Morning Reflections
At six o’clock every morning except Sunday, I receive an email. Someone connected to our parish—usually a parishioner—has written a reflection on the readings from the Daily Office, and that Morning Reflection comes to me as an invitation to think more deeply about the scripture lessons appointed for the day. It is a gift, for which I am most grateful.
Many of the people who receive our weekly newsletter on Thursdays do not even know that Morning Reflections exist. Currently, around 1700 people receive the Weekly Communicant, but only 750 subscribe to Morning Reflections. While that may be because they simply do not want another daily email clogging their inbox (and who can blame them!), I suspect that most of those 1000 people just don’t realize the depth of wisdom, faithfulness, and spiritual insight that are available to us in those reflections.
Although I regularly encourage people to sign up for the weekly newsletter, I hardly ever mention Morning Reflections. When a newcomer fills out the Connect Card, we automatically subscribe them to the weekly newsletter, but we do not sign people up for the daily reflections. In the Inquirers Class, we teach about the value of saying Morning and Evening Prayer every day, but I never pass around a signup sheet for Morning Reflections. You can sign up for them on our website, but you kind of need to go looking for it in order to do so. And how would you know to go looking for something that you do not already know about?
To make it easier, you can sign up for Morning Reflections here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/MhtIAdi.)
Although I am not fully versed in the history of Morning Reflections, I recall that Lowell Grisham, my predecessor and our Rector Emeritus, used to write them every day. (I cannot imagine how he found time for that!) At some point, Lowell recognized the value to the parish of sharing that ministry with others, and he invited some parishioners to join him in writing them. By the time I arrived at St. Paul’s eight years ago, a solid team of reflection authors was well established, and I have been the beneficiary of their giftedness.
As our Communications Associate, Carol Nave is responsible for soliciting, editing, preparing, and sending out the Morning Reflections. That is a huge responsibility! Of the 750 recipients, there are many for whom reading the daily email is a central part of their spiritual practice, which means that, on the super-rare occasion that the email process breaks down, she might hear from a dozen people who wonder what happened to the reflection! Faithfully and deliberately, Carol sends out assignments to our writers, follows up to gently remind them that she needs their submissions, seeks substitutes when a regular writer needs a break, and does everything necessary to make sure that the Morning Reflection ministry is running smoothly.
There are about thirty regular contributors to Morning Reflections, which allows each one to need to write about once a month. Those who read the reflections know the wonderful diversity of perspectives given by our authors. Some reflections pull from a lifetime spent studying the Bible, but most are simply an honest and personal engagement with scripture. Occasionally an author will wrestle openly with the text, questioning the biblical authors and daring to ask God what God could possibly mean for us to learn from a passage. More often the author shows us how a particular reading is nudging them back toward a renewed relationship with the divine. In all cases, what is offered is faithful, and we are better for it.
Occasionally, Carol asks me to fill in for someone who is travelling or needs to take a break. When she does, I start by opening the assigned readings on my computer, saying a prayer, and reading through them deliberately. Sometimes I know right away what my response to the readings will be. Usually, though, it takes me a few days of reading and rereading and reflecting on the passages to put into words what my heart is saying about them. In the Morning Reflections, I always try to write from a personal perspective—not as a preacher to a congregation but as an individual who is wrestling with scripture and inviting others into that wrestling. I do not always like what I have written, but I enjoy the process of reflecting and contributing in that way.
For me, Morning Reflections are an invitation to go deeper into the daily reading of scripture. Not long ago, in a delightfully pastoral conversation, our bishop encouraged me to choose a word or phrase from the Daily Office that I could hold onto for the rest of the day. Instead of saying Morning Prayer and then moving on, he wanted me to carry the spiritual benefit of the office with me into whatever the day would bring. Morning Reflections is another way for me to do that. Rather than reading the lessons, saying my prayers, and diving into a busy schedule, I can take five minutes to read the daily reflection and allow the deliberate and faithful work that one of you has done shape my whole day.
In increasing order of priority, here is what I invite you to do. First, commit to a daily encounter with God through prayer and the reading of scripture. One way to do that is to say the Daily Office. You can do that on your own, or you can join us. We offer Morning and Evening Prayer in the church at 8:30 a.m. every weekday and at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays , and there is a Facebook group that participates online. If you want to say the office on your own, here is a good place to start: https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/pray.
Second, add a reflective or meditative layer to your daily reading of scripture. You can do that by signing up for and reading our Morning Reflections. You could also follow our bishop’s advice and choose a word or phrase from the readings and carrying it with you through the day. Another way I enjoy is to sit in silence for five or ten minutes after the lessons and linger in the presence of Christ, who is the Word. Whatever your approach, once you have committed to the daily reading of scripture, look for a way to deepen that encounter so that it may begin to shape your life more fully.
Finally, consider signing up to be a Morning Reflections contributor. Not everyone has the gifts necessary to enjoy writing them, but all of us, through our honest, faithful, and personal experience, have something to share. If the Morning Reflections are a regular part of your spiritual practice and you think you would enjoy contributing, reach out to Carol Nave or me and let us know. Even if it were only as a substitute like me, we could benefit from your contributions.
Yours faithfully,
Evan D. Garner
