baptism – Beguine Again

Dec52013 by Terri2 Comments

Washed (an Advent Reflection)

Advent, Photography, Poetry, spiritual practice, Spirituality

Washed by Terri Stewart gray, mist-filled skies cling to every breath transforming inhales into exhales of steamy condensation and gathering together as a community into a drop that rolls deliciously down an evergreen's sharp needle cleansing tired dustiness and releasing new life ... 2 On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. 3 Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, 4 once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. 5 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zi...

Water

Spirituality

For the Lenten Photo Invitation: Water T. Stewart, 2012 This was the first time I had snorkeled. "Mastering" breathing correctly, floating in a still manner, and taking a good photo was hard for me. I remember putting my face in the water with my snorkeling gear on and just trying to will myself to breathe. And then my body would fill with panic! Saying to me, "Are you crazy? We don't breathe underwater!" It took me about 10 minutes to become still enough to simply breathe. When I finally let myself relax enough to breathe in the water, I was transported to another world. A world I didn't want to leave. a world I long to return to.

Rise Up! Sermon on Acts 2

Christianity, Post-a-Day, Religion, Spirituality, Theology

Terri Stewart May 8, 2011 Northshore UCC Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Rise Up! Today’s scripture lesson takes place on Pentecost. Pentekostas (Greek pronunciation) was the Greek name for the Jewish Festival called “The Festival of Weeks” or Shavu’oth (sha-vu-ōt) in Hebrew. Shavuot is a celebration of God's gift of Torah to the people. In a Christian context, Pentecost is a celebration of God's gift of Spirit to the people. I think, we forget exactly how Jewish the Bible is. Peter, a Jew, was spending time with other Jews, and then preached to Jews during a Jewish holiday. Additionally, to convince the Jews of the validity of Jesus, he uses the words of a Jewish prophet, Joel and a Jewish King, David. Historically, for Peter, there was no big separation of Jews and Christians. It was one commu...