First Congregational Church
164 Deer Hill Ave.
Danbury, CT 06810
Phone:(203) 744-6177

The Thin Places in Winter

Winter is peppered with thin places.

Rev. Dr. Pat Kriss(Posted January 24, 2025)

Especially at this time of year when the bitter cold wind reminds us of our mortal humanity,

we have a certain yearning to hear from God. Please, God. A word, a sound, just an inkling that this season doesn’t represent the death of Spring. We’re sequestered in our places, and can

wonder if it’s really possible that our place can be “a thin place” where we feel God near.

It’s a puzzlement.

The Thin Places in the Trees

But if the truth be told, even the Winter is peppered with thin places. And If we pause, like the author of the poem above, we’ll find them in the locations that are “older than our understanding.”

Just outside the door in this frigid weather, if we seek, we shall find. The gray, storm-battered trees hide a secret. We’ll be able to see it in the next few weeks. Those trees will not be as rigid at they have been when the wind whips them about. Deep inside, at the silent command of their Maker, the life-giving sap they stored in their roots is even now rising, a little more each day. Their movements soften and sway with the wind, instead of combatting it. It’s the rhythm that God has programmed for our tiny planet among living things.

Look hard and you will see.

Thin Places at the Bird Feeder

Then again, watch the birds on the ground or assembled around a feeder. Regardless of species,

males and females are suddenly letting each other sit closer to one another. I’ve always enjoyed the moment in late winter when I spy a male sparrow feeding a female sparrow for the first time this year. the same pair who couldn’t tolerate one another now find a reason to draw close. St. Valentine, that patron of romantic couples, knew a thing or two about this.

Look hard and you will see.

Thin Places in Nature

This Sunday we’ll be sharing stories of where to look in nature to find the Thumbprint of God.

The thin places God’s given us point to the truth that in nature, there really isn’t death, but a slow sleep and then a resurrection. Maybe not in the same form as it once took, but a new one.

Come join us Sunday when Nancy Wildman will help paint the story of nature in music.

Information

First Congregational Church
164 Deer Hill Ave.
Danbury, CT 06810
Est. 1696

Phone: (203) 744-6177
Email: office@danburychurch.org​

Office Hours:
Monday Closed
Tuesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Wednesday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Thursday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Friday Closed

Thrift Shop Hours:
Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Sunday Worship:
Sunday   10:00 a.m.–11 a.m.

 

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