As we face continued uncertainty with COVID variant surges and the suffering of our world in war and climate chaos, the work of the church goes on. I am grateful for the work of a small team of people who began a conversation last year about how structural racism relates to our use of sacred music.
We are capable of deep vulnerability. It is possible that we grow in our awareness of being beloved when we allow someone, particularly a stranger, to sing to us.
Through a trauma-informed care lens, we need time to be seen and heard, share our griefs, express the places where we have felt abandoned or even betrayed by this pandemic, and listen for the possibilities of post-trauma growth.
We have held three Land Story Gatherings and had great conversations. We are discovering that it is both overwhelming and inspiring to hear the Land Story of St. Michael’s – overwhelming with the recognition and acknowledgment of how we came to be on this land, and inspiring to envision a future world that seeks restitution and compassionate care.
We are beginning with two in-person services beginning on the Feast of Pentecost, May 23. The 9:00 am service will
One of the shining moments of the inauguration of President Biden that I want to continue to reflect and pray about was Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first-ever youth poet laureate, reading her poem
Advent held out as a promise that perhaps things would be different, and it was hard to put on our Advent blues and enter into the empty sanctuary for another season.
Who sees the best in you, is willing to fight by your side, can fight for you? This is what she calls your pocket of revolutionary love.
Be reminded to breathe. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Lower your shoulders. Unclench your jaw. Breathe in. Breathe out.
This moment, no matter how dark or
how long,
Can’t make us belong to one another less.
And not one single thing in all creation
Can separate us from God’s love.
