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The Rev. Dr. Dee Cooper
Lead Pastor for Congregational Life
(Interim)
Hello all,
Anne Lamott shared these words in her blog today...
"This Sunday I was such a mess that I felt I couldn't even go to church. What a buzzkill I would be. Physically and emotionally, after 14 days on the road, and a wrenching disagreement with a friend, I was crying a little, self-righteous, victimized, and isolated. I thought I should get it together. I'm an elder, and teacher. But with what? My screwy mind and duct tape?"
She goes on to name the cracks we all have in our lives, in our world, and in our very selves. She continues, with the words of Leonard Cohen, "cracks are how the light gets in--upside down, and said that cracks are how the light that's inside us gets out, so people who are suffering can see it, and know that the light is real".
These words resonated with me this day and as the holy seasons begin. When we feel we aren't put together to come to church or see others, feeling like we need to hide, or go underground, maybe exactly the time to come and connect and see one another . It is often in the messiness of life that we are seen and appreciated by others, not when we are all put together. And in being authentic, we give others to be transparent too. There is an invitation to us all, to come as we are, to be who we are, cracks and all, letting light in and letting light out to shine all held in the power of love.
Throwing away the duct tape...
Dee
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The Rev. Ian Gregory Cummins
Lead Pastor of Spiritual Life
Hi Everyone,
"Thanksgiving is an emotional time. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often." - Johnny Carson
This time of year there is no shortage of one-liners about the difficulty of being with extended family for the holidays. The jokes are funny because we can so often relate to them. Who doesn't have an inappropriate uncle or a sibling who sits on the opposite side of the political or religious fence? To joke about it can be a cathartic way of dealing with some very difficult family dynamics. But joking can also be a signal that we've closed down or grown cynical to the possibility of growth in the relationship. Our faith calls us to be instruments of reconciliation in the world and we often do a wonderful job of that when working with strangers on, say, a civil rights issue or while on an international mission trip. But are we open to doing this same work right in our own family? This year, if you find yourself at a large family gathering, can you balance the need for some comic relief with a sincere openness to improving those relationships, even if only a little?
Grace and goodness,
Ian
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