Life @ The Crossing: Snow Night Tonight!

It’s New England and I suppose we should be more brave. Thing is, the entire building will close at 4 p.m. today, so The Crossing is cancelled tonight. BUT that doesn’t mean we can’t do some virtual church. Try one or all of these practices, starting at 6:30pm tonight ...

• Engage in spiritual practice tonight. Last week, we came up with our lists of the 4 or 5 of the people closest to us -- the ones you know you’ve gotta get presents for -- and spent time praying for them, imagining what their deepest needs are and how God might be inviting us to share a gift of the heart that truly matches those needs. TONIGHT, expand the circle. Light a candle and think of some key people on the periphery of your circle -- not the closest family and friends, but people you know who really need prayer and a gift of the heart, something you alone could give them. Picture each of these people one by one, taking a deep breath and asking God to reveal the gift each person needs from you. Then find a way to give it! See how beautiful it is to have your circle -- and your heart -- expand in this way. If you need concrete ideas for alternative/relational gifts, go to www.adventconspiracy.org and check out the “Resource: More Relational Gift Ideas” link.
• Meditate on the gospel for tonight -- Matthew 11:2-6 -- and then ask yourself: “What signs in the world and in my life help me to believe that God has not abandoned the scene, that Jesus (Emmanuel: God-with-us) can still come alive among us right now?” The Good News according to Matthew: When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" Jesus answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."
• Share the love with our hungry and homeless neighbors: We’ve encouraged people to bring in new socks and t-shirts, or to make a donation to the Monday Lunch Program so that we can buy restaurant gift cards for the homeless and hungry. If you want to send a check, make it out to “St. Paul’s Cathedral” with “Monday Lunch Program” in the memo area. You can drop off t-shirts or socks at The Cathedral any day -- ask the person at the front desk to have it brought up to Rev. Stephanie’s office, and we’ll make sure it gets distributed. Cathedral mailing address: 138 Tremont St., Boston MA 02111.
• Pray for all the students chugging through finals in the coming weeks: So many members of our extended Crossing family are students immersed in finals right now or will be soon. If you’re one of those students (or teachers), GOD BE WITH YOU, DEAR ONES! And if you’re not a student or teacher, pray for those who are, that they might find words and wisdom when they need ‘em most, and that they might enjoy rest and refreshment when their labors are done.
  

God’s peace & blessings all around, and see you on December 20th for our final Crossing worship gathering of the year. As promised, we’ll stick around after worship and have a look at The Crossing Vision. Be praying ...

Grooving in the snow,
Rev. Steph