I am an interim pastor. My job is to go into a church and help to prepare it for a new "settled" pastor. Looking at the goals of the church is part of this. Our "Thinking-Big Day", as I call it, took place on a recent Sunday after a church luncheon. Little did any of us expect the amazing display of God's grace that followed.

As our meeting started, one of the parishioners said that he had something to say. He told us the following story.

He had awakened at 3:30 a.m. the previous Friday morning with a very heavy heart. He felt very anxious. He was most preoccupied all Friday … he couldn't get away from this feeling. He came to realize that this church (meaning the people) really had to "move on" if they were going to develop valid goals.

Finally, Saturday evening, he was led to write a parable, which told of two farmers who lived side by side. They raised different crops. They each had a horse, and when they helped each other, using the horses as a team, they did very well. Then something happened, and they had a falling out. The next year, working by themselves, each had a terrible year. The moral of the tale was that they needed to work together.

The man told us this story, and said that this was symbolic of their church, and that if they were really going to "move on", they needed to rid themselves of the feelings, misunderstandings, and hurt pride that had emerged in the previous year and which had brought this church family to its knees. He then said that he would start by accepting responsibility for his part of the problem because he loved this church and wanted it to "move on".

He reviewed some of the painful things that had happened and accepted his role in it. His courage was truly remarkable as he bared his pain and asked for forgiveness. It was as if a dam had been opened. Others got up and accepted responsibility for their actions and asked for forgiveness. People ended by hugging, sharing, laughing, and crying. All were holding hands as we prayed together and sang, "Blest Be The Tie That Binds".

I have never seen anything like this before. It was beautiful, exciting, and transforming. It was a real turning point for this church. It surely was God's amazing grace in action. What a marvellous "moving day"!

Prayer: Holy and gracious One, Your ways continue to astound us and to move us to do things that we never could do on our own. May we all be open to the proddings of Your Holy Spirit, so that we, too, may move on in our lifelong journey, home to You. In Christ's name. Amen.

While on vacation recently, our family rented a cottage right on a lake. Imagine our surprise and pleasure when, one morning, we saw a mother merganser swimming along, trailed by ten little ones, all swimming in a line. We watched as the mother ducked down under the water and came up again about five yards further along. Immediately, the babies ran across the top of the water to her. They then swam along a little together before the whole thing was repeated. This continued happening until they were out of sight. Each time, the young walked quickly on the water. It was the natural thing for them to do, and it showed faith in their mother, who was caring for them so well. They never showed the slightest bit of fear, even though we were nearby, and some of the children were playing along the water's edge. The mergansers saw their mother, trusted, and went right to her, running on the water, in spite of this.

How very different this was from St. Peter! Until he began to doubt or fear, he was walking on the water. After that, he sank, and Jesus pulled him on board with these words: "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Isn't this just the same with us? We say we are Christians, believers, and we are. But when the going in life gets tough, our faith is tested, and often we find that our faith is not as strong as we thought it was. Fear can do this to us. We begin to fear rather than trust Jesus, and, as we do, we begin to sink under the waters of life. We are beset by waves of depression, despair, cynicism, helplessness, or even addiction. We seem unable to trust Jesus' promise as fully as we want to, although we believe that Jesus walks beside us.

Jesus does come to our aid, maybe not as we expected or hoped, but, when it happened to me, I could just hear him saying, "O you of little faith. Why did you doubt?" May we trust more, especially in the face of fear, so that our fears will not sink us, and we will come through with a faith that is strengthened by our experience. We need to remember that we are never alone, and Jesus' hand is outstretched to us always.

Prayer: Holy and gracious One, it is so easy to know your presence in our lives when things are going well. Forgive us that, when things seem fearful, we are not able to trust as much as we want and you desire for us to do. Strengthen our faith, we pray, so that, even in the blackest of times, we can see your light glimmering ahead of us, giving us hope and eternal guidance, so that we stay on the top of the waters of life. Amen.

Psalm 34:7 – The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (NRSV)

After our Ash Wednesday Service in mid-February, I headed home rather late, driving across the city on Cambridge Street. There is only one stoplight, where Southbridge Street crosses Cambridge. The road broadens here, so there are four lanes for traffic, which travels on the right-hand side of the road in North America. Because I was going straight through, I needed to be in the left-hand lane on my side, leaving the right-hand lane for those turning right onto Southbridge St.

