A Stone Soup Method

Sunday for Stone Soup, we'll meet at Judd's Peak at 4:30 for some sky watching. We'll focus on learning how to read a biblical text using the Lectio Divina method. Then as we experience the setting sun and rising planets, we'll practice reading the text of place/location using the same questions for Lectio Divina. Our last question is always, "How is God forming me or calling me through this text/context. This will be an interesting experiment and will also teach us how everyone is capable of leading Stone Soup worship. Bring Thanksgiving leftovers or something picnic-like to share as we snack and watch. Dress warmly. Bring binoculars, sky charts and a big hunger for awe!

Thanksgiving!

For Stone Soup this week, we'll have a number of different options for Thanksgiving Services.
Sunday November 20 4:00 p.m. at Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Tryon a community Thanksgiving Service.
Wednesday November 23 at noon at Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville. We'll meet at the Saluda UMC at 10 a.m. to car pool and get there in time to share a thanksgiving meal with everyone and then we'll worship together.
Wednesday November 23  7:00 p.m. in Saluda at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration.
Let me know which one you're interested in going to, I'll be at each one.

Charge Conference and Wild Life Sanctuary 2016!!!

For Stone Soup on Sunday November 6, we'll meet at Columbus UMC at 4:30. There will be the regular business things to be approved as required but also a time of worship and presentation of Wild Life Sanctuary. That is a video witness that Lena and Rob have been working on. It is interviews with people from both churches about "How God Works in Our Lives". It will be inspiring and challenging. Come on out. We'll have a bit of cake at the end. We will not have a meal, we should be through by 5:30ish.
Peace,
See you then...
Rob

Deep Calls To Deep...

Picture from a previous Judd's Peak Stone Soup

Stone Soup will meet on top of Judd's Peak (Orchard Hill) to be present to the things that are most important to us and to participate in the sunset.
We'll meet at Judd's Peak at 6 p.m. Bring picnic or snack things to share, bag chairs and blankets to sit on or cover up with (it's supposed to be chilly). Call Rob (828-606-3452) if you need directions or want to carpool up to the hill.
After a summer Stone Soup, a young person came to me and said something to the effect of, "Thanks, I don't get a chance very often to talk about these kind of deep things..." Well, Sunday evening, we'll get a chance to talk about what is important to us and the things that our hearts truly long for. We'll also get a chance to just stand and be present as the sky changes and night falls. This is meant to be an occasion for our kids to ask any questions that are on their hearts and feel their community be present to them and to God.

Psalm 42

Longing for God and His Help in Distress

As a deer longs for flowing streams,

   so my soul longs for you, O God. 

My soul thirsts for God,

   for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

   the face of God? 

My tears have been my food

   day and night,

while people say to me continually,

   ‘Where is your God?’ 

These things I remember,

   as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng,

   and led them in procession to the house of God,

with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,

   a multitude keeping festival. 

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

   and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

   my help and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

   therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

   from Mount Mizar. 

Deep calls to deep

   at the thunder of your cataracts;

all your waves and your billows

   have gone over me. 

By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

   and at night his song is with me,

   a prayer to the God of my life.

Christ Invites to His Table All...

"Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him,
who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another"
This is how the invitation begins in the Service of Word and Table in the United Methodist Hymnal.
Communion begins as an act of hospitality, an invitation to the table.

"Writers in the New Testament portray Jesus as a gracious host, welcoming coming children and prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners into his presence. Such welcome startled and annoyed those who generally viewed themselves as the preferred guests at gatherings. But Jesus, God incarnate, is also portrayed as a vulnerable guest and needy stranger, one who "came to his own home" and often received no welcome (John 1:11). In his life on earth, Jesus experienced the vulnerability of the homeless infant, the child refugee, the adult with no place to lay his head, the despised convict.

This intermingling of guest and host roles in the person of Jesus is part of what makes the story of hospitality so compelling for Christians. Jesus welcomes and needs welcome; Jesus requires that followers depend on and provide hospitality. The practice of Christian hospitality is always located within the larger picture of Jesus' sacrificial welcome to all who come to him."Christine D. Pohl. Making Room: Recovering Hospitality As a Christian Tradition (Kindle Locations 225-226). Kindle Edition. 

And communion ends with an act of hospitality, us, the people who are invited are now the ones inviting. We are called to invite the Spirit of Christ to dwell in us. 

So come join us Sunday October 2 at 11 a.m. at the Saluda United Methodist Church. You don't have to be a member of this or any church, you don't have to have previous communion experience just a desire to come to the forgiving, loving, empowering table of Jesus' amazing hospitality.

Change of Plans!!!

