He is Risen!

Music is a big part of how we respond to the Alleluia of Easter.  Pick a hymn below to listen to, or link to your own favorite Easter hymn (I know some of you have some gems to share that I missed!) Write about how it strengthens and informs your faith and embodies the Alleluia of Easter

Widor's Toccata

Jesus Christ is Risen Today

Flash mob of the Alleluia chrous by the Philadelphia Opera Company

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Now All The Vault of Heaven Resounds

Holy Saturday

Today is a day of waiting.  What do you do while you wait for Easter?  What do you think the Disciples did?

Good Friday

What are your reflections on Good Friday and how do you observe it?  You can write about what your reflections are on what happened on that day long ago or you can write about your personal experiences in observing it in your lifetime.

Maunday Thursday 2-fer

Maunday Thursday's prompt has 2 options to choose from to write about:
Fiction:
Write about one of the disciple's responses to Jesus on Maunday Thursday or write about how you would have responded.  Would you have asked Jesus to wash you from head to toe or insist that you wash Jesus' feet or would you have been analytical and discected what he said?
Non-Fiction:
What is an experience at a Maunday Thursday service that has informed your faith or impacted you?  Either through a footwashing or through communion or something else...write about it.

Spy Wednesday

Today is sometimes known as "Spy Wednesday" because the Gospel read at Catholic masses on this day is about Judas' betrayal.  Judas betrayed Christ for his love of money (there are other theories as well, but all value something else higher than Christ).  How can knowledge of the ways that YOU have placed earthly things higher than Christ lead you to an appropriate compassion for Judas - and likewise, yourself - and lead you to be stronger in your faith?  Or do you think that we should feel compassion for Judas?  Was his betrayal too deep?

Hearts to Serve, Hands to God

What is your favorite way to participate in the church service (if you are a pastor, what part of your role in the service is your favorite to carry out?) What is an insider's view of what it's like to participate in this way?  What do you see?  How does is service to others also a service to yourself and to God?  Have you been an usher?  Lector?  Served communion?  Taken communion?  Greeter?  Pick what you love and write about it.

Unconditional Love

What is an experience that you have had of God's unconditional love here on Earth? 

Palm Sunday

Here is another video this Sunday, of Palm Sunday Gregorian chants.  Meditate on your Palm Sunday service or read the story from Matthew 21:1-11 or use another resource that helps you understand the story further.  Write what comes to you or do a freewrite on Palm Sunday and see what comes fom that!  (note: a freewrite is when you write for a set time - the duration of the song - and don't lift the pen from paper (or fingers from keyboard) and write what comes, no matter how strange or irrelevant it may seem at the time.  When you get stuck, you can write 'I remember' or 'I think' and keep writing.  Then you can craft the beautiful chaos into something amazing.) 

List of Faith-Emergency Contacts...

List 15 people that you would like to call upon - or have called upon - to help you with faith questions and inspiration (assume that the Trinity will already be on another super-list somewhere else).  They can be people you've met, people in your family alive or dead, people in history, the Bible, perhaps even fictional characters.  List the people (and in some cases, who they are) and what how they would influence and/or help you on your faith journey.

Bible Artifacts

Bibles can be very personal. Sometimes a grandparent or great-grandparent will have a Bible with notes or clippings in it that give testement to the unique faith that they had. Do you or a loved-one have a Bible like this? Do you have a family Bible that is unique in this way? A third-grade Bible? Write about one of these, or you can write about all the different personalities of the Bibles - and the people, families or organizations that have owned them - that you've known

Dreams and Visions

Write about a dream, vision or other 'mountaintop experience' with God that you have experienced. Even and especially if it was just a small gentle whisper or inclination...

Psalms

Choose a Psalm and write about it - what it means to you or a new way of looking at it. Or, if you want, write a new Psalm-like piece yourself to the glory of God.

Switch-eroo

What do you think a character from the Bible's story would be like if they were the opposite sex? If Noah was a woman called to save all the animals and family from the flood, if Mary Magdeline was a male disciple, if Joseph were a young girl in a family of sisters...how do you think their story and/or relationships would change?

