kairos [ community ]

Tomorrow Kairos will gather at 4 pm at Barbette’s (Call or email Bob at 267-702-4262 for directions/info.)

Our focus will be “Imitating Christ’s humility,” drawing on Paul’s beautiful description of Jesus’ emptying himself for us, taking the form of a slave, in Philippians 2. We’ll look at how our response to Jesus’ kenosis (emptying) plays out on the global stage (as in aid to Haiti and Africa) and how we might express similar solidarity with the poor and marginalized.

Read on for more about the gathering.

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There are many people who approach faith and their relationship with the Holy as hunters. We scan our environment looking for the places and people and events in which the Spirit is active, not just for truths and ideas about God. When we find those spaces we can drop everything to “pounce” — to explore what the Spirit is up to and join in. We may not be as good at tilling the fields of religious life, listening to sermons waiting for God to speak (which Brian McLaren points out is a spiritual discipline), serving on committees, perpetuating institutions.

This is what we are trying to do at Kairos Community. We’re trying hard to be open to those who are watching and waiting and noticing and want to embrace the movements of the Spirit even if they don’t buy the whole package. We serve side by side, people who “believe” and those who balk, and share our journeys and honor those that are not explicitly Christian as well as those that are. We’re hunters and farmers. And we want to sharpen the hunter skills, to foster our awareness of how God is working in and around us every day, and learn to appreciate those moments of distracted noticing and movements of the Spirit amid daily life.

Want to read more? Check out Bob’s blog.

Join Kairos Community for a day of connecting with the Source.

Where: Upper Tinicum Lutheran Church Parish House 1426 Bridgeton Hill Road, Upper Black Eddy (Lat/long for GPS 40.561731, -75.114597)

When: Sunday, February 28 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Chronos, not Kairos time). Please plan on arriving early so we can get our coffee*, etc.  We would like to start promptly at 9 a.m.

Who: Interested adults and teens. Feel free to invite others or bring a friend.  This is an adult event. No child care will be provided.

Leader: Pat Herbst has been a spiritual director for many years and formerly was a pastoral assistant and educator at Assumption B.V.M. parish in Colesville, outside Bethlehem. She’s excellent!

Cost: Asking for donation of $25 per person to cover costs.

For more information contact Bob via email.

Our kids have directed their Advent collections, a little shy of $50, to Haiti relief through Lutheran World Relief. You can text LWR to 40579 to donate $10 to their efforts. LWR is a great organization that puts all relief donations to work to help people in need.

In the face of such destruction, many people are moved to ask how a loving God can let something like this happen — again and again — to Haiti.  Aside from the theories of Pat Robertson, this is a question that theologians and regular believers struggle with.

Check out this article in Newsweek which asks “If God is good and intervenes in the world, then why does he make innocents suffer? Why, as Job might have said, would God “crush an impoverished people with a tempest and multiply their wounds without cause? He will not let them get their breath.”"

What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

This coming Sunday we’ll meet at 4 pm at Karthaus’.  We’re going to continue our discussion from last week of “Expedition Behavior” or gifts we have been given for our journey of faith.

Last week we talked about these key points:

• Jesus’ rule of thumb: Do for others what you would have them do for you.
• Jesus’ promise – this expedition with God requires energy and focus.
• God gives different gifts to each of us, and then weaves us together in community to create a beautiful whole.
• God’s gifts are not given as an all-or-nothing thing; we’re all called to embrace what we have, develop our strengths and overcome the hurdles.

Since we’re on an expedition together, we looked at the principles of “Expedition Behavior.” EB means being prepared, on time, organized, flexible and humble; seeing the humor in everything; exercising a tolerance for adversity, uncertainty and discomfort; and putting the needs of the group and others on the same level or above one’s own needs. It’s a tall order but while on expedition it has magical results. (more…)