Weekly Reflections
Roots
There is a story told about the bamboo forests of Asia. When bamboo is planted, almost nothing happens for years. The seed is watered. The soil is tended. Seasons pass. To the casual observer, the ground appears unchanged.
One year goes by. Nothing.
Two years. Still nothing.
Three. Four.
Then sometime around the fifth year, something remarkable happens. The bamboo suddenly shoots upward. Within a matter of weeks it can grow nearly ninety feet tall.
To someone who has not been watching closely, the growth appears sudden and almost miraculous. But of course the growth did not begin in the fifth year.
For years the bamboo has been doing its most important work underground. It has been growing an intricate network of roots, spreading wide and deep through the soil. Only once that foundation is strong enough does the visible growth begin.
I have been thinking about that story lately.
Spiritual traditions have always understood something that bamboo forests demonstrate so clearly: the most important growth often happens where we cannot see it.
When people gather to support one another, roots are growing.
When neighbors refuse to abandon compassion in a climate of fear, roots are growing.
When communities continue telling stories of justice, mercy, and dignity even when the larger culture grows cynical, roots are growing.
None of that work appears dramatic. It rarely makes headlines. It does not move quickly enough to satisfy our longing for immediate change.
But it matters.
Jesus often spoke about the kingdom of God in ways that puzzled people. He compared it to seeds scattered in a field, seeds that grow quietly through the night while the farmer sleeps. The growth happens beyond human control and often beyond human awareness. That image has always required patience.
The work of love, justice, and community rarely unfolds on the timetable we prefer. It grows slowly, often invisibly, through relationships and commitments that deepen over time. Like bamboo, it builds a foundation beneath the surface before it rises into view.
We may not yet see the full height of what is being planted in this moment.
…but the roots are growing, and roots, once established, can hold an entire forest.
Keep the faith, friends.
We are in this together,
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Limbs of Christ
A Lenten Prayer for Being the Limbs of Christ
by W. David O. Taylor
Incarnate God, Word made Flesh:
Use my hands, I pray, To bring a healing touch to those
whose bodies are in pain this day;
Incarnate God, Word made Flesh:
Use my feet, I pray, To bring a word of peace to those
who are at war with themselves this day;
Incarnate God, Word made Flesh:
Use my mouth, I pray, To speak a word of hope to those
who despair this day;
Incarnate God, Word made Flesh: Use my ears, I pray, To be hearing ears to those
who need to come clean this day.
Incarnate God, Word made Flesh:
Be pleased to be My hands and my feet
My eyes and my ears
My mouth and my tongue
To be a messenger of your own Body this day.
Amen.
(via Pravers for the Pilgrimage [IVP, 2024])
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
World Day of Social Justice
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me… to share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the homeless poor?
ISAIAH 58:6-7
It is two days on from Ash Wednesday, and you may already have been asked what you are giving up for Lent this year. Fasting, alongside prayer and almsgiving is, of course, one of the traditional pillars of the season.
The prophet Isaiah challenges us to deepen our understanding of fasting. It is not only a private spiritual practice that God desires, but our commitment to combating injustice. Not just sacrifice, but solidarity. Our fasting is meant to move us to care for our neighbors—especially those who are hungry, displaced, or marginalized.
Pope Leo XIV puts it this way: “The Lord does not want worship detached from life. He is not pleased with sacrifices and prayers, unless they lead to greater love for others and justice for our brothers and sisters.”
Today is World Day of Social Justice, where we remember the importance of addressing the causes of poverty and ensuring that all our sisters and brothers have what they need to flourish. Let’s pray that our Lenten fast may be pleasing to God and contribute to a better world for all people.
