PJ’s Page –
Some of you are aware that my dear mother in law, Peggy, had a mild stroke last month. Her recovery is remarkable and we are so thankful for that.
Bruce spent a week in Alabama with her after she went to the rehabilitation center of the hospital. It was my habit to FaceTime her whenever I could, because it brought me comfort to see her, although I could not be there too.
The first day we Face Timed (video call for those unfamiliar) she was sitting in her wheelchair in a common area. As we talked, person after person came up to her:
Hi Miss Peggy….how are you? Oh, who’s that?
That’s my daughter, Julie.
I didn’t know you had a daughter.
Well she’s Bruce’s wife.
Oh, (looking at phone) Hi Julie….I’m Evalene; my mother is two doors down from Miss Peggy….
Or there was the aide who walked up with a wide smile behind Peggy and stood and waved at me…
Or the other patient who patted her lovingly on the arm and said “How you doin’ dear” and rolled on by.
Oh, how I miss this kind of community. This is the beauty of the American south. There are many things about the south that are less than beautiful; ugly pieces of our history course through the veins in the red clay soil. But this community that forms for no other reason than because we are all God’s children… this I miss.
The care of the other and the longing for beloved community is a gift that the Church has to offer to the world. But it is not necessarily a unique gift. People join the Kiwanis Club and book groups and Rotary for very similar reasons. Because they long for community. All over our city “pop up dinners” are well, popping up as people seek out community over a meal.
People of God, this is our time. This is our chance. This is our opportunity to say: Community exists here and it is based in wide love, abiding hope, and eternal promise. In these days that feel so filled with uncertainty, so fraught with discord….this is our time to say: come and see. Come and ponder the mysteries here.
The reality is that some who call themselves Christian have been louder and bolder than we have with their voices. Voices of judgment. Voices of critique. Voices of exclusion. Our task….our call….is to be the voice of Christ in the world. The voice of love.
But how, here in the Seattle freeze, can we be that voice? We can’t even have a conversation with our barista beyond double shot latte. Take a chance. Take a lesson from Evalene and ask how your neighbor is doing today. Invite them over for a piece of pie.
Because Beloved Community is Spirit led community. The Spirit does not come among us and just sit there like a bump on a log. The Spirit stirs us up! The Spirit moves us forward! The Spirit lights a fire under our…..feet and says “Go! Tell! Love!”
In this month we will celebrate that Spirit at Pentecost. We will rejoice with Payton and Gavin as they affirm their baptismal promises. We will remember that as their community we promised to uphold them and we will keep being their community.
Beloved community….listen to the Spirit as she stirs within you. Reach out with the wide love of God. We are the people of the risen Christ. We are beloved and this is our time. Share love!
Faithfully,
Pastor Julie+