Transformed Dirt

"By the sweat of your labor you shall eat until you return to the ground, for

out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
(Genesis 3:19)

As a gardener, I find myself particularly drawn to Ash Wednesday, perhaps because it is rooted in the idea that our bodies are of the earth and in death we return to it. This was obvious in a day when people planted trees over the graves of their loved ones and their daily work consisted of working all kinds of organic matter into the soil in order for it to yield an abundant harvest...a day long before the advent of fertilizer, migrant workers, supermarkets, cities, steel caskets, concrete grave vaults and artificial turf. Doing the hard work of preparing the soil for planting was essential to grow the plants needed to sustain physical life; preparing the soil of our spirits requires no less effort.

I found myself reflecting on this quite a bit over the past several weeks as members of my family and I began amending the soil in our front landscape bed in preparation for spring planting. The Carolina clay in our front yard is hard and difficult to turn. My ten-year old son, Mitchell, and I first hand-spaded the 5' x 42' bed to a depth of 16" and turned the soil over. It looked hopeless. The clay, perfect for the potter to use in throwing a beautiful gray or golden pot, shone and glistened in the sunlight as it lay in jagged clumps. Surely nothing would ever grow here! But appearances can be deceiving. Following the wisdom of those far more experienced than myself, I didn't give up hope. I borrowed a pickup from Beloved's Dick Reif and hauled 2 cubic yards of soil conditioner and 800 pounds of composted cow manure. (Thanks, Dick!) With the use of shovels, trowels and our neighbor's tiller, Mitchell, Miles (age almost 14) and Clare (age 5) and I began spreading, hand-turning, and tilling these amendments into the clay. Over the hours of labor a miraculous change occurred. The clay became transformed into soil so soft, so black and so rich that it crumbles in your hand.

God's earthly plan of natural decomposition, that is the destiny of all organic matter, helps remind people of faith just who we are (mortal humans) and who we are not (divine). The anointing with ashes on Ash Wednesday is an outward sign of penitent and sorrowful hearts that realize that our many sins come from forgetting this important distinction. The spiritual disciplines of a holy Lent--self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self-denial, scripture reflection and works of mercy--are the means by which we open our lives to God who can alone till our wills and thus change the clay-like character of our spirits. Only then can our lives can be filled with the spiritual nourishment that allows us to be fruitful, both now and in eternity. It isn't easy, but then nothing worthwhile ever is.

J. Derek Harbin, priest

A Spiritual and Physical house cleaning...On Wednesday, March 1^st, we will begin our forty-day preparation for Easter (called Lent) with a day of fasting. Those who are physically able are encouraged to eat no food and drink only water or clear juice; when our stomach reminds us of hunger, we then turn to God in prayer. (Even children or adults with special medical needs can find ways to observe a modified fast with simple foods like soup.) The Beloved Community will break our fast at the 7pm Ash Wednesday Liturgy and Eucharist at Community House Middle School. Like all Beloved worship, it is designed for all ages in mind...For two weeks following Ash Wednesday, from Sunday, March 5 - Saturday March 18, we have a wonderful opportunity to transform spring-cleaning into a spiritual exercise as we pray and meditate while we clear out the physical clutter in our lives. Want to learn more about Beloved's I Sold it project? Click here.

Around Beloved...Beloved's fusion (combined youth 9-15) will go bowling this Saturday (3/4) from 3:30-6:30pm. Drivers are needed; we will leave and return from Beloved Garden. Click here if you can help. Advanced reservations only; mail $12.50/person (bowling, shoes, soda and popcorn snack) to the Development Office (or place in a marked envelope in the Ash Wednesday offering basket) by tomorrow (Thursday, 3/2)...Sunday Christian Formation for adults and children continues this Sunday...With the beginning of Lent, Beloved takes a forty-day fast from warm, fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts! For those new to the Beloved community, at hospitality time during Lent, we offer warm, soft pretzels as a way to remember that during the time before we celebrate Easter is a time to remember Jesus' great sacrifice on our behalf. For those who are always looking for a short-term ministry, preparation of pretzels is a great way to serve the Beloved community. Volunteers willing to brush butter on a halved pretzel, wrap in aluminum foil and place in your warm oven at home on a Saturday night and then bring to Beloved in a cooler or a warming carrier on Sunday morning are very much appreciated. Ideally, if we had five volunteers, then each person would have only one Sunday. As we already have two volunteers (who have done this ministry in years past and know it's pretty simple), we only need three more volunteers. Click here if you can assist with the Lenten Pretzel Preparation Team...Beloved Garden will be hosting a Level I National Training Course at Beloved Garden (90 hours of training) for those inside and outside of Beloved who desire to minister with children in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd faith formation process (called FaithQuest at Beloved) beginning in August 2006. Watch for more details. If you'd like to part of the Host Coordination Team, please contact the lead trainer, Clifford King Harbin, at the Development Office...Major Tom Friend has turned over his command in Iraq and is seeking safe and effortless transport back to the United States. In his Monday email, Tom wrote, "Only two of my team now remain with me here, my senior sergeants. The rest have returned, or are in the process of retuning to the States...We will be headed to the landing zone in a few hours for our helicopter pickup. We are traveling first to visit the Two-Star General in the Al Faw Palace in Camp Victory for a ceremony to present one of my sergeants his Purple Heart medal. From there we will be hitch hiking home in the Air Force Airlift System." Tom hopes to be back home by the second week of March...Mike Croghan (of Vienna, VA) sent some encouraging words to Beloved in a letter received this week: "We really appreciated the personal note you sent us following our visit to Church of the Beloved for Christmas Eve worship! I'm a member of an Episcopal church here in Vienna, VA, and I'm also in community with a little nondenominational ‘emerging' church that meets in a coffee house, also here in Vienna. I found out about your community from my friend Rick Laribee, who is rector of an Episcopal church in nearby Maryland and who recently spent a sabbatical visiting emerging churches. (editor's note: click here to read the blog about his Beloved visit) When Rick told me about Church of the Beloved, I was excited: first, as someone trying to live in both the Episcopal/Anglican and Missional/Emerging ‘worlds,' I was inspired to learn of a community where folks were bringing those worlds together. Second, you happen to be located very close to my parent's home in Monroe, NC. So the next time we visited Mom and Dad (over Christmas), we were determined to worship with y'all. We did indeed find the Christmas Eve gathering very accessible and welcoming, and a truly joyous experience of worship! We sang carols from the service all the way home. We would have stuck around to meet folks, but the rest of the family (whom I invited, unsuccessfully, to join us) were waiting for us at Mom and Dad's. We'll definitely be back next time we're in Charlotte, and I'm enjoying following happenings in your community in the e-newsletter. You've really got my mind buzzing about innovative ways to be an authentic Episcopal community. Thanks for the inspiration, and may God bless your community!"

