Dear friends,
We need each other. That’s nothing new; we have always needed each other! What is new – or feels new – is that we are living in a time of tremendous instability, distress and discord. Our rights and the rights and well-being of the most vulnerable around us are under threat. It is frightening, and the stakes feel very high.
That statement – “We need each other” – resonates especially powerfully right now. We need each other for comfort and encouragement. We need each other to stand strong. We need each other to be able to make a difference. How do we strengthen our community so we can be here for each other, so we can be here for our neighbors?
Our Lenten theme – “Deep and Wide: Becoming Beloved Community” – offers an opportunity to explore that question. The phrase “Beloved Community” draws from a vision developed by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He highlighted that our Christian faith is not centered on the promise of a future heaven, but on creating just, loving community here on earth – what we often call the “kin-dom of God.” Becoming beloved community is both about how we build trusting, loving relationships with one another and about how we work with others to build a more just and compassionate society. We chose the words “deep and wide” to describe how we become beloved community – by deepening our relationships with each other and with God, by widening our welcome and our circles of caring.
Our worship will center on the joys and challenges the early church faced as they sought to become beloved community. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, they struggled to put his teachings into practice in everyday life, as they formed communities of people who previously would not even have eaten together. The stories of their successes and failures and learnings offer us wisdom as we seek to put Jesus’ teachings into practice in a rapidly changing world.
As we reflect on this theme in worship, we will “enact” it in a variety of ways, most of them involving food!
- We will join with Open Spirit in an iftar, a fast-breaking feast during the Muslim month of Ramadan (Monday, March 10, at 6 pm in Edwards Hall), as an expression of hospitality and appreciation for our neighbors.
- We will host a community meal for Transgender Visibility Day (March 31).
- We will make a road trip to the monthly community meal hosted by the LGBT Asylum Task Force, to give 36 asylees “inner beauty” seashell necklaces our young people are making (April 14). Mark your calendars and be part of deepening and widening.
We will also share our reflections on this theme in our annual Lenten Daily Devotional, which will be offered via email and on our website and Facebook page.
Five days a week, our devotional will feature reflections on Becoming Beloved Community by members and friends of our church. On Tuesdays, it will take the form of an invitation to an action to deepen our connections with each other. On Friday, the invitation will be to write a card to a neighbor in a local organization. Bring them to church the following Sunday and we will send them off! If you are uncertain about writing a devotion,
I would be delighted to help you make that happen (see sign-up sheet in Announcements / Lenten Devotional).
I look forward to deepening and widening this Beloved Community in this upcoming Lenten season!
Peace, Debbie