The light turned against me as I came up to it, so I slowed to a complete stop. Then it happened. I watched as an unbelievably large tractor-trailer approached from my right on Southbridge and turned left onto Cambridge, coming towards me. It was literally the biggest one that I had ever seen. The cab went up on the sidewalk to my left, almost hitting the building on that corner, as the driver tried to make it around. Then it dawned on me that my car was in the way of the back wheels of the trailer, and I was going to be hit.

Before I could do anything about it, I suddenly experienced the feeling of going into "another reality" where I could see and hear but not move. It was almost as if I had been anaesthetized. During the few seconds this lasted, I realized that the car's steering wheel was being powerfully rotated to the right within the loose grasp of my fingers, although my hands weren't moving at all. It was the oddest experience to feel it spinning around, knowing that I wasn't doing it! Then the "mysterious moment" was over, and I took my foot off the brake. Immediately, without my touching the accelerator, the car literally jumped to the right and made the sharpest right-hand turn it possibly could. It was as if unseen hands had picked up the car, rotated it 90 degrees and then put it down. The turn to the right was such an abrupt one that, for a moment, I wondered if the car would tip over, as it rocked back and forth. As I took control again, in order for me to steer around the back of the trailer, I realized that the steering wheel had been turned just as hard and as far to the right as it could have been. I also realized that part of the miracle was that there was no car to my right. That had been taken care of also! I had some wonderful help that night. It was angel action, I'm sure, that saved me from a miserable accident.

God has given us the wonderful gift of angels who do not sleep, but who are with us when we need it the very most. How grateful we are for this promise made real, that God holds each one of us close, for we are His creation.

Prayer: Holy God, we are all wrapped in your cloak of caring. Make us all more open to these wonderful miracles during the ordinary living of our days. Open our eyes to see them, and may they lead us to a deeper faith. In Christ's name. Amen.

Matthew 17:5 – While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him." (NRSV)

I have always loved clouds. As a child, I would lie on my back in the grass, gaze into the heavens, and watch the cloud parade. How many wonderful things my imagination was able to see there: a whole series of animals, landscapes, and even some interestingly shaped people! One of my biggest thrills was to watch rolling clouds come together as if they were waves coming to shore, just waiting to take me out to sea. As I loved to swim, this was a very happy picture.

Later, through Sunday School, I came to realize how closely God was associated with the clouds. This was an exciting discovery: that God was there, that this was a sign of God's presence, and that I could look and almost see God. As I grew older, I continued to be a cloud watcher, and I am to this day, although not on my back on the grass any more! I have tried to discover God in the clouds all along.

Have you seen God smile? I think I have! One wonderful day this past spring I saw a remarkable cloud formation:

Such lighting
I have never seen
on any stage before …
Each cloud blazed radiantly,
tinged with tans, light browns
pale yellows, oranges and afire with
an inner deep rich gold
enfolding all the rest,
all silhouetted against the azure sky.
The light cast,
jutted in all directions
with the constant pinwheeling
and somersaulting of the clouds.
The brilliant gold,
blazing from an inner fire,
radiated outward
touching all along its way,
bathing all around
in unequaled brilliance.

It was here I discovered
the reflection of God's glory …
for only God
could be the master painter
of all this.
The sun-tipped clouds
performing their majestic dance
could only be God's glory
made visible for all to see.
It could be mistaken
for nothing else!
In my inner heart,
I do believe
God wanted us to see
this resplendent show
as a reminder to all
of God's creation and recreation,
and that God thinks that it is good.
Yes, God smiled that day
for any who would see.

Prayer: Holy One, Creator of our wonderful world, help us to find your presence wherever we are as we enjoy your creation. May we celebrate all life, with you at its center. May we look to the future knowing that you are beyond us, in the clouds, in the heavens, just as surely as you are close to us, beside us and within us, guiding us to a better life. We pray that you will continue to be with us in the painful valleys of this time. May we honour your commitment to all that you have made and share in your bounty and in your love. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

Recently, the day that I had been dreading for three months arrived: the day when my mentor and friend, the Area Minister under whom I have been working for the past fourteen years, moved out-of-state to take another job.

I owe this person so very much, for I have been the beneficiary of his wisdom. The fact that he was there to help me through some tough moments, and did, produced a wonderful feeling of security. The fear that I'm not wise enough or don't know enough had been getting to me the closer the day of his departure approached. Do I know enough? Can I manage on my own? Who are other good resource people to whom I can turn? These and many other thoughts have recently chased each other through my head.

