Elizabeth Mae Magill
  • About
  • Elizabeth
  • Books
  • Workshops
    • Five Loaves, Two Fish Workshops
    • Boards & Leadership Teams
    • Cohousing and Intentional Communities
    • Small Church
    • Fees and Scheduling
  • Blog
  • EVENTS
  • Act! Be Church Now

The Foolishness of Palm Sunday

9/11/2019

0 Comments

 
The forecast was for rain, and the clouds certainly were dark. It's a first Sunday and that often means low attendance at the Worcester Fellowship lunch line. I was late for morning church and and then late to Worcester Fellowship. All in all, a start that did not prepare me for a wonderful day.

Despite the forecast, the sun was out, the wind was warm, and lots of people were present. We had cheeseburgers for lunch! Both St. John's and St. Andrews brought lots of palms. Several of our "regulars" who had been inside due to rain last week, and cold the week before, and who had this pressure and that to deal with, they were back at Worcester Fellowship. It was like "old-home day". 

We marched to "we are marching in the light of God", parading around the common like the fools that we are. Occupy Worcester folk turned their head and smiled, waiting  for us to finish our song so they could continue to meet. Six folk from our congregation and one youth from Yarmouth, Maine, took part in the reading of the passion story. We had silent prayer after the woman anointed Jesus, and prayers after Peter denied Jesus. And then a delightful reflection on how appropriate it is to look at the passion on April Fools day, how foolish all those actions are, how foolish we all are, to follow this faith, this foolish faith that trusts that no matter what, love wins out.

At the peace I foolishly interrupted the occupy worcester discussion, several folk turned as I whispered and signed "peace". At the Eucharist I foolishly misplaced the bread, but not the love that is communicated in the sharing of the body and blood, the brokenness and the forgiveness. 

And then we handed out Palms at the 701 Main Street shelter, where we were called foolish for confusing public and religious spaces. And we handed out Palms at the hospital atrium, where people grinned at our audacity, and a man wearing a Johnny and sitting in a wheel chair put down his coffee to grab our hands and say thanks.

​The passion story certainly calls for rain and dark clouds. But somehow it was good news this week. Foolishly good news.

From Apr. 2nd, 2012.
See more about Worcester Fellowship .

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    My Thoughts

    For my organized thoughts, see my book Five Loaves, Two Fish, Twelve Volunteers: Developing Relational Food Ministries. In this spot are thoughts that appear for a moment--about food programs, mission, church, building community, writing, and whatever else pops into my head.

    History

    March 2025
    February 2025
    November 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    February 2023
    September 2022
    July 2022
    September 2021
    August 2021
    March 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    Categories

    All
    Addiction
    Anti Oppression
    Anti-Oppression
    Be Church Now
    Being Human
    Bible
    Church
    Evangelism
    Failure
    Five Loaves
    Food Program
    Giving
    Homelessness
    Justice
    Kingdom Of God
    Leadership
    Looking Inward
    Looking Outward
    Poverty
    Prayer
    Queer People
    Receiving

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • About
  • Elizabeth
  • Books
  • Workshops
    • Five Loaves, Two Fish Workshops
    • Boards & Leadership Teams
    • Cohousing and Intentional Communities
    • Small Church
    • Fees and Scheduling
  • Blog
  • EVENTS
  • Act! Be Church Now