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When things grow dark, when words fail me, I turn to the words of scripture and to the One who is the Word. There I find grounding. Comfort. Challenge. Over the years, the psalms in particular have been written into my heart through tones and tunes, their melodies carrying truth deeper than words alone.

The heaviness and cold of this week have drawn me especially to Psalm 27, the psalm appointed for this Sunday’s worship. Its opening line calls to mind a favorite Taizé chant I love to sing: “The Lord is my light and salvation; in God I trust.” Perhaps you know it. You can listen and sing along with it here.

Blackout poetry is one creative way of engaging and praying with the words of scripture, of discovering perspective and meaning already present on the page. The process is simple. Begin by reading through the text slowly, circling or highlighting words and phrases that capture your attention. Then return to the text and cross out what you no longer need, noticing if new words emerge. If you need connecting words, look carefully to see whether they already exist in the text between the words you have chosen. If they don’t, it’s okay to add them, along with punctuation if needed. Once your poem or prayer has taken shape, black out the unused words with a Sharpie or your word processor’s black highlighter.

Below (also available here) is my blackout poem using Psalm 27. Would you like to try? Here’s a link to the full text where you can begin. If you feel comfortable, I hope you’ll share your poem prayer.

Much love,
Anna

^_____ Lord, ______________________
whom shall I fear?
_____________________   ________
________________________

^____________ evildoers? ________
______________
___ adversaries? __________
_____________________

^_ Though ________________________
_______________________
______ war rises up, __________
_____ I will be confident.

^{_______________________________________}
______ I seek _
to live. ____________________
______________________,
to behold ____ beauty. _________
_______________________

^{__________________________________________}
in the day of trouble,
___________________________________
___________________________

^{_____________________________________}
______________________________
____ I will _____________
sacrifice. ________________
I will sing. ____________________

^{________________} When I cry, ______
_____________________________
^{_____________________________________________
__________________________________________}

______________________________
______________________ help
____________________________ me,
O God of my salvation!
^{_______________________________________________}
_____________________

^__ Teach me _____________
_________________________
_____________________
^{_______________________} to ___________________
_________ witness ___________ against ___
_____________________ violence

^{______________________________________________________}
in the land ___________
^{____________________________}
__________ and ______________ take courage.
__________________

 

Last September, 35 clergy leaders in Metro IAF gathered on retreat at the Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, MD. As many of you know, Redeemer is a member institution of Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (BUILD), an affiliate of Metro IAF which is part of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF). Founded in 1940, IAF is our nation’s largest and longest standing network of local faith and community-based organizations. One of the pieces we read and reflected on together was a speech by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on “creative maladjustment”. At the end of our retreat , responding to an invitation from our colleagues and inspired by our discussion, 5 of us agreed to work together to craft a brief theological statement honoring the faith traditions of our member institutions — which include synagogues and mosques as well as churches — that could ground and guide our work in our communities, in our current political moment, morally, spiritually and theologically.

Over the last 3 months, Rev Rashad Moore, East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC); Rev Cameron Barr, Orange County Justice United (OCJU); Rev Tanya Johnson, Durham Congregations, Associations & Neighborhoods (Durham CAN); Rev Doug Slaughter, Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) GA/SC; and I have spent time together on Zoom and communicating via email, text and phone. We have also spoken with and listened to our clergy colleagues with whom we relate in our various contexts. Yesterday, our larger group from the September retreat received the final draft of our theological statement; those who are able to gather on Zoom this afternoon at 4pm will offer their reactions and responses to what we’ve written. Our final approved reflection will then be available for Metro IAF/ IAF clergy leaders in our various cities and regions around the country to use and share, in sermons and social media, op-eds, etc. This will all be discussed on Zoom this afternoon.

Here is a link to the draft of the text, and here is a link to a voice recording of it.

“May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer.”

~ Cristina

Dear members and friends of Redeemer,

As we step into this new year and celebrate the season of Epiphany, I find myself drawn to the image of light—how it reveals, how it guides, how it transforms everything it touches.

The Great Reveal

Epiphany means “manifestation” or “revealing,” and in these weeks following Christmas, we witness Jesus revealing himself in extraordinary ways. The Magi follow a star and find the newborn king. At his baptism, the heavens open and God’s voice declares, “This is my beloved Son.” Jesus goes throughout Galilee, teaching in synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, curing every disease and every sickness among the people. Light upon light upon light—each revealing more of who Christ is and what his coming means for the world.

But here’s what strikes me: these revelations aren’t just about Jesus making himself known. They’re about what becomes visible when light enters the world. The Magi’s journey reveals their seeking hearts. The baptism reveals Jesus’s solidarity with humanity. The curing of diseases and sickness reveals his concern with our whole person: body, mind, and spirit.

Light reveals. And sometimes what it reveals is us.

Resolutions or Revelations?

This time of year, we’re surrounded by talk of resolutions and self-improvement. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to grow, but I wonder if we’re asking ourselves the wrong question. Instead of “How can I fix myself this year?” what if we asked, “What is God revealing to me? What light is trying to shine through?”

Maybe the real work of a new year isn’t forcing ourselves into better versions through sheer willpower. Maybe it’s removing whatever blocks the light that’s already trying to shine through us—the fears, the grudges, the old stories we tell ourselves about who we are or aren’t.

The Magi didn’t create the star. They followed it. They let themselves be led by light they didn’t conjure. There’s wisdom in that kind of surrender.

Shining Lights

Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

You are already light. Not “you will be light if you try hard enough” or “you should be light.” You are. The question is: what’s the bowl? What are we hiding our light under—whether from fear, exhaustion, doubt, or simply forgetting who we are?

