From Prayer to Presence: Reflections on Easter & Earth Day with Steven Case

Tara shares a touching story of an early Easter morning prayer service. Discover the profound connections between humanity and nature, and listen to author Steven Case discuss his work and inspirations in youth ministry and writing. This episode highlights the power of prayer, the importance of nurturing our environment, and the beautiful moments that connect us all. Listen for an enriching conversation filled with spiritual insights and reflections.

Steven Case's author page on Amazon.

Transcript

S6 E13 From Prayer to Presence: Reflections on Easter & Earth Day with Steven Case

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: [00:00:00] Welcome to Holy Shenanigans. I'm your muse, Tara Lamont, Eastman pastor, podcaster and practitioner of holy shenanigans and all the ways that the holy and sacred show up in our everyday lives. Thank you for joining us on this always sacred never stuffy adventure that we call holy shenanigans. It was very early one Easter morning.

So early that the sun wasn't up yet the week before had been full of Holy Week preparations, reviewing of bulletins for several worship services, the lining up of readers, musicians, and greeters, as well as decorating the sanctuary with an array of [00:01:00] flowers and a brand new Easter banner that our community had made.

The early morning prayer service was to take place outside in the church parking lot, but this service was not full of flowers or any pump and circumstance. The structure of this service was a simple gathering to help us all pause and listen to the world around us before that busy morning activity of worship, brunch and egg hunts.

I stood in that parking lot, the air, so cold, I could see my breath not knowing if anyone would join me in that circle. One person showed up. Then a little family dressed up in Easter clothes, peeking out from their coats, hats, and scarves. Slowly but surely, the parking lot filled with about 30 people and created a robust circle in the middle of that parking [00:02:00] lot.

I handed out one page outline to all assembled and we began this service with prayer. Let us see your creation with the eyes of a child. God let it all be new again. Let us stand up and greet this day. Let us welcome it. Keep us from hiding from the sun because we are tired and weary. Help us to take that chance.

Help us to embrace this day with energy and passion. Let this be the start. God. Amen. We continued this brief service with scripture, readings, and a familiar song. They will know we are Christians by our love. The service concluded with an off the cuff prayer. [00:03:00] After a few minutes of silence, I asked all gathered to share what they heard, saw or felt in that outdoor surrounding.

This was a great place of contrast. The church lot was in the center of downtown. Still slowly waking up on that early Sunday hour. But nature was present too in the cool air, in the warming rays of the sun. We felt on our skin in the greenness of the grass of little flowers breaking through the cement in the parking lot, in the bird songs, lilting all in concert with flashing city stoplights and the reflective street signs.

One by one, the people spoke of the sights sounds and feelings of that chilly morning as I listened, I was amazed to hear all the different [00:04:00] things they noticed in the faces of the people gathered around the circle. It was a mishmash of people's elderly, middle aged teens, and little ones running around the circle.

The concert of Noticings expanded to include the voices and the presence of the people gathered there, smiles, the shuffling of feet on the pavement, the crinkle of someone unwrapping a peppermint, the holding of hands to create needed warmth and even more connection. Connection with one another, and connection with nature.

Without the presence of nature, there would've been no ground to build that church or pour the asphalt for that parking lot. Without clean water, there would be no coffee for fellowship hour. [00:05:00] Without the food grown by farmers, there would be no bagels for Easter brunch. Without the gifts of connection to nature, our human connection would suffer and possibly cease to be.

On that chilly Easter morning, I was blessed with an opportunity to see, hear, and feel the importance of human connection, as well as the sacred connection humans have with nature. The question I still wrestle with today is how I can do more to honor the responsibility of nurturing and protecting this connection with the earth.

This question leads me to return to the words of the prayer from that Easter Sunrise service. Later on, Steve Case will be reading this prayer to us, and I hope as you hear it, you'll hear a call to care for and protect the earth [00:06:00] that gives so much of itself to support humanity. We are connected and we must learn how to better care for each other, both humanity.

And nature, our shared existence depends on it.

Alrighty. Today I have shared with you the importance of connections between nature and humanity, and a wonderful holy shenanigan connection occurred just today as I was preparing for this episode. I have followed the work of writer Steve Case for years and, and when I say years, like 25 years since the book, a Book of Uncommon Prayer came out and was so instrumental in my work in youth ministry and so.

