All is Not Lost -- God is Love

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Body, Soul, and Spirit in Harmony

“I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul.”          
(3 John 2)

How do we find harmony in our body, soul, and spirit? Are humans created to be three entities in one as God is in the Trinity? What is the distinction in the functions of each of our three parts? Instincts tell us we sometimes just "know" something without any concrete evidence of it. Where exactly is our spirit?  How do the soul and spirit interact? A conceptual figure of the body, spirit, and soul relationship is illustrated below.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body."             (1st Corinthians 6: 19)

To live in harmony with ourselves and one another we must first care for ourselves holistically in body, soul, and spirit. When your life is not in balance your body may show the signs by succumbing to disease or by experiencing a life crisis. This is a universal concept. Each one of us has a physical body that reacts to fear, stress, abandonment, loss, betrayal, anger, joy, excitement, and we all hope for love.

We are all matter and spirit. Our Creator God dwells in and reaches out to the world with love through us. All of our souls hunger for truth, justice, love, and forgiveness. With all the worlds economic greed and injustice we may feel there is no hope for our spirits and souls to make a difference in the world for peace and harmony. Yet, there is hope. Our spirits call us to healing within and healing outside ourselves. We are called to take steps towards wholeness and oneness; not to be destroyed by depression and hopelessness.

In the book, A Hidden Wholeness, Parker Palmer recommends that we slowdown, do more with less, and pay attention to life's rhythm. He says the soul wants to keep us connected to community for it understands that relationshipas are necessary for us to thrive. And the soul wants to give us life and to pass that gift along, "to become life-givers in a world that deals with too much death."

A new small group is being developed in our church community. It will have a theme of: Harmony in Body, Soul, and Spirit. We will be reading inspirational Christian readings that inspire us to promote our own wholeness and seek ways to help our precious world be made whole as God intended it to be in the beginning. Contact me through my email: calloway@pcmorristown.org if you are interested in joining our small group.

Creating and Sustaining Lord, thank you for giving us the hope for wholeness in body, soul, and spirit. Grant us all a spirit that joyfully celebrates your love. Unite us in Oneness as the global family of God who cherishes the gift of life on our precious earth. May your Peace that surpasses all understanding dwell in our hearts and souls from this day forward. Amen

(Illustration at top from http://www.faithandhealthconnection.org/the_connection/spirit-soul-and-body/)

Joplin Tornado Recovery Mission Trip June 2011

(click on the picture to see photos of the PCM Joplin Tornado Recovery Trip)

On May 22nd around 5:25pm an EF-7 tornado 1 mile wide ripped and tore it's way into the small city of Joplin, Missouri. The estimated strength of this monster was 300mph vortex winds leaving a devastated area 13 miles long. Imagine a huge blender with 4 vortexes inside a huge cell of rain coming over the horizon shredding and hurling into the air everything in its path. The vacuum action of the tornado combined dirt, shingles, steel, tin, glass, wood, siding, and fiberglass, along with all the belongings inside and outside businesses and homes as it ripped and tore a path destroying 8000 residences, cars, people, businessses, schools, electrical transformers, gas lines, a hospital, an adult learning center, and playgrounds along the way.

As we carefully worked our way through all the debris, under the direction of Americorps and the families who had given us permission to cleanup their property, we found pieces of photos, torn up children's toys, jewelry, clothes, cash, perfume, social security cards, watches, keys, half finished craft projects, DVDs, appliances, and many other personal items such as a wedding invitation,  a child's pacifier, and the celtic cross in the photo above. This cross in the photo above was caked with mud but we were able to brush it off and set it up on top of the other items we thought the homeowner might  keep.

Joplin is a town of 50,000 and all the residents in and around this area have been affected by this supernatural tornado. The mixed blessing from this disaster was to see so many from around the US and (even all the way from Japan) respond with an outpouring of generosity and love. Our team of 10 was also inspired by  how well the victims and volunteers were being cared for.

During the day we worked in the 95 degree sunshine cleaning up and sorting the debris with rakes, shovels, and our bare hands, always wearing masks to guard against inhaling the fiberglass filled dust, and lots of sunscreen and long sleeved shirts and long pants to guard our skin as well. The most common injury was from nails sticking up randomly on the ground or poking out of broken boards. It was a blessing that our team members recieved tetanus boosters prior to the trip because nearly all of us ended up with minor puncture wounds by the week's end.

In the afternoons our team would escape the bright sunshine (since all the trees are gone and there is little shade to be found in the area of devastation), by going to work in the warehouses that received the truck loads of donations coming in from all over our wonderful US of A! We were amazed to see the outpouring of donations of food, clothes, work gloves, tools, furniture, toys, carseats, strollers, cribs, diapers, household cleaning supplies, and on and one. Our team helped to sort and organize the donations in two locations. It was memorable to see the families come in and help them find the items they were most in need of. I will always remember a little boy named Dylan who was looking for a superhero toy. I am sure during the tornado he was hoping a superhero would save his family. Thank God, his family all survived but none of their belongings were savable. Some of the downed trees were being chainsaw-carved into reborn creations of hope. And the Joplin High School sign illustrated this with new letters renaming it "Hope High School" with the "H" and "e" created out of gray duct tape...

