creation through cupcakes

i'm not often asked to be a judge; good thing! everybody would win!  so, when pastor jennifer, campus minister for our wesley clubs here in merced emailed me to be one of the judges during worship, it was with excited trepidation that i said yes...what will i do if they are all so good?!  ok, so my nightmare happened!

the theme on sunday was creation.  and that theme was carried through the whole worship experience on during the evening worship on the u.c. merced campus; this tree below was utilized as a prayer tree, in the center of the room -- much like the tree of life; people were invited to add leaves to the tree to share their prayers; very 'creative', don't you think?! 

through the use of multi-media, we experienced both the beauty and the reality of creation; survival of the fittest, as it were; but god is in the midst of everything.  we heard the creation stories from genesis chapters one and two, but also from the book of proverbs...ok, i'll give you a moment to run and get your bibles and try and find the creation story there-in.

and we heard about what happens when we expect, as humans, to know more/know everything -- to be like god, or better yet, be god, illustrated in the story of the book of job.  we live in a time when we want everything and to know everything.  problem is, of course:  we can't know everything!

below are two pictures of the three teams who put together such creative cupcakes -- the event became known as 'the cupcake wars'.  one team did ducks...two above water, and two with their tails in the air; what a hoot, eh?!

another team did apples a-la adam and eve, as well as the sun and the earth and butterflies.  all the ingredients had to be edible because, of course, in the true nature of united methodist fashion, they also became our fellowship treats!

the tray below represents the seven days of creation...well, six days, plus a day of rest...and let me assure you, after judging these creative cakes, i had to go home and rest!  so grueling, so nerve-wracking; too much creativity (and sugar) for my sunday evening!!!  see if you can't identify the six days of creation.

yes, awards were given, and i got a wesley club tee shirt for helping to judge!  i'll let you now 'be the judge' of who your favorite creation cup-cake might be...just use your imagination with the tasting part; they used pretzels, star bursts, coconut, icing that had been died many 'earthy colors'...

so, why all the fuss?  well, for one reason, during lent, sundays are 'a day of grace'; you get permission to 'go off' your lenten fast on sundays.  that is probably the church's best kept secret!  it is a reminder that god's grace is sufficient!

but more to the point, creation through cupcakes will leave a lasting impression -- well, it certainly will for me anyway -- about how god continues to invite us into the story of creation.  we are a part of god's creation, and we are invited to help god create anew in this day and age.  we can be co-creators with god. 

if you heard someone preach that message, you might say, 'yes, that's a good point'.  you might even yawn and say, 'i've heard that before'.  but imagine!  if you got to create the images of creation using cupcakes, that would be something you would remember, perhaps forever.  every time you woke in the morning or looked at that stars at night, or saw a fish or a butterfly or a duck or the person next door, you would recall that this was a visible way god lives with us; we might even treat one another with more dignity and respect.  and of course, on a sunday in lent, when you were given the opportunity to bite into a cupcake and enjoy 'sweet temptations guilt free', that experience would be a little bite of heaven.  and you might even give thanks to god, for this awesome taste of creation.