[00:07:00] Surprise today, Steve is joining us for a chat about the importance of connection and what we can learn through listening to the voice of God in nature each other, and all the places that God shows up and surprises us. So welcome Steve to Holy Shenanigans Podcast.

Steven Case: I am very happy to be here. Thank you very much for the invitation.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Oh, I am so excited to have you here. And so as I have said, I first was introduced to your work in the book, the book of Uncommon Prayer one and two.

Thank you. Thanks for buying the sequel. That always helps. 

I came across your writing at a time where I was just getting introduced to, prayer litanies liturgical practices that were much different than what I had grown up with. And I wonder as you shared your writing, really to help youth workers help young people connect to sacred moments what [00:08:00] inspired you to this work?

Steven Case: Well for this book it started when I got hired by an Episcopal church. I grew up Methodist and my first gig was working for a Methodist church in Youngstown, Ohio. I went from there. I got hired by an Episcopal church and I was amazed at the difference in. The way the youth approached worship, because the Episcopal church used the book of Common Prayer and.

There was something about the liturgy that connected with them. ' cause they knew it from birth. And there was something about that connected with me. 'cause it was like prayers for all occasions. and I liked the idea of, oh, here's a prayer for Ash Wednesday, here's prayers for All Hallows Eve, or here's prayers for, communion in the morning and communion in the evening and comp line and morning watch and all of that. And it was all in one book. And I liked having one book and that was the inspiration. 'cause I [00:09:00] thought we need to do this specifically for youth pastors who are trying to put together experiences for their, students.

And that was where it started.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: That's beautiful. I wonder if you have a story or an example from your own work in youth ministry of how. Refreshing these prayers in a way for the youth to engage with them in a different way. Was really memorable.

Steven Case: The worship service for all Hallow Eve, which was to be done, in a cemetery on the night before Halloween. People think of Halloween as like Snickers bars and vampires, and that's not what it was. it began as a holy experience. For people to gather in the cemetery, and it was a service about grief and loss and remembrance.

And , I told my students we're going to have a potluck supper and to bring whatever was the dish that was the favorite of the person in their lives, who most recently passed [00:10:00] away.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: How beautiful.

Steven Case: And you know, didn't matter what we had, if we, all we had was desserts. That's fine.

I had one kid brought, three buckets of mashed potatoes from KFC, you know, but I had one girl brought a big plate of brownies, 'cause those were her grandfather's favorites. And we had the meal and we had the service out in a cemetery. And then her mother stopped me the next Sunday and she said, you know, she hasn't made those brownies since her grandfather died. there was something, that spoke to her and got me in the heart. 'cause wow. I'm glad I was part of that, grieving process that was helping her get to the next spot where she needed to be. And the prayers that we did and How that made it happen.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: That's beautiful. I have to tell you, I remember taking a group of youth. To do that service on All Hallows Eve

and, because it was getting dark, we actually got kicked out by the caretaker.

Steven Case: Wow. You gotta get permission on that one, [00:11:00] you

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: You do. You do, you do. But this is, you know, so many years ago, and that's still sticks with me, that memory of, having those very brief prayer service at the cemetery that night because we had to get outta there, but. I know they still resonate for me.

Even as you tell the story of, remembering loved ones through a meal. In our own family, we have special holidays that we celebrate by calling it, you know, grandma party and bringing out all of the dishes that that. Loved. So thank you for lifting that up as a means of connection to our loved ones that have passed.

That's beautiful.

Steven Case: My pleasure.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: So you are working on a new book and it also is a means of connection in a very unique way, isn't it?

Steven Case: It's been almost a year now. I, we were back in Ohio for Christmas, and my niece's husband works for an organ donation organization, procurement. And [00:12:00] he was actually a fan of a Christmas book I had written that was, the story of Charlie, the Flatulent Christmas angel.

And, you know, it was, it was a tradition in their house to read this thing out loud. And he said, have you ever tried to write a children's book about organ donation?

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Wow.

Steven Case: And I thought, there's no way I could ever, how would you start to write a book about organ donation for kids? And I sort of put it in the back of my head and let it ruminate for a while. And by the time. We got back home. I couldn't wait to get to my computer because it had clicked and the kids' books that I have written usually come out very quickly, so I I'd made a few notes while we were on the airplane and got to my computer and within an hour, the whole story was out about.

Trying to figure out how you're gonna tell kids about what's happening down the hall to grandpa and finally found an artist who was [00:13:00] willing to take that on. And so been putting that together for a full year. Finishing touches happened just like last week. The cover is done and we're hoping to have the whole thing out early part of summer.