We're Picking Pears Together On Sunday.
Meet at the Pear Tree at 4...see the flyer.
We are gathering people from all walks of life in Saluda to make a beautiful story of love and unity come true. Hear the whole story when we gather.
What unites us is stronger than what divides us!
There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for you all are one in Christ Jesus.   Galatians 3:28

A Day to Remember

On Sunday September 11 Stone Soup will gather to take Holy Communion to those who cannot get out to church to receive it. So on a day when we remember the great self giving acts of those responding to the terrorist acts on September 11 15 years ago, we will gather to celebrate Jesus' act of self giving commemorated in the Last Supper. Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of me."
"And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ,
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice,
in union with Christ's offering for us,
as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,
and on these gifts of bread and wine.
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,
that we may be for the world the body of Christ,
redeemed by his blood."
(from the United Methodist Hymnal pg 14 The Great Thanksgiving for communion)

We'll meet at 2 p.m. at the Wesley Cottage share communion and then take it out to those who are shut in.  I will bring the elements needed for communion. We plan on being finished by 4.
Peace,
Rob

Back to School

painting by Norman Rockwell

Back to School!
We're going to have a service of Blessing for our children, teachers and schools as we head back to school on Monday.
We'll meet at the Wesley Cottage at 1 p.m. for a picnic. Everybody bring what you want and we care share the joy.

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in her field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nested in its branches. Matthew 13:31-32

We celebrate that from our smallest homework of learning our colors and letters grows the greatest of learning in which we find our adult lives. May it also be so with our hearts, that the smallest acts of compassion and care grow in us all to be nest of God's reign of Love. We pray that school days include both.
See you at Stone Soup,
Rob

The Gift of Blueberries

We're going Blueberry picking and Pancake Eating!
Let's leave the Saluda UMC parking lot at 2:00 (eat lunch already or bring a sandwich for the ride).
Dress for walking among bushes (some will wear shorts and short sleeves and not mind the scratches, others will want long pants etc to avoid scratches...it's up to you) and bring a rain jacket or pancho. Bring baskets and/or jugs for picking (it is always handy if you can tie it to your belt or something for two-handed picking). We won't be back till evening...all is weather dependent!

Here's what we're bringing:
A spirit of reverence and gratitude as we harvest what we did not plant...
Rob will bring pancake batter, butter and syrup.
Let Rob know if you are coming and can bring a camp stove and whatever else you will be bringing.(texting is fine 828-606-3452)
Isaiah 55:1-3


Ho, everyone who thirsts,
   come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
   come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
   without money and without price. 
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
   and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
   and delight yourselves in rich food. 
Incline your ear, and come to me;
   listen, so that you may live.

We're Saying Goodbye to Lena! 8/14  11a.m. Worship Noon Potluck

For Stone Soup this week, let's meet for church at 11 a.m. and then we'll stay for the potluck lunch at noon to thank Lena for her ministry among us this summer. Bring your favorite potluck dish and invite a friend. Dish or not, friend or not just come and share in the fellowship!
Next week we'll go blueberry picking around the Blue Ridge Parkway if the weather looks more promising. Stay tuned...
Rob

"Many Beautiful Things" Screening

Stone Soup Presents: A Free Screening of Many Beautiful Things

What: This is a new, acclaimed documentary about Lilias Trotter, a British painter and missionary during the Victorian era who was told she could be England's greatest painter but who gave up the dream of fame to travel to Africa. The film is remarkably beautiful and the story gripping and transformative! Watch the trailer here: https://manybeautifulthings.com.  The animators have taken her watercolors and brought them into 3D life. And Michelle Dockery, the voice of Mary in Downton Abbey, is the voice of Lilias in the film. After the film, we will discuss the major themes: vocation, art, creation, and service. 

When: Sunday, August 7th, 7-9pm

Where: The Sanctuary at Saluda UMC, 153 Greenville St., Saluda

Bring: A dessert to share (optional...come regardless) and a friend or two! The film is very accessible to those of all faiths. 

Stone Soup goes to Haywood Street Methodist in Asheville

Stone Soup Goes to Haywood Street Congregation in Asheville 
What: We will be gathering to go to Haywood Street Methodist in Asheville for their evening program. Haywood Street is well known for being a place of radical reconciliation and ministry to and by those the church and society often scorn, particularly to the homeless.  "Haywood Street Congregation (HSC) is a church in downtown Asheville where all people, without exception,  are welcomed and affirmed of their sacred worth. HSC strives to follow the example of Christ who sought relationship with individuals that others dismissed as not worthy of redemption.  HSC embraces diversity in the community and world, including the diversity of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, faith history, ability and disability, housed and yet-to-be housed, economic status, marital status, health status and family configurations.  Love of each Child of God is the foundation of HSC."
When: Sunday, July 31st, at 4-8pm
Where: Meet at Saluda Methodist Church @ 4pm and we will carvan to Asheville together.
Bring: Yourselves and an open heart. We will eat at Haywood.

