the right neighborhood in which to raise children, or wondered where the Church was when you needed it. The story is also for those who would provide pastoral ministry to the wounded. Genesis teaches us that it is not good to be alone and that two will become one flesh. We believe that the message of Genesis applies to all of us, all of us; no one is excluded.

There is no fee for downloading or even printing the story, if you choose. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two with no money in their purse, so we ask for no payment. If you like the story pass it on. That is all the payment we need.

Read Allen and Sue

These weeks, days and hours
have been filled with xenophobia, hatred and violence.
Christ have mercy on us.

To God’s People at Tree of Life Synagogue,
and to the people of Pittsburgh,
Shalom.
We are with you in your pain.
Peace be with you.

May you be spiritually blessed during the Triduum:
Holy Thursday Eucharist, a day of remembrance, a meal of thanksgiving, and washing of the feet as symbol of service.

Good Friday, a day of sacrifice, of making holy; a cross, symbol of compassion and goodness, arms outstretched to embrace us all in God’s love.

Holy Saturday, welcoming people into the Body of Christ through the waters of baptism.

Easter Sunday, rejoicing in the Risen Christ.  New Life!
Christ has risen.  Christ has risen indeed.  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

May God shower many blessings upon you in the New Year 2018!

Come, Holy Spirit, breathe down upon our troubled world. Shake the tired foundations of our crumbling institutions. Break the rules that keep you out of all our sacred spaces, and from the dust and rubble, gather up the seedlings of a new creation.

Come, Holy Spirit, enflame once more the dying embers of our weariness. Shake us of our complacency. Whisper our names once more, and scatter your gifts of grace with wild abandon. Break open the prisons of our inner being, and let your raging justice be our sign of liberty.

Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us to places we would rather not go; expand the horizons of our limited imaginations. Awaken in our souls dangerous dreams for a new tomorrow, and rekindle in our hearts the fire of prophetic enthusiasm.

Come, Holy Spirit, whose justice outwits international conspiracy; whose light outshines spiritual bigotry, whose peace can overcome the destructive potential of warfare, whose promise invigorates our every effort to create a new heaven and a new earth, now and forever.

Credited to Diarmuid O’Murchu

It can create magic.
It empowers people.
It lightens spirits, calms the soul and generates love.
It is there when you need it.
It is selfless and it is joyful.
It knows no bounds and reaches to the edge of existence and life itself.
It is friendship.”

My friend’s daughter wrote this in memory of a life long friend.  Anonymous

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.