So I'm looking forward to seeing how that does.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: that's amazing. I'm looking forward to that. We'll make sure to put that information in the notes so people can find all of your work. And it's such a broad, expansive writing, you know, from this book, the book that you are working on now, you know, for

that's the one way to put it. , when I write, I need to have balance I might do a book that's looking at, you know, analyzing the works of a 17th century monk, but then I gotta follow that up with a book of fart jokes. So I need the balance. So I got, serious books of prayer, and then I follow it up with, you know, , great moments in biblical flatulence and it's all. You know, weird references to stuff in the scriptures that way. So balance is how I, work. But yeah, that, puts [00:14:00] me in a wide spectrum of, stuff.

That's awesome. And so that, existence of balance in your work, I think is something that has always stood out to me, because even as I think about, you know, a cold Easter morning in a church parking lot in a downtown area. The dichotomy of that space from, youngsters to elders to, you know, the little toddlers that we had to make sure weren't gonna run outside of that circle to the folks that we needed to bring chairs and sit down to the sounds of a city just waking up to the sounds of birds.

It was this beautiful experience of, dissonance and yet connection.

Steven Case: I love hearing the stories about how people have used the services from that book and from other books. 'cause I'm sitting alone in my, home office half the time just. Plugging this stuff in, but then hearing what someone has done with it, it's like, [00:15:00] wow, I never even thought that could happen.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Yeah. My work has changed over the years from, , working primarily in youth ministry to becoming a, lead pastor. But it still carries with me. And so I just wanna thank you so much for sharing your work with the world.

Steven Case: It's my honor. Thank you for the invitation. I really appreciate it.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: So Steve, I wonder if you would do us a wonderful honor today as I've, told this story about that very early cold Easter morning, and I wonder if you would share the Easter morning prayer for all who are listening today.

Steven Case: I would be happy to creator God. We can't imagine all that you are or all that you have done for us. Each new morning is a new chance, a chance to put behind us all that we were and look ahead to all that we can be. You've brought us through [00:16:00] another night. The darkness falls from our eyes and the wonders of your world become visible.

Let us see your creation with the eyes of a child, God. Let it all be new again. Let us stand up and greet this day. Let us welcome it. Keep us from hiding from the sun because we are tired or weary. Your son rose in the morning and gave us all a new chance at life. Help us to take that chance. Help us to embrace this day with the energy and passion.

Let this be the start. God. Amen.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Let this be the start. Let this be the way forward. Let it be. So thank you so much, Steve, for coming by on this whim.

Steven Case: I'm enjoying it. That was great. I really [00:17:00] appreciate it. This is nice.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: I'm excited to see what this connection here brings you as you connect with the Holy Shenanigans neighborhood. And I, pray a blessing upon you and a blessed Holy Week and Easter to come. Thank you so much for joining us.

Steven Case: Thank you. Appreciate it. Bye.

Pastor Tara Lamont Eastman: Each year, earth Day offers an opportunity for us to engage in appreciating, protecting, and celebrating the gifts of nature. Through the lens of God and nature, I've shared a story of how humanity needs to listen to find better ways to nurture our responsibility, to attend to nature.

As you celebrate Earth Day this year, I invite you to take time out from the digital world and take some time in the great outdoors when you head out into nature. [00:18:00] I invite you to listen to the elements that you see and hear, and recognize as the real main character and how we can live into a needed role as a supporting cast.

Happy Earth Day, happy spring May, the warmth and colors and sounds of the season. Remind us of our calling to honor our connections with the Earth with God. And with one another. I am your holy shenanigans muse. Tara Lamont Eastman. Thank you for joining us this week for holy Shenanigans. That surprise, encourage, redirect, and turn life upside down all in the name of love.

This is an unpredictable spiritual adventure that is always sacred but never stuffy. [00:19:00] Special thanks to writer Steve Case for taking time to be with us. To learn more about Steve's work, go to the show notes for direct links. You can support Holy Shenanigans by gibb@www.buy me a coffee.com/tara l Eastman.

If you are in the northwestern Pennsylvania region, I invite you to join us at Warren First Presbyterian Church for Holy Week. And Easter celebrations just around the corner. Until next time, as we continue our Easter journey, may you be well, may you be at peace and may you know that you are beloved and connected.