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Ash Wednesday
A friend sent this to me this week after a conversation we had about upcoming Ash Wednesday and the practice of giving something up for Lent. It is written by Nancy J. Nordenson:
At the beginning of Lent and in response to worrying far too much about too many things, I decided to give up worry for Lent. About two minutes after coming to that decision, however, I realized the impossibility of that intention, and so I changed it to practice not worrying, with definite emphasis on practice. The "practice" part immediately took the pressure off and turned the Lenten intention into something creative and responsive. I've kept this intention past the end of Lent and am still practicing and hope I'll always continue to practice. Even so, I forget to practice and worry builds until I remember again the practice, and just the remembrance of it, the words alone (practice not worrying), brings release, reminding me there are alternatives to toxic rumination. Practice. Practice. Like practicing my scales at the piano when I was a child. Over and over. Missed notes, missed fingering, stumbling, no matter, keep practicing. Again. Again. Today, tomorrow. Practice.
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
The courage of covenant
God of many names and deep belonging,You know how fragile communities become when fear takes hold.You see how easily we turn inward, protect ourselves, and forget one another.Teach us the courage of covenant.Help us become trustworthy in our presence, generous at our tables, faithful in our relationships, and grounded in what gives us life.
When power fractures and fear multiplies, anchor us in practices that restore dignity, connection, and care.Make us people who know how to live together without erasing difference,and who choose belonging over domination.Hold us steady,and help us hold one another.Amen.Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
prayer for peace
I pray tonight for peace, Lord:
the peace the whole world needs;
the peace each heart desires;
the peace that only you can give...
And if I may be bold, Lord:
I seek a deep peace:
a deep abiding peace;
a peace that does not fade
but invades us to our very core;
a peace that heals a broken heart,
that mends a torn relationship,
that calms and soothes a troubled soul,
restoring trust where hope was all but lost...
I seek the peace our hearts were made for, Lord:
peace to quench our deepest thirst
for mercy, love and joy
and that gracious, blessed assurance
that we are yours and called to share
your everlasting life...
Deep peace, Lord:
long enduring - not pro tem;
embedded, rooted - here to stay;
deeply healing - not a band-aid;
peace we cannot make ourselves,
peace whose only source is you...
Deep peace, Lord:
ocean deep and heavens high,
from the depths of your own heart,
greater than the peace we dream
and yet the peace for which we pray...
Protect us, Lord, while we're awake
and watch over us while we sleep
that awake, we might keep watch with you
and asleep, rest in your peace...
Amen.
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Solidarity
God of Justice, God of love,
as you do, may we see all people as your beloved.
Move us with your love to act for dignity for all people,
to stand not in charity but solidarity
with those who are oppressed.
Save us from the temptation to wish but not to risk,
to hide behind our privilege, to let others sacrifice.
Sustain us with your hope, to trust your presence,
to rely on your grace in all things.
Fill us with the spirit of your peace,
to face violence and cruelty with gentle persistence.
Beloved, hold us in your arms, for the road is long,
and the struggle is hard—but the future is yours.
__________________
Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation
Alexander days
Browsing Facebook this morning I read a friend's post describing a series of delightful interactions that had lit up their day. Nothing earth-shattering, just random, ordinary things on a regular day. It made me smile and I instantly thought, "Well, this is the opposite of an Alexander day!"
Judith Viorst's book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day came out when I was in high school, so it's not one of my own childhood favorites. Still, I must have read it to my younger sibs enough to be able to visualize the illustrations and to sympathize with Alexander all these decades later. (I do not care for lima beans one bit.)
Like Alexander, it's not always the big things that throw me into a funk, it's the little stuff, the ordinary, the everyday. Like the printer that printed in the morning but won't print later that afternoon and the app that decided I needed to log in again right before checking in for an appt and no, won't fill from my password app, and yes, needs a verification code sent to your email. No, not that one. Not that one either. Some days are just no good days. Even when you're not 7. Even in Altadena.
So, today I enjoyed exchanging cheery greetings with the young man at the checkout at Trader Joe’s, relished an email from a friend from high school about our next BIG reunion, planted six iris I got for Christmas and worked all day by candlelight alone. Some days are not-bad-at-all days
Grace and peace,
Anita Sorenson
Pastor for Spiritual Formation