What's your favorite non-religious quote? Mine is Helen Keller's "One cannot consent to creep when one is called to soar" pick your favorite quote and back it up with theology to make it a religious inspiration as well. Just for fun ona Monday...

Sunday's Post: Chanda Mama

Rather than a picture this Sunday, here's a song by the world artists of Playing for Change.  A more joyful, harmonious sound I can't imagine.  So, whatever this inspires you to write, WRITE!!  Or if you just want to sit back and listen to joy, here's an incognito Alle-Shhhh! a little early ; )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I23Bkk92124

Here's an additional link to Playing for Change and how they are connecting the world through music: www.playingforchange.com

Mr. Wilson, forgiven

Write about a minor villan in your childhood - a grumpy neighbor, someone at church that always yelled at you for running in the Narthex, a grandma or grandpa that was strict with table-manners, someone that you saw from your kid point of view and thought that they were out of touch.  Use your compassion and adult point of view to understand their perspective.  Think Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace or the weekly unmasked crooks from Scooby-doo.  Someone that was "mean", but in hindsight, had another story to tell.

Counting Blessings

List 15 blessings that you are thankful for today.  Try to find the blessings that are in unusual places too...

Need

What can you learn about compassion from people in need?  Tell about an situation where you learned about your own compassion - or theirs - from someone who was in a position of need.

Sinners & Saints

Write about Martin Luther's Sinner/Saint dynamic within us all and how that helps you have compassion for others as well as yourself.  Which one are you nurturing?  Do both need to be nurtured in different ways?

Animal Teachers

Describe a lesson on compassion or strengthening of your faith that you have recieved from an animal friend.

Faith Conversations

Who is someone from the Bible (besides God of Jesus) that you would like to have a conversation about faith with?  What would you say and why would you pick that person?

The Face of Jesus

Popular Mechanics posted an article about Richard Neave (a medical artist retired from The University of Manchester in England & co-author of "Making Faces: Using Forensic And Archaeological Evidence"). He used three Galilean Semites' skulls from the time of Jesus and reconstructed what Jesus may have looked like using 3D imaging.  He came up with this portrait of what Jesus may have looked like:

Does this change your view of the 'Jesus' you have in your imagination?  How does forensically trying to reconstruct what Jesus really looked affect your faith?  Likewise, how do the white, European images of Jesus help or hurt your faith?

Omnipotence

Describe a place or time when you've felt insignificant, yet loved in the middle of an infinite universe by an omnipotent, loving God.

Mentoring the Spirit

Write about a time when someone spiritually mentored you or gave you some advice that helped you in your faith journey.  Who helped you and what did they say?

Gifted...

What spiritual gift do you have?  What spiritual gift do you wish you had?  What would you do with either one if you knew that you could 'move mountains' with it?  (sorry this prompt was late today!)

Any Questions?

What would you say to a teenager or young adult who was questioning their faith?  Write a letter or piece to support their journey in a loving way.

The Story of the Unknown Woman

Write about an unnamed or briefly-mentioned woman character in the Bible.  Elaborate on her story, recover the importance of story or even change her story and write about the impact that she had in the Bible.  (BTW, March is Women's History Month ; )

Listen Up!

Describe a time in your life when you felt that you were not listened to and/or taken seriously.  Write about how this disenfranchising experience can or did lead to helping someone else.

The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to Such as These...

 

Sunday's prompt is a picture - What does this picture make you think about?  Write.

Church Kid

Lenten Writing Prompt #15
What is a role that you participated in the church as a kid - if not a church 'job' (acolyte, usher, etc.) was there a personality role that you seemed to fill?  If you didn't go to church regularly, what were your impressions of church as a kid?  How did this job, role, or impression shape your faith now?  (This is a broad question in order to be inclusive of all different backgrounds - feel free to take this prompt and run with it in the direction that you wish...)

Storytime!

What is your favorite Bible story and how has it affected or strengthened your faith? Do you have another way of looking at it?