All of a sudden, as a bolt, it came to mind that I am not "on my own". I don't have to worry about managing by myself. None of us is ever all alone — for God is here, right with us, walking our walk with us and knowing our needs before we do. God is here every day, in even the little things. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and his mercies never come to an end. Great is God's faithfulness! What a gift of hope this realization was for me. I felt as if a bright light shone in my life again.

On the very morning of the day I'd been fearing, I woke with the words of the wonderful hymn Great is Thy faithfulness literally coming out of my mouth as I opened my eyes. I could not believe it, yet it happened. God has wonders to perform, and does so each day, and was reminding me that I have nothing to fear.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee:
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not,
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided,
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Prayer: Our God of steadfast love, we turn to you in our moments of dis-ease, fear, uncertainty, and in times of passage when the new, the unknown, threatens us with its uncertainty. Guide us with your great faithfulness so that all we need to move on will be ours. Gather us in and wrap us up in your everlasting care, so that as we make tentative steps into unknown territory, we will know your presence with us and have nothing to fear. Amen.

Exodus 3:2-5,6b – There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (NRSV)

The day after Ash Wednesday, as part of my Lenten discipline for this year, I participated in "a quiet day". It was a wonderful way to start Lent! There were eighteen of us, together with a trained leader, and we met at a church of a different denomination so that no one of us felt that we had to play host or hostess.

The day had a wonderful rhythm. First, we would meet for brief comments and discussion around a scripture passage. Next, we went off to find a comfortable place within the church where we could meditate for about an hour and a quarter. Finally, we would return and talk about anything that we wanted to share as a result of our time apart. This happened three times in all. We ended with a communion service which had so much meaning because of all that had led up to it.

Some wonderful things came out during the sharing session, as we participated mutually and related some of our discoveries or the deepest feelings that had been evoked for us during our meditation time. Scripture became opened to me as I've rarely experienced it before. It felt as if I appeared to look with fresh, new eyes at what was most familiar. It was wonderfully fulfilling for each of us (judging by the comments and the feedback) and carried us to a different place on our journey "home".

The place that I chose to be close with God during my meditating time was the church's magnificent sanctuary. Surrounded as I was by the beauty of a stained glass window behind the altar and wonderful Bible story paintings spanning the ceiling, I felt I was on holy ground, as indeed I did much of the day. But there was more. As I turned in the pew in which I sat and leaned back, I was facing a series of windows. It was a cloudy day but as I watched in awe, the clouds would leave for brief moments and bright, throbbing, pulsing light streamed through, almost blinding me so that I could not look at it. This happened several times, and I had to close my eyes each time because the light was so bright. It was at that moment that the image of Moses flashed through my mind. Surely that was how Moses felt as he beheld the burning bush — on holy ground — with God. I knew that was where I was at that moment, and it was as if God was speaking to me and letting me know that I was not alone — that God's presence was right there with all of us and that we had no need to fear. What a faith-filled way to start our Lenten pilgrimage — on holy ground.

Prayer: Gracious One of burning bushes, holy ground, and bright light, we thank you that you shine in our lives. We pray that you will illumine the nooks and crannies that are so easy for us not to see. May we feel safe as we look, for you don't do this to punish or judge us but rather to show us where we need to direct our attention. May we respond to you with our hearts and souls in such a way that a transforming time may be ours and that again we may know we are on holy ground. We pray this through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Lenten wilderness!
Desert wastes of temptation!
Time to be apart.

A borderland site
caught between two ways of life.
Which one will we choose?

It's a place to stop
on the journey of our lives,
a time of trial.

Jesus already
walked this same road long ago …
tempted mightily.

He overcame these tests,
remaining ever faithful
to God's great vision.

Our challenge is now,
urging us to do the same …
an invitation.

It's our turn this Lent
to show of what stuff we're made.
Can we measure up?

Facing who we are,
we see once more our deepest
faults; we pray for help.

We feel so alone
in this private wrestling time
looking deep within.

In our aloneness,
Lord, we are not abandoned;
this we know for sure.

You are ever here —
walking with us, as we try
stripping ourselves clean.

We beg for new life
separating us from sins
that ever grip us.

Journeying through Lent,
leaving behind many faults,
may we purer be.

This is our ardent hope.
We pray to you today for
your transforming grace.

Prayer: God of lonely journeys and difficult decisions, we seek your help during those times in which we are challenged and tempted in the wildernesses of our own making. We know those times so well. We pray for your continuing guidance, and the strength that only you can give, so that we may stand up to these challenges, not only during Lent, but every day. May your grace wash us clean. May we continually respond joyfully to the evidence of your great love. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.