Today, the clergy of the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church are invited to begin a journey together that we are calling Soul Leaders. It is fitting that we begin this journey on Ash Wednesday. Clergy under appointment have received a packet of readings and reflections on a topic related to being Soul Leaders. The theme for February and March is Trust. Each week I will write a blog on one of the reflections, and I invite clergy to add their thoughts, stirrings and responses as they engage in this journey. I am honored and excited to host the conversation and to be on the journey with you.
Soul Leaders
February 13, 2013
This Life 
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Reflecting on finding Sabbath during busy times, I am remembering when I prayed the traditional midday prayer of thanksgiving over lunch with another pastor. “God of mercy, this midday moment of rest is your welcome gift. Bless the work we have begun, make good its defects, and let us finish it in a way that pleases you. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.” That was a tremendously renewing moment of Sabbath, grabbed on the run, during a very busy day. One of the things that made it renewing was intentionally thinking of the time as God’s “welcome gift.” Another of the things that made it renewing was the trust I had in my colleague that allowed me to set aside my “public persona” (as the reflection calls it) in exchange for an authentic chat about family and forgiveness. I have no idea what brought that old-fashioned prayer to my mind on that day, but I think I might have to dig it out more often– it worked.