Hyde Park Speaks

Wax On, Wax Off

by John Parrish

Know the triumphant moment when we raise our candles to heaven singing Joy To The World on Christmas Eve? What a moment of community and connectivity. There's such a presence of the Holy Spirit, as the light grows from the Advent candle and through the congregation, as the world comes into the light revealed in our Savior.

Following the service, candles are collected and stored in anticipation of next year's celebration. Little did we know our Wesley group would come in contact with the candles again so soon into the New Year. Candles are made of wax. And wax drips. So, when we inquired about a service opportunity, we learned these candles needed to be restored for the next Advent season. That meant discarding candles from holders that had become too small, scraping off dripping wax, and inserting new candles where needed.

Simple? Yes. Seven of us completed the effort in about 90 minutes. But with each little task we take on, we're reminded of the importance of our efforts, as we were today at the Missions & Outreach luncheon. Even the smallest act has a rippling effect of Making God's Love Real in our community and around the world.

Next time we raise our candles, I'm sure all us candle scrapers will be that much more connected with our congregation and the God that loves us all.

For more information on service opportunities, click here.

Shoes & Compassion

By Mandy Cloninger

I was deeply affected the first, second, third and every time since that I have read this passage as it closes out the first chapter of A Mile in My Shoes by Trevor Hudson.

"I am a beginner when it comes to the life of compassion. Others do not always experience me as a caring person. Often I have been deaf to the human cries around me, blind to those in desperate need, and indifferent to those structures that hurt and harm God's people. Sometimes I do not even like those with whom I am bound together in Christ. Occasionally those closest to me have felt unappreciated, unnoticed, and unloved. Without doubt my greatest shortcomings have come through failures in loving."

I wrote the following prayer beside it, Dear Lord, Help me to address my shortcomings and to love others according to the example you have shown. Help me to grow in compassion and in love with those around me.

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about shoes, and he said, you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. I was reminded of the line in Forrest Gump where Forrest says, "My momma always said you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes, where they go, where they've been."

My prayer for you is that you'll allow Hudson's words to speak to you as they did to me. Try to put yourself in someone else's shoes to cultivate a little compassion. Maybe it's even a conversation about shoes, where they go, where they've been... Where in your life do you need to cultivate compassion? Whose shoes are on your mind today?