“Renewal”

            This is likely to be one of the most important years of our life. As school starts, and many anticipate the changing of the seasons toward coolness, there are threads of worry that are prevailing: worry about our health and the health of loved ones, worry about the economy, worry about violence perpetrated by racist acts, worry about our democracy and the upcoming election. I could go on. It may seem counter intuitive to think that worry has value, since so many seek spiritual community in order to alleviate or let go of worry. But worry has great value. In fact, worry shows us what we value. Our fear shows us who and what we care about, and dread which often accompanies fear is the knowledge that our care demands action.

            This is certainly a time of action. It seems we are simultaneously trying to keep the pre-Covid world going while trying to navigate a potential new world that is coming into sight. We are attempting to keep up our shared sense of normalcy with the growing knowledge that we are being asked to expand our awareness of all that we missed or glossed over. It has been an awakening for just about every one of us in some way. We are seeing what was there all along, but never was given proper attention, attention that could lead to careful action.

            Many have asked casually what I hope for this coming year. I offer a one word answer: continue. I hope we continue with the awareness we are growing into as a nation and a world, and I hope we continue to adapt and have the willingness to be open to change. I hope we continue to seek opportunities to confirm how interconnected we are, and make this increasingly part of our lived experience. For me, justice is merely an external expression of our interconnection, and dependence on one another. Justice is a given, when we develop the awareness to trust the truth of reality which in connection, rather than believe in the myth of complete separation or isolation.

            This is one of the reasons I’m excited to continue on our path of transformation as a church. We are acting according to the truth of interconnection in many ways: adapting our technology to meet this moment, offering consistent public witness for black lives and the marginalized, celebrating the gift of life which contains inherent joy, supporting those who have lost loved ones, offering hospitality to each other and our neighbors. I could go on, and we will. I know together we are primed to continue offering avenues of transformation for ourselves, our community, and our wider world.

            Renewal comes from learning to trust and experience interconnection. We can come to rely on our fellow parishioners, neighbors, those seen and unseen, to buoy our resolve for awareness and transformation. This buoy is not limited by our narrow conception of time. We are supported and interconnected not only with those billions who are alive in this shared moment, but also by generations past and those who will come after who remain alive in our imagination. We can count on this. Renewal is the way of reality. We only need to develop eyes to see and hearts to feel this truth. Even our shared worry seen through the eyes of interconnection is a sign of renewal: it shows us the magnitude of care and concern that surrounds us. We only need to tap into this, and harness this toward the good. This is and will continue to be the mission of our church: transformation of self and of the world, and understanding that they are really the same thing. May we come to trust in this reality, this truth of interconnection, as we experience renewal during the most important year of our life.