Yesterday, I preached the sermon. We've been doing a sermon series on the Lord's Prayer, and I got to preach on "Give us this day our daily bread." As I thought about what I would say, and as I sorted through old possessions coming from the cottage, I got an idea for my big hoop that I bought but have never used for quilting.
As people came into the church, I asked them to choose a strip of cloth that spoke to them.
In the beginning of the sermon, we thought about what we needed for sustenance as we held the strip of cloth. Then I passed the hoop around and asked everyone to tie their piece of cloth on the hoop.
I talked about our individual wants and needs and the needs of the larger community--and how our solitary prayers feel like raggedy scraps, but when we add our prayers together, we can transform the world.
I did keep trying to loop back to the ideas of daily bread and what sustains us--but also a larger vision of sustenance. I was pleased that everyone took a strip of fabric and that everyone enthusiastically tied their strip to the hoop. I talked about what we personally need to for sustenance, but also what the larger society needs for sustenance.
I also added another element. I wanted a cross in the middle, and I thought about using one of the crosses made of palms that are left over from Palm Sunday. But in the office, I had lots of crosses to choose from, and I chose the one above.
I really like the way what it does for the hoop:
And now we have a different element to take us to All Saints Sunday. Here's the larger view:
I'm calling Sunday morning a success, even though my sermon went in an entirely different direction. I want to say it was the Holy Spirit, but some days I worry that it's sloppiness and my inability to stick to my sermon prep.
No comments:
Post a Comment