¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
³ he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
–New Revised Standard Version translation of Psalm 23

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows;
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through Death Valley,
I’m not afraid when you walk by my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.
–Eugene Peterson’s translation of Psalm 23, The Message

The last three weeks of Gospel passages and the events wracking the world in Asia and the Middle East have caused me to think hard about prayer and prayer life as important element of my response to the chaos in my life, as part of the work of a Christian in the world. This Sunday’s reading of the 23^rd Psalm brought prayer home. The psalm is so familiar that I sometimes can’t really hear it–but its incredible familiarity also mean that it is a resource for prayer, which brings the rest and restoration that the psalm invokes and evokes.

This note to you takes just the first line of the psalm as a jumping off place to talk about my own experiments, challenges, and places of solace and growth in prayer. One book I return to over and over again is Frank T. Griswold’s Praying Our Days. It is a very small book by Morehouse Publishing, and has simple advice and beautiful short prayers that are easily adopted.

Framing my day: Psalm 23, verse 1a The Lord is my shepherd

Through the centuries, millions of Christians have begun the morning with the words of the Invitatory that begin Morning Prayer, words that remind us who we are and whose we are. These words set me on a “right path” for the day: Lord, open my lips+, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Another short beginning to the day that summarizes Christian identity is a prayer of Saint Patrick:

+I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity+;
Through belief+ in the threeness,
Through confession+ of the oneness of the creator of Creation.

When I say Saint Patrick’s prayer I make the sign of the cross across my body at the first line, on my head at the word “belief,” and on my mouth at the word “confession.”

Daily Office—Morning Prayer, Prayer at Noon, Evening Prayer, and Compline—are the traditional structure of prayer in an Anglican Day. They are most easily followed if you live in a seminary or monastery! At my ordination I was charged to pray Morning and Evening Prayer daily, praying for the congregation of Saint Andrew’s and for the world.

I read or say Morning Prayer most mornings, ideally at a window that has morning light, using my BCP prayer book and Bible. When I have less energy, when I’m travelling, when somehow like a stray sheep I have “nibbled myself lost” with morning meetings and missed deadlines I turn to Morning Prayer on dailyoffice.wordpress.com/ which goes faster and takes less effort. I like dailyoffice.org because it has a real sense of community and integrates the readings with short mention of the news of the day. If I’ve stayed on the right path that morning and the nibbling of my time hasn’t been too severe, I follow Morning Prayer with quiet sitting, simply following my breath and repeating the word “amen”—“may it be so.” I use the Contemplative Outreach Centering Prayer app to count my minutes and frame the moments of meditation—you can find it at https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/centering-prayer-method/.

My intentions are freshest and most often fulfilled in the early morning and time-nibbling begins by, oh, 9.00 am. I have started to set an alarm for 12.00 pm and 4.00 pm, hoping that I will use those moments to pray the Daily Office at midday before lunch, and at 4.00 to begin to close down the day. Dailyoffice.org is a useful resource here, but I also pray in the Saint Andrew’s sanctuary, especially on Tuesdays when we have Bible study at 4.30. Saying Noonday Prayer and Evening Prayer daily is most definitely aspirational. I am always amazed at how easy they are to manage when I do take them on—and how often I buck against changing the course of the day with these short and beautiful prayers. I’m with Saint Paul on this experience—see Romans 7:15.

At the end of the day, I find that I often resist formal prayer. Following the advice, “Pray as you can, don’t pray as you can’t,” when I am settling into bed I bring to mind Ten Gratitudes—ten moments of the day that were a blessing. I should really call them “ten gratitudes” without capital letters because they are usually very small moments of the day. Despite their smallness, I find that these moments have been those that are deeply cherished.

I mentioned in the sermon today a beautiful meditation on the holy name of God—YHWH—and the very breath of life. If you would like to watch it, you will find it here, although sometimes the site is blocked. I can find it by searching “014 BREATHE Rob Bell.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EFLRDNAx-Y

Resetting my Mind and Heart: Psalm 23, verse 1b I shall not want

A different kind of prayer is a reflection on your life—a pause in the movement of the day to think about where you are. I love this short exercise by David Lose that reflects on what is sufficient.[1]

At some point during the coming week on a sheet of paper:
–write down in one column ten things for which you are most grateful in your life
–write down in another column the ten things you most want right now

Consider this question:
Which would have a greater impact,
losing all the things for which you are grateful
or
gaining all the things you currently want?

There is no right answer here; some of us are in very difficult times, feeling loss deeply and yearning intensely. Others will find that they are surprised at the blessings that suffuse their lives, especially those that had not been noticed.

If you feel moved, email or send me your thoughts on this exercise. And I would love to hear your own practices, experiments, and advice on prayer.

Peace to you,

Jen+

[1] https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/beyond-our-wants

Rev. Jen has set her office drop-in day as Wednesday of each week from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. for anyone who would like to stop in and visit. You are always invited to make an appointment for a time convenient for you. Mondays are her Sabbath day. NOTE: There will be no drop-in hours on October 25 or November 1 as Rev. Jen will be out of the office.

