Copy
View this email in your browser

Hey!

I've been thinking a lot about you, about the resources that you may need or be interested in. But "thinking about" isn't helpful. Sharing is.

+++

I finally realized that I don't "write books". I publish collections of writings. The most recent just dropped: God. We Still Need You: A Year of Pandemic Prayer and Practice From a Hospital Chaplain  These are prayers and reflections from the liturgical year that started with Advent 2019 and ran through the pandemic. It includes chapel prayers, prayers for hospital coworkers, and reflections at my blogs. Here's more about it.

Jamie Aten and Kent Annan wrote about "7 ways a national COVID-19 day of mourning can help us heal." They created a national day of mourning and here explain why. I think it also applies to family days of mourning, like funerals and memorial services. We are missing those times of remembering. And I think it is costing us something. 

Christianity Today has a new podcast called "Surprised by Grief". The cohosts are Clarissa Moll and Daniel Harrell. They each lost spouses in 2019, Rob Moll in a climbing accident, Dawn Harrell with pancreas cancer. They are clear and honest and articulate. He is the editor in chief of CT. Rob's book The Art of Dying is a remarkable and thoughtful look at death from a Christian worldview. The new edition, coming out in a couple weeks, has an afterword by Clarissa. 

Tish Harrison Warren took a prayer from the evening prayers known as Compline and used it as the basis for a book called  Prayer in the Night: For Those Who Work or Watch or Weep. The prayer itself is captivating to me. Her reflections on the text are insightful and comforting. 

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, give rest to the weary, sustain the dying, calm the suffering, and pity the distressed; all for your love’s sake, O Christ our Redeemer.

My friend Jen Bradbury wrote about the idea of "calling" to a ministry. (Here's my review.) She wrote it as a novel about a person in youth ministry. It's relevant to many of us. Called: A Novel About Youth Ministry Transitions.

How to write an obituary
 
"I write obituaries for a living."
 
Writing about pain can sometimes help with pain:

A couple notes about upcoming moments

March 28: Palm Sunday (because it's coming so soon)

April 4: Easter Sunday (May we celebrate the resurrection at least as much as extraverts will celebrated being with people)

May 9: Mother's Day. This is going to be a tough day in the US. Many moms died during the last year, more than usual. And the pandemic affected contact before death and gatherings afterward. I'll be writing about this sometime soon, but I invite you to think with me about how to best be aware and helpful. 

Quote on my bulletin board. 
"For the worst possible times in people's lives, how can we be the best possible help." 

In closing. . .
Thanks for reading. (and ordering my book if you found the prayers valuable during the year). I'll see you here again soon. 

And, if you'd like to know more about supporting this project and 300wordsADay.com please read "sustaining". 

Thanks! Peace. 

Jon 

Copyright © 2021 Social Media Chaplain, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp