Issue 35: “King Friday XIII's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
Our mission at the Matthew 25 Initiative is to equip and sustain Anglicans serving alongside the vulnerable. The work of justice and mercy is often wondrous and also difficult. Holding beauty, naming pain, and contending for hope is what we do at M25i.
Walter Brueggeman writes, "[A poem] thinks the unthinkable and utters the unutterable." In places of brokenness, where much feels unutterable and unimaginable, we encounter Jesus. Continue with us in reflection and prayer through this series, "For the Soul," as poetry offers us Spirit-soaked imaginations.
Before you begin...
During the summer, our “For the Soul” series tries to offer something a bit more playful than our usual poetry. All of us who serve vulnerable populations know that play is prophetic work. It is a form of sabbath, resting in a God whose mission we get to be a part of. The work of being so near suffering and broken lives creates the need for participating in play— it is as a balm, and even a form of worship. And not just in our "off" time; we also invite play into our work and relationships.
This edition of "For the Soul" pokes fun at our Anglican obsession with words— often big words—and obscure and idiosyncratic vocabulary. For many newcomers to Anglicanism, the sometimes obtuse, often archaic, and even obsolete language, can be slightly disorienting (if not a little entertaining). For many of us, it is charming. For today, we laugh at ourselves with Mr. Roger's King Friday XIII’s version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
We invite you to try to sing along with the words below! And give a smile to someone else by sharing this email with a friend.
King Friday XIII's Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
by Mr. Rogers
Scintillate, Scintillate diminutive stellar orb.
How inexplicable to me seems
this stupendous problem of your existence.
Elevated at such at an immeasurable distance,
in an apparently perpendicular direction
from this terrestrial planet which we occupy.
Resembling, in thy dazzling and unapproachable effulgence,
a gem of purist carbon, set solitarily in a universe of space.
Pray
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22
"Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing."
Isaiah 40:26
Join the Province-wide journey to live Isaiah 58.
Join churches across the ACNA as we walk into Living Isa58—a 6-week discipleship course that grounds your community in God’s call to justice, mercy, and presence.
You’ll be learning, praying, and acting alongside a growing network of Anglican churches committed to serving in the margins.
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