Make Some Noise
AM Psalm 16, 17 • PM Psalm 22
Job 9:1-15,32-35 • Acts 10:34-48 • John 7:37-52
Everyone, good morning! I hope your morning is going well so far. I want to try something a little different with you all today (I usually sort of groan with low-grade dread when someone announces that, but hear me out!). I want to focus on the action of reflection this morning, the reflecting itself.
One of the aspects of these morning reflections that I value most is knowing that I’m reading, thinking, and praying with lots of other people, using the same text. Somewhere in Fayetteville, Arkansas and every other place these reflections find a reader, people I know and I folks I’ll never meet are showing up for their spiritual lives in this specific way. Goosebumps!
Remember back in Spring of 2020, when, all over the world, there was a collective movement to step outside at 8 pm each day and make some noise for the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers laboring nonstop to care for those infected with Covid? In a time when we mostly felt confused, freaked-out, and helpless, this was something we could do—we could show love, express our solidarity, and put voice to our hopes that recovery was possible.
I’d like to try something similar with all of you. Since we sing the psalms during worship anyway, why don’t we start there? This email hits our inboxes around 6 am CST each morning. Starting tomorrow, let’s “meet” at 6:30 am and 6:30 pm and sing the AM and PM psalms, respectively, out loud. We’ll try a week and see how it goes. I would love to hear your feedback, and I am looking forward to showing love, expressing solidarity, and voicing hope with you.
Written by Jane V. Blunschi
Jane V. Blunschi is a writer and a teacher living in Fayetteville, Arkansas.