Beloved Pilgrimage...Looking for a great way to deepen your spirituality during this Lenten season? Then Beloved Pilgrimage might be for you! Those who want to meet God for the first time or on a deeper level are invited to participate in a small and large group journey called Beloved Pilgrimage. Those who journey together on this pilgrimage could include older teens (15+) and adults who have never been baptized; older teens and adults who were baptized as infants or young children and want to publicly confirm these vows for themselves; those who want to experience God's revelation through the Bible as it impacts their life today; those who want to learn more about Jesus' Church as it is experienced in various Christian traditions in the US and around the world. This year's Spring Pilgrimage begins with a Friday evening and Saturday retreat (March 10 & 11). It continues weekly (eight gatherings, either on Sunday afternoon or Thursday evening) through the final Saturday retreat (May 13). The complete calendar for the spring pilgrimage can be found here; to register, click here.

Cookie Baking in Lent?...Absolutely, especially when these treats can lead to a saving relationship with Jesus! Over the years, Beloved has enthusiastically supported Rick Jordan and Ricky Jordan in their work with Kairos, a ministry that shares the love, grace and forgiving mercy of Jesus Christ with those serving time in Kershaw Correctional Institution, by joining others in baking hundreds of dozens of cookies for each renewal weekend. Rick and Ricky have made a significant commitment to this ministry that involves extensive training, prayer and preparation for weekends that occur twice a year. Rick will lead the fall 2006 weekend and will intern with the leader of this spring weekend. Containers for the baked cookies will be available for pickup this Sunday (3/5) and next (3/12). More specifics about the types of cookies that are needed (and what should not be included in our recipes) will be available in next week's eNews. All containers filled with cookies should be returned on Sunday, March 19.

Human Needs Outreach...Deacon Deb is looking for a group of people-youth as well as adults who have a passion for human need outreach efforts-to form a team that would:

Review the human needs outreach efforts at Beloved over the past few years
Find a diverse, exciting and worthy group of ministry projects that truly touch lives for Jesus
Pray for discernment as to where our best efforts might lie
Develop a realistic two-year projected schedule (2006-2008) that doesn't overwhelm our congregation
Develop a team approach and designate leaders for each event in 2006-2007
Develop a promotion strategy for each project (many of the organizations do the leg work; we just have to get the information they provide into people's hands)
Commit to pray for the plan and for each project

If this speaks to your heart, please email Deacon Deb to express your interest and indicate times you know are a conflict for a first get-together in mid-March.

Serving at God's Altar on Ash Wednesday at Beloved...Reader: Paige Wilson; Eucharistic Ministers: Al Krantz & Anna Moore; PowerPoint: Mitchell Harbin.

Serving at God's Altar this Sunday at Beloved...Acolytes: Morgan Wynn, Cecilia Atwood, Paige Wilson, Mackenzie Wynn; Reader: Tori Leinenkugel; Presenters: Fred & Linda Mellon; Eucharistic Ministers: Anna Moore & Bud Moore; Offertory Basket Passers: John Mark Dygowski, Katie Kraft, Carter and Madeline Ricket; PowerPoint: Cyteria Knight & Kevin Krantz.

In our Prayers...for Howard Stephenson, Janie Lownes and Dan Blackwood who are recuperating from hospital stays...for those serving in Iraq, especially Scott, Dan Hood's brother, who is home on two week's leave and for Tom Friend, whose deployment is ended and who seeks safe and effortless transport home...for Nancy and Tony Hodgson's granddaughter, Emily, who was in the hospital last week...for Marilyn Doyon and Marie Duty who are expecting babies this upcoming year...for Dave Crawford who broke a rib...for Rachel Herring who will have her tonsils removed this week...for Jessie Powell whose lungs continue to weaken...for Dorothy, Mary Reid's sister who is fighting lung cancer...for Ruth, Shana Blake‘s cousin...for Suzanne, Brad Link‘s wife who is struggling with back pain...for Jennifer Sanders who is recovering from oral surgery...for Ed and Jean, Dick Reif's parents who are in declining health in Oklahoma...for Dorothy, Dick Reif's aunt who died last week...for Richard, Ginger Leppert's father, who is recovering from surgery...for Bill, Lee Frickhoeffer's uncle who has terminal cancer...for Bryan McCarthy, Lauren Skrobot and Katrina West as they continue medical testing...for Chet Rose who is to be married.

Upcoming Calendar...click here