Broken to Be Given
In liturgy at New Leaf Church we are working through Life of the Beloved. We have spent a few weeks in each of the movements that Henri Nouwen identifies:
Taken
Blessed
Broken
Given
We had an exercise in church that had us find images of giving and identify one word that described the feeling of the picture–how does that person feel in their giving?
This week we’ll explore the brokenness that can lead to giving…
What has been most brilliant in this time has been the way that God has brought these themes into our lives. It all started with Jeremy O’Roark’s sermon back in July and his thoughts about God’s love and how if we really believed God loved us it would change us. I piggy-backed off his sermon & talked about how brokenness & God’s love change how we see the world…
I seem to recall that when our now intern Jennifer Howard Burns preached in August she also talked a bit about God’s love/grace in her life & in community over the summer.
But I guess I wasn’t done with it yet, which is why I was drawn to Nouwen’s book. And then when a guitarist on our worship team-Nat– brought me a copy of “Hope for Tree Cut Down” which I recommend as meditative music for a time of contemplation. It has a nice balance of vocals & not, quiet & more invigorating. The lyrics are beautiful, some traditional & some new. Here’s the link: http://www.belovedschurch.org/hope