New Thing: Hush in the Rush at the Gryphon Cafe
Inspiration: St. David's, Advent, Rushing
Time: About two hours
Bottom Line: A hush in the crazy rush
Reflection: This year, we tried something totally different for a community to offer the community. Here is the e-message I wrote about it:
Jesus said to them, ‘Come away to
a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and
going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
-Mark 6:31
On Monday, the Discipleship Commission took to the streets
of Wayne to bring a “Hush in the Rush” to those in need of a quiet respite with
God during the Advent business. Several members of St. David’s meet at the
upper room of the Gryphon Café to fill it with candlelight, music, and silent
prayer. However, it was not simply a time for the committee members alone to experience
the peace that comes from quiet -time spent with the Lord. Rather, it was an
open opportunity for anyone—St. David’s member or not— to answer Jesus’s call
found in Mark 6:31 to “come a way to a deserted place…and rest awhile.” This
call is especially important during Advent when we are preparing for the coming
of the Messiah.
To help extend this invitation, several of us handed out
free coffee vouchers to customers and pedestrians on the street. This marked a significant
change in the program which had traditionally been a time of quiet in the
Chapel. As nice as the original Hush in the Rush had been, it wasn’t really
reflecting the need that we all have to be lifted out of the mad rush of the
session for Sabbath-hush. As the Church, it is important to bring that
invitation to peace outside of our walls into the world where the rush is even
more pronounced.
The good news is that many people responded to this
invitation with thanks and relief for a quite place they could retreat to for a
moment. What surprised me, however, was how many more people refused the offer
to take time out of their hectic lives –even for a few minuets— to rest in
God’s presences. Most people said that they were just to busy.
How about you? We are less then a week away from Christmas
which is God’s ultimate invitation to be in relationship with him. After all,
it is at Christmas when we are reminded that Jesus who is Emmanuel—God with
us—came into this world to be with us and we with him. At Christmas we are
reminded that there is nothing that he desires more then to be a part of our
lives and offer us the peace that comes through knowing him. Have you taken
time to truly sit and be with him his season? Do you have plans to come to one
of the pageants or Christmas Eve or Morning services to make a place for him
amidst the rush of the world’s distractions? Let us pray that this Christmas we
do not let our business stand in the way of our belief in God’s love for us.
Let us offer the hush of our hearts in the face of all the rush. May God bless
you richly this Christmastide!
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