Growth in Nampa-June 2014

Posted on June 20, 2014 by megganmanlove

Almighty God, we thank you for making the earth fruitful, so
that it might produce what is needed for life: Bless those who
work in the fields; give us seasonable weather; and grant that
we may all share the fruits for the earth, rejoicing in your
goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, p. 824)  Continue reading →

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Taking the Church Outside

Posted on June 11, 2014 by megganmanlove

Last month a group of about 25 people drove around Nampa in buses and cars and blessed six community gardens.  This outing began last winter, probably about the time our master gardeners were planting their seedlings.  I finally got around to reading Nadia Bolz-Weber’s book Pastrix, in which she writes about ministry out in the city of Denver.  I read an excerpt from Sara Miles’ new book City of God: Faith in the Streets in the Christian Century magazine.  And on Ash Wednesday I read posts on facebook by a Methodist clergy friend taking ashes out into her neighborhood in Washington, D.C. and an Episcopalian clergy friend in suburban Chicago whose congregation celebrated a sort of Ashes on the Go (people could pull into the parking lot, participated in a brief liturgy, including the imposition of ashes).  Surely Trinity could and should be out there. I also knew that we needed to initiate or enter into some kind of ecumenical ministry.  We ELCA Lutherans highly value ecumenism but it’s not always clear how it should take on flesh. Continue reading →

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The film “GMO OMG”

Posted on May 31, 2014 by megganmanlove

Wednesday night I went with a friend to Overland Park Cinema in Boise to see a screening of the film GMO OMG, a 2013, 90 minute documentary directed by concerned father Jeremy Seifert.  The film was brought to the theater in partnership with GMO Free Idaho.  I could write about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) but I am instead going to use this space to write about my experience seeing the film. Continue reading →

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Holy Week

Posted on April 26, 2014 by megganmanlove

High moments of the journey through Holy Week

 

Passion Sunday: For years I have had The Passion of our Lord read as a readers theater but this year we tried something new–three speaking choirs, surrounding the seated assembly, reading back and forth to one another.

Maundy Thursday: With her permission, I share this reflection from a parishioner,

“Maundy Thursday. I remember as I child when I learned that in some denominations people actually followed the example of Christ and washed each others’ feet, I thought, “That is just weird. Why would you submit to such a humbling, intimate act when in a public place (or at home, for that matter)?” Tonight we observed Maundy Thursday at church, and it was beautiful. People I love are willingly serving me. Humbling, to be sure, and yes, intimate. But also solemn and sacred. The symbolism is profound, whether you are a Christian, or any other faith. Humility and sacrifice and love. Our highest calling.” Continue reading →

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Soup Suppers and Evening Prayer

Posted on March 28, 2014 by megganmanlove

By Pr Meggan Manlove

Simple meals of soup and bread followed by a service of Evening Prayer–these spiritual practices have been part of my Lenten journey since my two years as a confirmation student at Custer Lutheran Fellowship.  At Trinity we have fun coming up with special names for the soup people bring, adding modifiers like Delicious, Northwest, Surprise.  For some people this is the one home cooked meal they will eat during the week but the simplicity of the meal remains.  This was even clearer to me as a confirmation student.  Before and after the season of Lent, the meals I ate with the other students included pot-roast, lasagna, scalloped potatoes, and often a tasty dessert.  The switch to soup and bread was a reminder that we were in a different kind of season, one in which simplicity reigned supreme.  Continue reading →

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Exposure in “Living Lutheran”

Posted on March 16, 2014 by megganmanlove

My article about “After the Harvest” was published in the ELCA’s online periodical “Living Lutheran.”

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Providing Space for Dialogue

Posted on March 5, 2014 by megganmanlove

I would love it if there were many places and spaces where people could have enlightened and informed conversations about big issues facing the church and nation.  There doesn’t seem to be much of a need for such a space because no one wants to talk.  Or is that really true?  On Monday evening, Trinity Lutheran Church hosted a Food Stamp Challenge Potluck and screening of the film “A Place at the Table.”  Our team of planners had no idea what to expect but we ended up having forty people at the screening, about one-third from our congregation and the rest from the community. Continue reading →

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“A Place at the Table”

Posted on February 17, 2014 by megganmanlove

 

Last Spring, several Trinity Lutheran Church members helped bring “A Place at the Table” to Boise’s Egyptian Theater where many of us went to see it.  The film inspired our Vacation Bible School program last summer and directed the implementation of our After the Harvest grant funds from the ELCA in August and September.  Now we are bringing the film to the community of Nampa. Continue reading →

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Advent Birthday Party

Posted on December 14, 2013 by megganmanlove

From Trinity Lutheran Church’s “Advent, a Journey of Watching and Waiting”

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

One of my favorite Advent traditions growing up was the annual Advent Birthday Party at my home congregation.  Every December we would gather together in the fellowship hall for a traditional potluck.  What made this potluck special was the seating chart.  Continue reading →

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Stir Up…

Posted on December 7, 2013 by megganmanlove

From Trinity Lutheran Church’s “Advent, a Journey of Watching and Waiting”

“Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved.” (Psalm 80:2b-3)

 

If you listen carefully during this Season of Advent you will hear a refrain in our Prayers of the Day, those prayers that lay the foundation for each worship service.  Each one of them begins with this imperative, “Stir up.”  Stir up your power; stir up our hearts; stir up the wills of all who look to you.  For four weeks we ask God to stir up this world, including our very selves, in preparation for something new—a new kind of king, one who meets us in our weakness; a new kind of justice, one where it is no longer an eye for an eye but a turning of the other cheek; one where weapons are put down and the lion is at peace with the lamb.  This sounds glorious but when we start to put it into practice, any romanticism we have quickly falls away.  We can despair easily until, until, until we pray once again, “Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come.”  And in our praying we are reminded once again that this is not about us.  We are not alone.  All things are possible through Jesus Christ, whose coming we await.  That is one of the most wonderful things about prayer, the way that it changes us.  In the praying, things begin stirring up in me—hope, love, ideas, praise and thanksgiving.  I trust that God will stir up wonderful things in you and in our world each Sunday when we pray together. – Pastor Meggan Manlove

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