Stone Soup Goes Tubing on the Green!

Stone Soup Tubing on the Green River
When: Sunday, July 24th, 2-6ishpm
Where: Meet at 2pm at Saluda UMC
What: Tubing with Green River Cove Tubing Company ($9 per person)
Bring: Sunscreen, bathing suit, towels, water shoes, and snacks to share (we will leave the food in a shuttle car and eat at the end).

Our scripture for this week will be Psalm 90:12:
"Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Thanks,

Rob and Lena

Stone Soup Slow Foods Week!

A Stone Soup Slow Foods Week! 


Event #1: Saturday at the Farmers Market 
What: We are gathering to learn how to approach local food purchasing in a faith-based, relational manner...and to see what the Holy Spirit has to teach us through getting to know those who grow food in our own area. 
Where: Meet at Columbus UMC (76 N Peak St, Columbus, NC 28722) 
When: Saturday, July 16th, at 9:30am  
Bring: Reusable bags and cash for the vendors 

Event #2: Cooking Together on Sunday Evening 
What: We will bring the food gleaned from the farmers market the day before (and anything else you have on hand...particularly from your gardens) and we will creatively cook together in the spacious and well equipped church kitchen. 
Where: Columbus UMC (76 N Peak St, Columbus, NC 28722) 
When: Sunday, July 17th, at 4:30pm
Bring: Ingredients for a dish of your own to share or ingredients to combine into a spontaneous collaborative dish. It's very informal and meant to be playful... don't get nervous about preparation. 

Event #3: Slow Food Italian Night at the Saluda Welcome Table 
What: We will meet at Saluda UMC as usual for the Welcome Table where Frances Fairey and Lena Connor will have prepared a special Sicilian meal, followed by the screening of Amuri: Sacred Flavors of Sicily a short, 30-minute documentary that Lena produced on Sicilian festivals and the delicious foods prepared for them...a chance to see how another culture approaches food and faith. 
Where: Saluda UMC (153 Greenville St, Saluda, NC 28773) 
When: Meal at 5:30-6:45pm (drop in when you would like); Screening at 7pm 
Bring: Yourself and an appetite! 

Questions? Call Lena at 319-541-9221. 

Summer Evening Swim + Cookout at Lake Sheila

A Stone Soup Evening Gathering to Swim and Eat at Lake Sheila
Where: Meet at Saluda UMC and we will drive together 
When: Sunday, July 10th, at 5pm
Wear: Sunscreen and a bathing suit for swimming
Bring: Food to throw on the grill, leftovers from Coon Dog Day, or whatever you have in your fridge that you want to share. Also, bring games, instruments, and other things to make a full, joyful summer evening.
Questions? Call Rob at 828-606-3542

As we gather in this beautiful place, the passages we will be focusing on tell of how Creation teaches us about God: 

“Ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” (Psalm 19:1-4)

Look forward to seeing you there! 

Lena 

Gleaning blueberries for those in need

A Stone Soup Gleaning Gathering to Pick Blueberries, Followed by Swimming at Lake Sheila
Where: Meet at Saluda UMC and we will carpool to Mill Springs, NC (for those of you in Columbus, contact Lena and she will send you directions for meeting us there!)
When: Wednesday, July 6th, at 8am-1pm
Wear: Sunscreen, a hat, and good shoes for picking and a bathing suit for swimming
Bring: A picnic lunch and a towel and WATER (a must have)
Note: Parents, feel free to drop your kids off for the morning if you have to work!
Questions? Call Lena at 319-541-9221.

We will be gleaning blueberries for those in need with the Society of St. Andrew! The fruit of God’s good earth deserves to be tasted by the least of these and we hope to help make that a reality.

Schedule: 

8am- Meet at Saluda UMC Church and we will carpool down to Mill Springs
10:45-12:45pm- Lunch and Swimming at Lake Sheila
1pm- Pick up at church

About Gleaning with the Society of St Andrews: 

One major area of food waste in America is in farmers’ fields, where crops that don’t meet top-grade quality are left to rot or be plowed under. Gleaning is the traditional biblical practice of gathering crops that would otherwise be left in the fields to rot, or be plowed under after harvest. The Gleaning Network coordinates volunteers, growers, and distribution agencies to salvage this food for the needy.

Tens of thousands of volunteers from churches, synagogues, scout troops, senior citizen groups, and other organizations participate each year in Society of St. Andrew gleaning activities. Each year, tens of millions of pounds of produce are salvaged and given to the poor at no cost to them or to the food pantry or kitchen that feeds them.

Gleaners are people of all ages and income levels who want to give of themselves. Usually within 48 hours of picking the produce, hungry Americans receive the gleaned food. Each year, 35,000-40,000 people glean with us – to pick up over 20 million pounds of fresh, nutritious food for their hungry neighbors.

