Monday Meditation: Fourth Week of Advent
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney The week of Christmas has arrived. As the days of Advent dwindle, our thoughts turn to love – the final theological theme of this holy season of spiritual preparation. “Love” is a word we use frequently in conversation, but often in a way that diminishes its meaning. For instance, […]
Monday Meditation: Third Week of Advent
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney Yesterday morning, I lit the rose-colored candle in our Advent wreath as my husband and I worshiped via Zoom – the candle of joy. The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday – the Latin word gaudete means “rejoice.” In many churches, these words from Philippians 4:4-6 […]
Monday Meditation: The Second Sunday of Advent
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney As I child, I remember learning the song “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be. With God as our Father, brothers all are we. Let […]
Monday Meditation: Tending the Soil
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney Are you familiar with Jesus’ parable of the sower? A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up […]
Monday Meditation: The Struggle of A Lifetime
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Over the weekend my social media feed has been filled with quotes from civil rights legend U.S. Representative John Lewis, who died on Friday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. (Read David Halberstam’s book The Children to learn how a young Lewis was profoundly shaped by […]
Monday Meditation: Why Are You Doing What You’re Doing?
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Do you ever stop to ask yourself why are you doing what you are doing? In her book Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others, Laura van Dernoot Lipsky writes: “Amid the trials and tribulations of our work, it is possible to […]
Monday Meditation: A Cry For Help
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Where do you turn when you are struggling to survive, when you are experiencing oppression, when you are fighting forces and feelings that threaten to overwhelm you? For 1,000 years, people have turned to Psalm 18 to give voice to their experiences. The psalmist begins this timeless […]
Meditation Monday: Zacchaeus’ Transformation
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Last Wednesday night, the clients at The Next Door took a deep dive into the story of Zacchaeus, as recorded in Luke 19:1-10, when they completed their Spiritual Wellness worksheets. Many of us first heard this story as children in church – I was certainly attracted […]
Meditation Monday: Running on Fumes
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator The Parable In Matthew 25:1-11, Jesus uses a parable about ten bridesmaids to describe the kingdom of heaven. In this story, the ten bridesmaids have gathered to await the bridegroom’s arrival, for they will accompany the groom in a festive procession to the wedding banquet. All ten bridesmaids have […]
Monday Meditation: Disappointment
– Written by Rev. Tambi Swiney, Spiritual Wellness Coordinator Disappointed. This word has been popping up repeatedly over the past few months as a result of the physical distancing necessary to minimize the impact of the pandemic. High school and college students are disappointed that they were not able to celebrate their academic achievements at traditional […]
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