{"id":1985,"date":"2012-05-18T08:17:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-18T13:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/?p=1985"},"modified":"2012-05-18T08:17:15","modified_gmt":"2012-05-18T13:17:15","slug":"have-a-grape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2012\/05\/have-a-grape\/","title":{"rendered":"Have a Grape"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Today&#8217;s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at <a href=\"http:\/\/bethlehemcov.org\/\">Bethlehem Covenant Church<\/a> in Minneapolis, MN.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2012\/05\/grapes.jpeg\" rel=\"prettyPhoto[1985]\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-1986\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2012\/05\/grapes.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a>Each time we offer Holy Communion at our church, a third element joins the Bread and Cup at our Table: a plate of grapes. When a child comes forward who is not yet ready to receive the Bread and the Cup, the pastor offers a grape, as a reminder of the seed of faith that is growing in that child.<\/p>\n<p><em>How is your seed of faith doing these days?<br \/>\n<\/em><em>Is it growing in you?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Growth brings with it a lot of discomfort. Remember what it was like as a child to get ready for school each August? Remember how your shoes felt when you tried them on after a summer of running around barefoot? Tight, right? Kind of like new wine in old wineskins \u2013 ready to burst at the seams. Growing does that to you. It makes the old comfortable ways seem suddenly <em>un<\/em>comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>How is your growing faith making your life uncomfortable right now? And if you aren\u2019t feeling some discomfort, <em>how do you know you are growing?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>This week, my husband marks a major milestone birthday. Next week, my son graduates from college. The week after that, I receive my Master of Divinity degree. Within a couple of weeks, three members of my family will have looked in the mirror and wondered, \u201cHow have I grown?\u201d And immediately after that question comes an even bigger one: <em>\u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Growing into Christ-likeness is not easy. Growing as part of the Body of Christ can be downright uncomfortable. A friend of mine keeps a sign above her desk that reads, \u201cChange is inevitable. Growth is optional.\u201d When we opt for growth, we embrace the discomfort of moving into new territory. The question, \u201cWhat now?\u201d brings joyful anticipation instead of fear, for we know that the One who loved us enough to die for us is with us. Our growing faith is evidence of the Kingdom of God here and now, bringing us closer to the Kingdom of God that will be.<\/p>\n<p>How\u2019s your seed of faith doing these days? Is it growing in you? Can you embrace the discomfort that comes with growth? What do you see as evidence that God\u2019s Kingdom is working in you and in your church right now?<\/p>\n<p>Here, have a grape.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=1985&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN. Each time we offer Holy Communion at our church, a third element joins the Bread and Cup at our Table: a plate of grapes. When a child comes forward who is not yet ready to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14503,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-better-together","category-liturgy"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Have a Grape - Worship Connect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2012\/05\/have-a-grape\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Have a Grape - Worship Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today&#8217;s post is written by Jo Anne Taylor, Director of Music and Worship at Bethlehem Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN. Each time we offer Holy Communion at our church, a third element joins the Bread and Cup at our Table: a plate of grapes. 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