What a great honor and blessing it was to our mission team to be invited into the lives of the citizens of Joplin in the aftermath of this disaster. We will remember the Grandma's story of her little 5 year old granddaughter and her mother who miraculously made it to the bathroom of the Walmart and came out to find the rest of the huge store totally destroyed. And we were told the sad story of the young father who had just returned from serving in Afghanistan who took refuge in the Home Depot with his two little girls. He was found still clutching onto them crouched in a corner of the store. Sadly all three had died in the destruction.

Our team members will always remember the afternoon we spent with the Miller family to plant a memorial rosebush for Tripp Miller who lived in a group home for the disabled. Tripp and his buddies were all killed along with one of their caretakers. The home was located beside the Joplin High School that was also destroyed. His parents, were so thankful that we came from New Jersey to comfort them in their sorrow. We all mourned the loss of Tripp with his parents as we planted a tree and a rosebush. They are long time active members of the First Presbyterian Church in Joplin that partnered with us on our first tornado disaster response trip. After spending time with the Millers we felt we knew Tripp well. He was a very special man and his contagious smile will be remembered always.

The Americorps banner (below) is a hopeful statment that we witnessed everywhere we went: "The Miracle of the Human Spirit." As Christians we also acknowledge that it is the Holy Spirit that inspires and bonds people together in times such as this. Many of the people in Joplin communicated that our presence had an impact on their lives. One warehouse worker said, "We know God cares when people like you come all the way from New Jersey to help us."

It was a great privilege to be the hands and feet and loving arms of Jesus for these people. They loved to tell us story after story of survival and of loss. We listened and tried our best to share the burdens with them. Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." We hope that our presence gave a touch of loving comfort and a sense of God's peace to those we served. It will be many years before this area recovers. But our faith in the resurrection assures us that God who is faithful will restore our souls. Whether or not we regain our material possessions, we trust that our souls will be restored - if not on earth then in heaven. And we know that through it all, NOTHING, not even the most monstrous tornado can separate us from the love of God that was demonstrated by the life and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Almighty and everlasting God, the comfort of the sad, the strength of those who suffer, let the prayers of your children who cry out of any tribulation come to you. To every soul that is distressed, grant mercy, grant relief, grant refreshment; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

(from the Liturgy of St. Mark)

Created in the Image of Our Triune God

The Trinity and the relational three character of creation is so fascinating! Patterns of three are all around us! If you look you will see "3s" everywhere! The illustration above is a "quark" which is the fundamental constituent of all matter in our cosmos. This points out that the very fundamentals in our universe reflect the Trinitarian nature of God. A quark is never found in isolation, it is found in relationship with two other quarks. A proton is made up of three quarks. The proton can be seen as a reflection of the Trinity, God's Divine triune self providing the building blocks of creation. Atoms are made up of a relational three: protons, neutrons, and electrons. And the recently discovered fractal geometric way of viewing the design of the universe uses the division of 3 to break down the fragmental makeup of matter. Three base pairs of amino acids in DNA make a codon which makes protein, an essential component of all biological life. How can it be denied? The Triune God permeates all of creation from the tiniest known parts to the grandest places.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer; Loving Parent, Sacrificial Role-model, Wise Comforter - there are so many ways to describe our God but they still don't quite grasp the magnificence and mystery of our Yahweh who is intimately interwoven in all of creation. With an emphasis on the relational character of God our early church leaders were inspired to comprehend part of God's majesty and workings with the concept of the Trinity, which became a doctrine of the Presbyterian church.

According to to the Reformed tradition, our God is a Triune God - One God in three persons. The Nicene Creed was the first to define the Trinity in our confessions. Saint Augustine, one of the greatest thinkers of the early church, described the Trinity as comparable to the three parts of an individual human being: mind, spirit, and will. They are three distinct aspects, yet they are inseparable and together constitute one unified being. Looking at the whole cosmos through the lens of the Trinity, we see many patterns of three. Land, sea, and air. The earth's biosphere is made of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The rhythm of our days are trinitarian in nature: morning, noon, and night. Our Universe is made up of three intricately related parts: space, time, and matter. God has placed her stamp on the structure of the Universe. The trinity is illustrated in the connective relationship of time, space, and matter.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin identified the three aspects of our triune god as: Power, Word and Fire. In his, Mass on the World, he explained his scientific view of the Trinity: "In the beginning was Power, intelligent, loving, energizing. In the beginning was the Word, supremely capable of mastering and molding whatever might come into being in the world of matter. In the beginning there was not coldness and darkness, there was Fire." Ted Peters, in his book: God and the World's Future said, "God is personal only through one and another of three persons, not as a single ineffable entity. The net effect of the doctrine of the Trinity is to understand the divine reality as a unity of relation."