As we journey through this Epiphany season together, I invite you to hold this question gently: Where is God’s light trying to shine through you this year? It might be in a relationship that needs mending, a gift you’ve been afraid to share, a word you’ve been hesitant to speak, or a joy you’ve been reluctant to claim.

An Invitation

In the coming weeks, I’d love to hear from you. If you’re willing, share with me or with our community:

• One way you hope to let your light shine more freely this year
• One area where you’re seeking God’s revelation or guidance
• One “bowl” you’re ready to remove

Let’s not walk this path alone. The Magi traveled together. So can we.

May this season of light reveal to each of us what we most need to see—about God, about ourselves, and about the world we’re called to illuminate.

In the light of Christ,
Keith+

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.” — Isaiah 60:1

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the church

The creatures are stirring wherever you search.

The children have lined up in costume and glitter,

Small shepherds, big Jesus, and angels that twitter.

The choirs have rehearsed every Fa, la, la, la, la-r

Hodie, Gloria, following yonder star!

Flower guild styled greens, clipped on hill and dale,

From florists, trees, and yards like yours, night pruning beats a sale.

And swags were all swung with plenty of clearance

So that Keith who is tall could make an appearance.

When up on the roof there arose such a stormin’

It’s Josh, the new priest, who used to be Roman.

There’s Mark who will fix every shingle that’s dangling,

And Amanda who calms every nerve that is jangling.

Call Ellen who makes all the trains run on time,

Cristina, for whom every breath is sublime,

Bless Anna who guides to the school every child,

Thank Mary and Grace, Mother T who is mild.

Bert and Robert at keyboard and Abby beside

Alison filing music and Chuan back in his stride.

And don’t forget Katrina who keeps the books true,

Or Rob who is sexton and our newest friend Huu.

To round out the team way back there in the corner

Is live streamer Ben Paglinauan-Warner.

 

O little town of Baltimore, how chill we see thee lie!

Each neighborhood has something good, like bars or food to buy.

Where network films are sometimes made that challenge and inspire,

There’s House of Cards and Homicide and Simon’s show The Wire.

In Pigtown many porkers race the Squeakness through the streets,

Near B & O and old Mount Clare, where Babe Ruth cut his teeth.

And Edgar Allen Poe is laid to rest on West Fayette,

So Ravens fans can lift a can to Toaster never met.

From Harlem Park to Roland Park and Hamden in between,

Fed Hill and Canton, Highlandtown, Mt. Vernon cuts a scene.

There’s much to savor east and west, our charms stretch south and north,

One Baltimore building step by step to make God’s peace on earth.

 

Come thou long-expected Ravens,

Born to make your city proud

We just need a few more touchdowns,

Pass complete and score allowed.

 

Baltimore’s strength and consolation,

Hope of every fan thou art

Help us beat the Green Bay Packers,

Smash the Steelers, bless their hearts.

 

Born thy faithful to deliver

To the play-offs, with some style.

Birdland we will flock together

Thrill us Jackson, Derrick, Kyle.

So gather close this blessed night as heaven comes quite near

Now born a king and yet a child, the holy one is here.

To reconcile the nations and bring God’s peace to life,

And stir the part of every heart that heals our stress and strife.

 

In us, as at your dawning, we feel the pangs of birth,

The hopes and fears of all the years stretch clear across the earth,

For night is at its darkest before the morning breaks,

Your light, our hope, your truth, our strength for every human’s sake.

 

Go tell it on the mountain, y’all, with joyful voices shout,

That in unlikely places our God has come about.

Good news for you and love proclaimed in this poem that I write,

Happy Christmas to you all and to all a blessed night!

Love,
David

Dear Folks,

The Lessons and Carols service held in churches across the world today began in a temporary, wooden cathedral at Truro, at the southernmost tip of England, as a gift to the resilient but weary Cornish people. Earlier that year, on May 20, 1880, the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall had laid the foundation stones of Truro Cathedral in a festive celebration, but behind the scenes a number of residents had lost their homes to the construction, and by December, much of the town mourned the demolition of their beloved 16^th century church. In that bittersweet context, the first bishop of Truro, Edward Benson, devised a new service: the Nine Lessons with Carols.

Full disclosure, it seems the locals were more likely to spend Christmas Eve lifting a few pints than in worship, so the enterprising churchman hoped to draw the people from the pubs. One wag reported, perhaps “there was too much of the wrong kind of Christmas spirit being consumed.” (Christopher Gray, The Guardian, November 2013)

The residents of Cornwall loved the new service. Taking nine biblical passages from the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, the bishop interspersed them with various carols and hymns, putting forth the entire story of salvation in an hour’s time. Notable was his including “popular songs” in the cathedral’s offering. Historically, Christmas carols had been sung by little choirs in people’s homes, so their use in the church service made the most of a new trend. The service begins by setting out humankind’s longing for redemption and moves through Jesus’s birth in Luke’s gospel. And on that first Christmas Eve, the bishop also decided that the first reader “should be a humble chorister, (with) each subsequent (reading) progressing through the cathedral hierarchy up to the bishop, a tradition that continues to this day.” (Gray)

In 1918, the Rev. Eric Milner-White, new dean of King’s College Cambridge introduced the service to the college chapel, taking advantage of their established choral strength. The British Broadcasting Corporation first broadcast the service from King’s College on the radio in 1928 and on television beginning in 1954, which has made the King’s College service the most popular and widely recognized presentation. (Alistair McGrath)

Milner-White made a few modifications over the years that are reflected in Redeemer’s version of this beautiful service. In 1919 he began the service with a treble voice singing “Once in Royal David’s City,” and in 1920 he wrote the Bidding Prayer, as well as rearranging the lessons a bit. What we will experience this Sunday at 5:00 p.m. is otherwise largely unchanged, and yet somehow the spirit always seems to stir new birth.

Join us for this extraordinary gift.

Love,
David