Sabbath: Finding Rest

written on October 30th, 2009

“There is more to life than merely increasing its speed.” Gandhi

A month ago I was at Costco.  I had to walk past Christmas trees to get to the food section! It seems that stores put out their Christmas decorations earlier and earlier every year.  I used to be surprised to see Christmas items right after Halloween, and now they appear way before then.

Two weeks ago a group of Episcopal students at Duke went to the North Carolina mountains to experience sabbath time.  It is interesting that our commandment is to “remember” the sabbath.  Sabbath is already a part of the natural rhythm of life, and yet most of the time we roll right on over it.

Sabbath is a time to rest and take delight in God’s creation, to give thanks for our many gifts, to call to mind that all that we are and all that we have is a gift from God.  It is a time to count our blessings, to disconnect from frenzy and accomplishment and to consecrate a time for healing.  Sabbath time is a forced STOP; there is never a time when “everything is done.” 

As we approcah the frenzied holiday season and end of the semester, let us all remember to set aside Sabbath time in our lives – whether once a week or a few moments each day – to step back, rest in God’s presence and give thanks.

Blessings,

Karen+

One Response to “Sabbath: Finding Rest”

  1. university
    on November 6th, 2009 at 4:27 pm

    Sabbath is a time to rest and take delight in God’s creation ->
    interesting thing
    we, the orthodoxy,don’t have such a tradition

Sunday Worship at 4pm followed by dinner.

Our weekly Holy Eucharist followed by home-cooked dinner takes place on Sundays at 4pm at the Episcopal Center, located on Central Campus at 505 Alexander Ave. The C-2 campus bus has a stop right in front of our building. If you need a ride from East Campus, please email the chaplain, Nils Chittenden.

St. Joseph's Episcopal Church located at 1902 W. Main Street (one block from East Campus) offers Morning Prayer at 8am followed by breakfast and Evening Prayer at 5:30pm Monday - Friday.

All are welcome!

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