God's goal for us is to be in "unity of relation" as God demonstrates in God's loving relational self. 1st Corinthians 12: 26 reminds us, "When one part suffers, every part suffers and when one part is honored every part rejoices with it." We are all connected to one another from the quantum quark level to the space, time, and matter level. "So now faith hope, and love abide, these three. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Trinitarian prayer of the Cosmos
Our Triune God, You who are the Creator of all things, bring forth from us an awareness of our relational nature made in the image of your nature. Help us live in the Trinitarian pattern you intended for us, that connects us to one another as Jesus is with you and the Holy Spirit. May all your children of the cosmos know that we belong in relationship with you and in unity together. May our longings for Oneness bring peace, justice, love, and wholeness to the world. Amen

(Quark illustration from: http://www.aip.org/png/images/quark-spin-png.jpg)

Morris County Memorial Day Program May, 25, 2011

Memorial Day Invocation -- May 25th, 2011
Reverend Cynthia Alloway, Presbyterian Church in Morristown
I am thankful to be here representing the Morristown Area Interfaith Clergy Council. As clergy leaders we hope to inspire all of us in this community and beyond to do what we can as faith congregations and as individuals - to support those who serve and protect our country and their families. - I am also the proud mother of an active duty Coast Guard helicopter pilot who is serving in California.
Today, I am also personally commemorating in my heart - my three brothers who served in the Vietnam War in the Navy; one of whom came back 100% mentally disabled. All who have served or have family members who presently serve know the daily anxiety and proud honor that goes along with sacrificing for our country. Answering the call to serve continues to be a brave, honorable and noble way to live and to die. So let us pray a blessing on this important Memorial Day service.
Loving Creator, we ask for your blessing on this Memorial Day program. Remember your children in all the branches of the military - those who have lost their lives while serving our country and those who currently serve. Holy God, there is no one here who hasn’t had a soldier in the family or as a friend. All of us have been affected either in this generation or a previous generation by war.
We trust that you know and remember each of your children who have given of themselves for others. Our hearts deeply mourn the loss of those who were dear to us and we will miss them for the rest of our days. We thank you for the courage you gave each one to defend our freedoms. And today we especially pray for the family of Sgt. Ryan Dolzt. And all the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, Libya, and all the other African countries at war this past year. Be with the families who mourn the loss of their loved ones and provide help to the innocent civilians caught in the midst of conflicts around the world.
Hear us as we pray for our nation, both its citizens and all our leaders in authority, that we may be a people living the love of God in peace with all, secure in the liberty which is our blessed heritage. Keep us mindful of our common duty to do what we are able to build up here and now the kingdom of God so all will live in harmony.
We pray for peace in the hearts of those who defend and have defended America, for those who have lost friends dear to them, and for those who are scarred mentally and physically by war. May your spirit motivate us in this community of Morristown to be ever more sensitive to the needs of our veterans and provide effective help to those who have sacrificed so much on our behalf. Guide us to see our world as one family of God, all of us are brothers and sisters who need one another to enjoy abundant life on this precious earth. We pray these things to you, our loving God of mercy, who is always with us, the one who created us and who loves us beyond all measure. Amen

Holy Pneuma!

“When you send forth your spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” (Psalm 104: 30)

Life beyond death….This Eastertide leading up to Pentecost inspires me to ponder God’s giving of the Spirit at Pentecost. It is just so amazing! To be so known and understood, to be so loved and provided for! Our human need for a presence with us after Jesus leaves this earth is a human need well known and understood by our loving God. So we are given the ruach (in Hebrew) or the pneuma (in Greek), the breath of God, the Holy Spirit, as our comforter, advocate, counselor and companion. Doesn’t that just take your breath away!! What a gift! The third part of the Trinity!

There are over 260 references to the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. In addition to the Hebrew and Greek scriptures referring to the Spirit of God, Hindu, Taoist, Islam and Bahai faiths also refer to the Spirit as an agent of divine action. The dove is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and a universal symbol of peace as well. In Acts it is described as coming down from heaven into the room where the disciples saw tongues of fire! The Holy Spirit is both powerful and peaceful, communicating God’s power but also God’s sensitivity to our needs. God sent this spirit to create and renew. God provided this powerful reassuring presence in the cloud guiding the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. God sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples when they were despairing after the death of Jesus so they would never feel alone. And we have that same spirit guiding, supporting, and sustaining us. The Holy Spirit illumines the scriptures so we can apply them to our daily lives, prays for us when we have no words, communicates God’s grace to us when we have communion, and inspires forgiveness, outreach, and love at times when revenge, fear, and hate would be the most instinctual response. I love the Holy Spirit!

Spirit of God, you are the breath of creation, the wind of change that blows through our lives, opening us up to new dreams, new hopes, and new life through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank you, God, for understanding the needs of your fragile and finite creatures and responding with ineffable love in the form of your breath. Spirit of new life, forgive us and break down the prison walls of our selfishness, that we might be open to your love and energized to serve your children who are hungry for your Word of hope and care, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(For more information on the Holy Spirit and image copyright see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit#Judaism)

Audio Recordings of our Worship Services at PCM

http://www.pcmorristown.org/503818.ihtml