snow

Dear snow flakes falling from the sky,

You take my breath away!  You make the world so quiet, so soft, so magical; even the garbage cans lining the street are beautiful because of you.  And my neighbor's chain-linked fence has become a rood screen now, a sanctuary wall revealing to all that your holy of holies is everywhere.  Amen.

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Thanks to Andrew Morrell for this lovely photo!

a prayer for our nation

And then all that has divided us will merge

And then compassion will be wedded to power

And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind

And then both men and women will be gentle

And then both women and men will be strong

And then no person will be subject to another's will

And then all will be rich and free and varied

And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many

And then all will share equally in the Earth's abundance

And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old

And then all will nourish the young

And then all will cherish life's creatures

And then all will live in harmony with each other and the Earth

And then everywhere will be called Eden once again.

+ Judy Chicago

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We love this "prayer" by Judy Chicago who's less into kvetching and more into changing the world.  We are praying this soft prayer for our nation and for our children after a particularily mean week of politics...  Also, thanks to Rev. Elizabeth Myer Boulton for sharing this lovely photo of Maggie B!

you are...

  

you are 

SALT

you make 

the world 

taste better

you are

SALT

so small 

and yet

so powerful

you are

SALT

used by God

to change the world

to make it better

to bring it back to life

you are 

SALT

fiercely tender

wildly kind

full of love

you are 

SALT

you will heal

the hurt

the ache

the pain

you are 

SALT

you make 

the world 

taste better

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Thanks to Kristian Niemi for this tiny bowl of SALT and thanks to Rev. Elizabeth Myer Boulton who continues to inspire and make the world taste so much better!

merry christmas

Hello SALTy people,

We just wanted to extend our deepest thanks to everyone as the last few days of 2011 pass us by, falling like grains of sand in the hourglass my kids use every night to time their tooth brushing…

Looking back, it’s been an amazing year over here at SALT!  We’ve grown bigger (like Mary’s belly), we’ve let loose the good news of the gospel through music and film, and we’ve written many, many words full of God’s love, hope, peace, and justice for everyone.

Just so you know, we’ll be taking a little break from now until January 16th to spend time with our loved ones, recharger our batteries, and plan lots and lots and lots of amazing things for 2012.  

But, before we go, we want to leave you with this:

You are the SALT of the earth!  

You are the light of the world!

You are God’s masterpiece, a breathtaking work of divine art.

So:  go and be God’s raw and wild love in 2012, because the world needs you.

Thanks for being God’s SALT, the Earth’s SALT, this community’s SALT - and thanks for your ongoing love and support!  We couldn't do any of this without you...

Merry Christmas,

The SALT Team

midwives, mary, and a golden cord

If your church uses Godly Play or Children’s Worship and Wonder, odds are the youngsters in your congregation have heard the story about the Christian year.  In this particular story, the storyteller has two objects: a long golden cord and a circular puzzle full of color.  

The storyteller begins by picking up the cord and stretching it out in a horizontal line, a golden metaphor for chronos time, linear time, the world’s time, with its beginning, middle, and end.  

Then she turns her attention towards the circular puzzle full of deep purples, shimmering whites, and rich greens.  “This,” she says, “is the church’s time, God’s time, kairos time.”  

And then, to top it all off, she lays the golden cord down beside the puzzle, and slowly ties the cord's ends together to make a circle.

“God’s time,” she explains, “is different than the world’s time.  In God’s time there is no beginning, middle, or end, no start or finish.  God’s time is not a straight line. God’s time is a beautiful, golden circle that goes around and around and around.”  

Then she asks one of the most beautiful questions I've ever heard: “I wonder what this makes you think of?”

For my part, it makes me think of the prologue to John’s gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and lived among us.”

With his signature, circular language, John, like the storyteller in my children’s Sunday School class, ties together the ends of that golden cord:  the Word of God -- who was in the beginning with God -- became flesh, becomes flesh, this coming Christmas day as much as any other.  God’s Word slipped into our world, slipped into our time with its beginning, middle, and end.  

I wonder what this makes you think of?

It makes me think of the midwives in Exodus.  It makes me wonder if the ends of that golden cord were tied so tightly together that Shiphrah and Puah, too, appeared in that stable to help Mary labor, to attend the birth of God incarnate? 

You know the story: the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, “When you’re attending a Hebrew birth, and see a Hebrew woman on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him, lest those people grow in number and fight against us.”  But the midwives, fearing God, did not do as he commanded.  They let life win (Exodus 1:15-17).

Then, thousands of years later, a decree goes out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered and Israel finds herself, once again, hanging by a thread.  It’s true, Pharoah is no longer in charge, but Israel is still languishing, this time under Roman rule, and so is Mary, laboring in a barn, no birthstool in sight.

And so I wonder if Shiphrah and Puah were there, walking and swaying with Mary through her contractions, irregular at first, then stronger and more steady.  I wonder if they supported her, encouraged her, challenged her, and praised her until finally God slipped into our world: God, wet and wrinkly and vulnerable; God, small and screaming; God, the Word made flesh and dwelling now among us.

It’s true: God’s time is not like the world’s time.  God’s time has no beginning, middle, or end.  God’s time is like a golden cord going around and around and around, connecting the stories, the pain, the hope and therefore the whole human family.

I wonder if those Hebrew midwives are with us now as we “get ready” for God to be born again?

I wonder if they are always with us in our seasons of deep purple, shimmering white, and rich green?

I wonder if they are with you now supporting you, encouraging you, challenging you, and praising you -- even and especially when you are hanging by a thread?

I wonder what this makes you think of?  

Leave a comment below and let us know!  Wondering outloud about God's mysteries is one of the best and most beautiful things about the Christian tradition...

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Thanks to the storytelling of Rev. Cheryl Cloar, Minister of Children, Youth, and Families at Central Christian Church in Indianapolis; to Sabrina Tang for photographing this new, little miracle (ten hours old!); and to the Fund for Theological Education for inviting SALT's very own Rev. Elizabeth Myer Boulton to share her words and ideas.