What is the Sound of One Voice Laughing & Powerful Prayers of Compassion

Hi Friends,

Two new things at Gloria Dei have been receiving a lot of feedback this past week!

First, the "laughing meditation" we did during last week's Lenten worship. It's not often that I have an inter-active experiential sermon, and I think I probably made a few of you Lutherans a little nervous when commanding you to "laugh out loud," but privately a lot of you have come forward to tell me how good you felt when going home last Wednesday evening!

Not to worry - I won't be commanding you to laugh in worship again - the rest of the Lenten sermons are not experiential - but - if you would be interested in practicing some laughing for no reason with me, please join me in the Sunday school classroom at 5:15pm before Lenten Soup Supper begins. We'll laugh for 15 minutes and work up a hearty appetite! If you have a friend or family member who needs a good laugh, invite them along - they need not be Lutheran! :) You'll be doing your pastor a favor since I have to work up to laughing for 2 hours straight by synod assembly!

Second, thank you for your feedback also on the style of prayers we are trying out during the Lenten season! So many people stopped me after worship and four people called me Sunday afternoon to tell me how moved they were by that time of powerful prayers of compassion we shared together! For those of you that missed it last week, I had visited my friend's church the last Sunday I was off and saw the amazing way they were able to care and connect with one another during the prayer time. People had checked in with him before worship or during the week with their prayer requests, which they asked to be shared, and he was able to share them with the community during that time, inviting them to ask for prayers. Other people came forward with their prayer needs at that time as well, and then they had a time of silent reflection and prayer uplifting. The neat thing I discovered, and others gave feedback about, was that instead of with eyes closed and heads bowed, with the prayers fleeting by us, people were able to claim their prayer needs while looking in compassion at each other. After worship, I heard people checking in with one another about the things they had shared - whether it was a sadness or worry in their lives, or something they were celebrating, and several people shared with me that it really helped them to realize they are not the only ones going through things, and some healing was brought by engaging one another!

Thanks for your laughter, your powerful prayers of compassion and the ways you uplift each other and your minister during these anxious times!

Blessings in Christ,

PV