|
THE PASTOR’S DESK
Remember. Remember who you are.
Remember what you love. Remember what is sacred.
Remember what is true.
Remember that you will die, and that each day is a gift.
Remember how you wish to live.
- Wayne Muller, How Then Shall We Live?
As we embark on our 100th year as a worshiping congregation, we are remembering who we are. We see how those who have gone before us have laid the foundation for our own call to build the Beloved Community. One of my images of such a community is the sending forth on Sundays as we hold hands and encircle the Worship Center to hear our charge and be blessed, to sing together, and to raise our arms and shout, “Shalom! Salaam! Peace!” Just imagine those faces! And smile :-)
Part of building a Beloved Community is being that community. Part of spreading peace is having that peace at the center of our own being. Yet, there often does not seem to be much peace in the world or in our busy lives. Years ago, as a young working wife and mother, I read Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s book, Gift from the Sea. A German word she used spoke to me: zerrissenheit, which she translated as “torn-to-pieces-hood.” It speaks to me still as a pastor and now as a single woman, for whom it is all too easy to let the church become the whole of life and to lose yourself in the process. It is an occupational hazard for those in the caring professions – or, indeed, in any job or relationship.
And so I am especially grateful to be part of a congregation that values their pastor and is willing to nurture her with time away to rest and renew, body and soul. I love ministry. I love all of you. Never have I been in a church with such a spirit of loving acceptance, encouragement, joy, and deep call to follow in Jesus’ way of justice and peace as Good Sam has. And that is why I know you will be in such good hands while I am gone. This is an opportunity to share your gifts and grow in ways you never even imagined. We say each week that you are the “ministers of the church” – this summer you will come to believe it!
What will I be doing? Enjoying each day as a gift! Remembering what nourishes me and doing it. Exercising my body and feeding my soul. Playing. Resting. Reading. Visiting family. Getting my house in order – literally and figuratively! Reclaiming the creativity that makes my heart sing. Working on a dream I had a decade ago to publish Christian meditation cards. Starting a blog. Worshiping in a variety of churches. Studying at Ghost Ranch, a Presbyterian retreat center in Georgia O’Keefe’s New Mexico and a favorite spot of mine. Embarking on a pilgrimage to Scotland – the land of Celtic Spirituality, which has always resonated with me as the heart of Christianity.
I thank you for this gift of new life! A Celtic blessing for you from Scotland’s Holy Island of Lindisfarne:
May the raindrops fall lightly on your brow
May the soft winds freshen your spirit
May the sunshine brighten your heart
May the burdens of the day rest lightly upon you
And may God enfold you in love.
Let us enfold one another in love as we journey through summer,
Shalom! Salaam! Peace! Sue
|
Bill