Scripture to Meditate On: 

We will be focusing on the following scripture passages, as the biblical mandate comes from the Hebrew scriptures in Deuteronomy 24:19:

When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings. (NRSV)

Jesus reminds us why this is so important in Matthew 25:34-40

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

We cannot wait to see you there! 

Lena

Lost 40 Hike + Contemplation Practices + Swimming

Stone Soup on Contemplation in Nature 
When: Sunday, June 19th, at 4pm
Where: Meet at Saluda UMC and we will all head to the Missing 40 Trail (aka the "Lost 40") 
For info on the trail: http://saludaclt.org/missing-40-trail

Join us for a contemplative hike on the Missing 40 trail, followed by picnic dinner and swimming afterwards for those who wish to! 

We will be meeting at the trailhead and will be learning some contemplative practices for reflection/prayer/meditation in Creation to then take out with us into the woods on a quiet hike. Lena will lead any children on a kid-themed contemplative hike so the adults can enjoy some rare solitude. 

Please bring picnic food and your own plates, cups, napkins, and utensils (the less plastic we use the better for the earth). 

The rough schedule will be:

4-5pm Contemplative Hike 
5-6pm- Picnicking along the water
6pm- Swimming 

The passages we will be meditating on are: 

Psalm 42: 1-6

As a deer pants for flowing streams,

    so pants my soul for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God,

    for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food

    day and night,

while they say to me all the day long,

    “Where is your God?”

These things I remember,

    as I pour out my soul:

how I would go with the throng

    and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

    a multitude keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,

    and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

    my salvation and my God.

Proverbs 8: 12, 20-31 (from The Message adaptation) 

I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity;

    Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street. […] 

My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary;

    the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.

You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk—

    at the intersection of Justice Avenue,

Handing out life to those who love me,

    filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—

    before he did anything else.

I was brought into being a long time ago,

    well before Earth got its start.

I arrived on the scene before Ocean,

    yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.

Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape,

    I was already there, newborn;

Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons,

    and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,

And set Sky firmly in place,

    I was there.

When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,

    built the vast vault of Heaven,

    and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,

When he drew a boundary for Sea,

    posted a sign that said no trespassing,

And then staked out Earth’s Foundations,

    I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.

Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause,

    always enjoying his company,

Delighted with the world of things and creatures,

    happily celebrating the human family.

Stone Soup's Annual Campout at Orchard Lake!

Summer Fun! School's Out! — Orchard Lake Campout

Friday, June 10th, 4pm - Sunday, June 12th, ~10am 

Fee: camping is $9/person.

Keeping the Tradition Going!

However; things will be a little different this year….  A Boy Scout Troop has our normal location…. so we’ll try something new! This year we will be in sites 110 through 116.  This area is located behind the pavilion, near the zip-line and is grassy and closer to all the activities at the campground.  There is water and electricity at each site. We’ll use site 113 as the group site and put tents on either site of the fire ring and picnic tables. We will be using the pavilion bathrooms. 

Food Logistics: 

• Friday dinner: Bring your own hotdogs + a dish to share 
• Saturday breakfast: We provide batter, you bring fruit, meat, or something to go with the pancakes. Extra camp stoves welcome!
• Saturday lunch: Bring your own picnic lunch
• Saturday dinner: Bring a dish to share for the Mexican-themed community potluck
• Sunday breakfast: Edna is providing the food (thanks, Edna!) 

Tentative Schedule:  

• Friday 4pm – start setting up tents and make group area.
• Friday 7-8ish pm -- American Fare – we’ll use camp grills to grill out the hot dogs. Bring your musical talent/instruments. Night swim to follow dinner! 
• Saturday am – Pancakes galore! 
• Saturday 11AM – Warm-up volleyball match, 
• Saturday 1pm  - whiffle ball game
• Saturday 4pm — kids verses parents volleyball match; laughing parents volleyball to follow.
• All day anytime — Pick-up soccer, Frisbee, Pick-up 3 par golf 
• Saturday Mexican Potluck — 7-8ish 
• Stone Soup– 8ish-9ish pm.
• Sunday 9am– breakfast at Edna’s.
• Sunday 10ish am — Break camp and/or hang out.

Our Stone Soup this year is entitled "Wild Life Sanctuary," our theme for the summer and the title of a project we are working on with our summer church intern, Lena Connor, to record the "wild lives of faith" lived out by our own community members. How often do we stop and marvel at the wondrous events in our lives--from the smallest moments of awe to the largest touchstone events that change our paths--and name God at work? This weekend, we want to reflect on the epicness of our time on earth and share with one another! 

Our scripture passage we will meditate on is from Genesis 28: 

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” 17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

Bring any poems/quotes/stories/scripture that you want to share with the group on what makes life a grand adventure! 

Look forward to seeing you all! -Lena