Monday, September 29, 2008
Partners in Prayer
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Feast Continues
St. Hildegard Formation Group
This is a video of our group singing the third and fourth verses of the song and playing bells at the community life meeting. It was a great way to introduce our gifts (holy cards and cookies)and to end our feast day. Here are the words to the song.
We Sing Our Praise of Hildegard - words: Edith Sinclair Downing
1998Copyright 2006 Edith Sinclair Downing.
Tune: Kingsfold CMD, English Country Song 1893
We sing our praise of Hildegard,
a woman for all time;
a prophetess who urges us
to seek the light divine.
Her visions came insistently,
sent by her Living Light.
Anointed with the Spirit's power,
she spoke God's truth aright.
We now affirm with Hildegard
we do not live alone,
but are a part of all that is;
each tree, each bird, each stone.
All creatures sing creation's praise;
yet we alone possess
the power to care for Mother Earth,
the power to curse or bless.
We praise the joy that Hildegard found in God's constant care.
She trusted God to carry her,
a feather born on air.
May such a faith inspire us,
give us a breathing space,
that we may let the Spirit's breeze
support us with God's grace.
We celebrate with Hildegard
the greening of the soul
The moisture from the Spirit's breath
can cleanse us, make us whole.
May we now share life-giving love,
help justice find a home,
and by our deeds sow seeds of peace -
prepare for God's Shalom!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Feast of St. Hildegard
State Fair
This past weekend, Sr. Rosann and I drove down to Hutchinson, KS to staff a booth run by the Catholic Sisters of Kansas. For those of you who have never been to a state fair, it really is a great deal of fun and something you must do at some point in your life. This fair has all the typical fair activities; judging for ribbons (animals, fruits, vegetables, and crafts), carnival rides, shows and vendors. But one unique aspect of this fair is a sculpture made out of butter. It is huge and is shaped after each years theme. This year it involved bunnies and was really something!
While attending the fair, there is this amazing couple who graciously hosts our community. They not only give us a place to stay, but they pack us a lunch and snacks for the day and for our trip home. They are marvelous and we are truly grateful for the wonderful hospitality that we are shown each year!
But back to the booth we staff. Our booth, (see the photo above) has been in existence for many years. Each year sisters from several communities throughout Kansas take a day or two and staff the booth. Our booth is not trying to sell anything, convert anyone, or hand out any specific information. Instead we are offering a ministry of presence and a place for people to write down their prayer requests. These prayers are then distributed to all of the participating communities and we all pray for their needs. We have people from all faiths and all walks of life stopping by and asking for prayers. It is humbling to be able to talk with them about the joys, struggles and issues that they are bringing to prayer and are trusting us to add to our prayers.
Along with the prayer requests, we have a gift wheel. People can spin the wheel to receive a holy card, pencil and/or pen as a free gift. On Saturday, we had over 1400 people stop at our booth and chat with us, spin the wheel and ask for prayers. I enjoy explaining the various pictures on the holy cards to people. Since there were over 20 different cards, often times the card someone won was not a card that they were familiar with, so they asked me to explain the icon or tell the story of the saint. I love telling the traditional stories to people who are hearing them for the first time. I love to watch their reactions and to hear the questions they ask. So as you can tell it was a busy weekend but a lot of fun.