back to "normal"

We waited during Advent, sang during Christmas, partied for New Year, rejoiced at the Epiphany, and remembered on Baptism of the Lord. Now the holy days are over and we go back to "normal." In the church we have entered normal time or ordinary time. What is wonderful is that we are invited during "ordinary time" to focus on our spiritual growth as we follow the stories depicting the life and ministry of Jesus. This makes "ordinary time" extraordinary.

One of the gifts of being in a small church is that we have the opportunity to get to know one another very well and to embark upon our spiritual journeys together. The intimacy of a small church puts us in much closer relationship with one another than a large, programmatic church. Ordinary time offers those of us in small churches a special time to read and reflect upon the stories of our tradition and to question them together. We have a special gift - those of us in small churches - to dig into the depthes of our faith tradition and to engage one another along our spiritual journeys. There's not much "ordinary" about it at all.

Note for those not raised with a liturgical calendar: The colors of our worship space have changed from white to green. Around my neck, my stole will probably use multiple colors or depict children from around the world.