Sunday Morning In-Person Worship Service, October 22, led by The Rev. Dr. Jennifer Oldstone-Moore, 10:15 a.m.

You can stream the service via St. Andrew’s Facebook Page. Click on this link to view the Live Stream. We will start the Live Stream 5 minutes prior to the start of the service.

Click here for the service booklet for October 22.

3RD QUARTER CONTRIBUTION STATEMENTS

Contribution statements have been mailed to households that are tracking behind in their annual pledge as we close out the year. If households are up to date or tracking well, we will not send statements in order to save postage and printing cost. If you would like to receive a statement and did not, please reach out to the church office and we can either email or mail your household statement. Year end annual statements will be mailed in January, 2024 for tax record purposes.

REV. JEN OUT OF OFFICE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24 – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Rev. Jen will be away at CREDO from October 24 – 30, then in California for her father’s memorial through Friday, November 3. NOTE: There will be no drop-in hours or book studies during this time.

DIOCESAN YOUTH MINISTRY VISION SUMMIT, OCTOBER 27, 4-8 P.M. EST, ST. CHRISTOPHER’S, CARMEL

We are relaunching Diocesan Youth Ministry for the first time since 2019, and we’d love your voice as we build it! Diocesan Youth Ministry has traditionally consisted of diocesan youth retreats, youth leadership programs, and parish support. We are eager to build a youth ministry program designed by teenagers for teenagers. To sign up, go to https://indydio.org/youth/ or email Heather Kenison, Diocesan Youth Director, heather@indydio.org

ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 10:15 AM

On All Saints’ Sunday we will read the names of those we remember who are no longer with us – those who died in the previous year, and also those who are on our heart. Please send Renee the names you would like read out loud at the All Saints’ service.

BIBLE AND BOOK GROUP TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 4:30 PM

Our Bible study/books group(s) started up again. We are reading Rachel Held Evans’ Searching for Sundays, a book about “loving, leaving, and finding the church.” The next gathering will be Tuesday, November 7. NOTE: Rev. Jen is out of the office the next two Tuesdays so this group won’t be meeting those Tuesdays.

SACRED JOURNEYS: LOURDES VIDEO SHOWING THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9

In honor of Veterans’ Day, we will have a viewing of this video that covers the annual International Military Pilgrimage to Lourdes that is an opportunity for healing, camaraderie, and spiritual renewal for those who have served in the military, many of whom have suffered traumatic injuries. The stories and experiences of the pilgrims is extremely moving. This will be at 6:00 p.m. in Hamilton Hall, a light dinner of soup and bread will be offered.

DIOCESAN YOUTH GATHERING, NOVEMBER 11, 9-5 P.M. EST, ST. PAUL’S, INDIANAPOLIS

We are holding a gathering for youth at Diocesan Convention, open to grades 6-12 throughout the diocese. This free gathering will have activities that include fun games, activities, a mental health first aid workshop, and puppy play. This is one of the first opportunities youth have to connect with other youth throughout the diocese as we relaunch Diocesan Youth Ministry. Parents do not need to attend Convention for youth to participate. To sign up, go to https://indydio.org/diocesan-convention/ or email Heather Kenison, Diocesan Youth Director, heather@indydio.org

You can also click on each event name to download flyers: Diocesan Youth Ministry Vision Summit and Diocesan Youth Gathering.

THIS WEEK’S SHOPPING LIST FOR NON-FOOD PANTRY

Please add body wash, bleach, Laundry Detergent, and adult incontinence pads/underwear to your shopping list for the NFP. Every little bit helps our budget go farther in helping meet the needs of folks in Putnam County. The next Non-Food Pantry will be Saturday, October 28. There is a sign-up sheet posted in Hamilton Hall for folks to help with a product pick-up and/or as well as for help on October 28 at the monthly distribution. FYI: Baskets at church are now dedicated for the NFP and not the food pantry.

FREE DAILY DEVOTIONAL

We have some large print Day by Day daily devotionals in the sanctuary that you are free to take home for your personal devotions–and if we know that people would like copies, we can order the right amount. Many of you may also appreciate the on-line version of Day to Day. Click here.

COMMUNION AT THE WATERS

Once a month Sunday services are continuing at The Waters. The next service will be Sunday, November 12 at 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. If you’d like to help with this ministry in any way, please contact Rev. Jen or Renee. All are welcome to attend!

ON-GOING COVID PROTOCOL

We continue to respond to both our county’s current CDC designation and to the current variant. Masking is optional. Those who serve bread and wine will mask so that anyone who comes to the altar can feel secure. Decisions on COVID policy have moved from the Reconvening Committee to Rev. Jen and the Wardens.

We have heard that the daily reflections and scripture readings provided during Lent were appreciated. The meditations are written by persons from Gobin UMC and Beech Grove UMC. They will be in the newsletter each week and go from Wednesday to Tuesday, except for Sunday. Whether you enjoy these every day or as the Spirit moves you, may this resource continue to bring you spiritual food for the journey. Blessings!

Click here to view the readings and accompanying links.

Your prayers are asked for: