“The earth is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.
And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown bring eastward, springs —
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.”
Hey blog. Long time, no read. 2023 has been a whirlwind so far, but we all knew that Jordan year would have us busy. The ceiling is the roof after all. Cheers!
A few weeks ago it was my turn to lead a Roundtable discussion with the Fellows and our gracious hosts Sam and Ashley Crutchfield. We talked about liturgy and what it means to us and why we think it might matter. I learned so much from this conversation: they talked about the ways that liturgy can help us truly live into the story of the Gospel, encounter the living God, and train us in faith even when faith feels hard. I am so, so grateful to my fellow Fellows for engaging so thoughtfully on this topic that means a lot to me. I went away from our evening together feeling so encouraged by what they all had to say.
The first weekend in February, the six girls of the Raleigh Fellows program packed up and headed over to Wilmington, North Carolina to celebrate dearest Emily’s 23rd birthday! There’s something really special about the beach in the middle of winter—it’s empty and quiet and beautiful and you get to enjoy the beach for what it is, unassisted by the loveliness of a warm summer day. In true Louisa May Alcott fashion, we “went down to the quiet place, where [we] could live much in the open air, and let the fresh sea breezes blow a little color into [our] pale cheeks” (Little Women)—there truly is something internally healing about the beach; someone should do a study on this.
Lastly, it’s been such a gift to start new classes this semester. Every Monday, we have a double-header with the pastors of Apostles, starting with Nick’s class on the book How (Not) to Be Secular by James K.A. Smith, where we discuss all things fragmentation and haunting and cross-pressures. Big stuff (maybe don’t ask me about it? Kidding, maybe)! We finish off Mondays with Eric’s inductive Bible study class, where we learn to observe, interpret, and apply Scripture, practicing these skills by going through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. It’s been such a treat to learn from the other Fellows during this time, as Eric lets us take the reins a bit as we continue in the Sermon each class. On Fridays, we gather with Edward to learn about the New Testament—so great to revisit really familiar stories and ones I’ve spent less time reading, learning more and more about the person of Jesus (we’ve just gotten through the gospels). To the epistles we go!
February has reminded me so much that “the earth is charged with the grandeur of God”! May we all notice the reason why, as the narrator in the poem above does: suddenly startled (“ah!”) by the God who dwelled here with us and continues to do so through the Holy Spirit. I’m running headfirst into spring; I feel like God’s grandeur is quite easy for me to notice in the clear blue skies of an 80 degree day.
Warmly (literally, it’s 73 degrees right now),
Derren Lee