Dear friends,
I am writing just a few days after our Sacred Service of Farewell for Rev. Dr. Karen Nell Smith. It was a service filled with beautiful music, inspiring stories, lots of quilts, laughter, applause, barking, and some tears. Most of all, it was a service filled with love, a reflection of the love Karen Nell taught and shared, gave and received in the last five years, a reflection of God’s love poured out upon this community.
The very next day, Karen Nell and I sat down with Fran Graveson, our Consulting Associate Pastor, who will be with us, about 12 hours each week, through the end of December. Fran’s role is not to take over all the things Karen Nell has been doing. She is here for two reasons: to work with us to continue the ministries that matter most to us and to help us assess the staffing patterns that will enable us to thrive in the coming years. Fran brings her years of experience in project management and as a church leader, her passion for justice and vision of the church which is in close alignment with ours, her affection for Edwards Church and Open Spirit, and her thoughtfulness and caring. In a time of change and uncertainty, Fran is a gift.
The sense that we are in a time of change and uncertainty extends far beyond the transitions in our own church. As a nation and as a global community, we are in the midst of a fraught and contentious and crucial moment. The stress and distress of the world around us weighs heavily on our spirits. We struggle to know how to engage in a way that matters and is life-giving. Thank God our faith offers us guidance and community for these times.
Our fall worship theme, “Teaching for these times,” will focus on the wisdom and inspiration Jesus’ teachings offer us for these coming months. It’s important to remember that Jesus preached in the midst of a fraught time for his people, as they struggled to know how to live well and faithfully in the face of occupation by the Roman Empire. For this season, we will draw upon Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. We will explore what it means to be “blessed” as peacemakers and as those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. We will struggle with Jesus’ call to love our enemies: what does it mean to name someone as an enemy, and what does it mean to love someone we believe wishes us harm? We will hear Jesus’ warning to beware of false prophets, and we will wrestle with the complexities of discerning truth in an age of information and dis-information overload. We will consider what it means to build our lives on the “rock” of our faith, a rock that Jesus defines not as a set of beliefs but as action.
That’s a lot to ponder and consider and struggle and wrestle with! That’s because there is a lot of wisdom and inspiration in Jesus’ teachings. God knows, I need all the wisdom and inspiration I can get to face this fall. I trust others feel that same need.
Peace, Debbie