From Our Associate Rector
From Our Youth Minister
We’ve been dealing a lot with ethics lately. Ethical questions in our Wednesday night programs, at Crew gatherings, during Thirst… We’ve talked about whether it’s ever ok to lie, or to kill. We’ve talked about forgiveness - who gets it, and what they have to do to receive it. In one of our conversations about forgiveness, we posed the question of whether someone who has done horrible things (a serial killer, for instance) can simply say sorry on his death bed, be forgiven, and go to heaven. There was good discussion around this, and one individual said something great: I don’t really worry about it. It’s not up to me whether someone goes to heaven, so I just leave that up to God and worry about my own life and relationship with Him. (My summary)
By the time this reaches your inbox or mailbox, I feel safe in saying (praying) that it finally feels like fall. The crisp air, the crunch of fallen leaves under our feet, the plans of families soon to gather around the Thanksgiving Day table…truly so much to be thankful for!
This is absolutely right. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what God decides to do - He’s God. It’s not up to us what He decides to do. And yet. Aren’t we also called to judge, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally? I’ve never been called in to jury duty, but I imagine some of you have. It’s part of our civic duty to act as judge for our fellow citizens from time to time to decide their fate. If you find yourself sitting as a member of the jury on a murder trial, for instance, it’s up to you to decide a person’s guilt or innocence. How do you do that? Or, in a less literal sense, we are called simply to hold one another accountable. In Christian community, part of our responsibility to one another is to be in dialogue and relationship, to help one another flourish and not to harm. Doing so requires that we determine our base moral code, and how we guide others (not to mention ourselves) along it. These issues are challenging and sometimes feel impossible. And so, we talk about them. We gather together as a community to learn our scriptural and theological foundations, and we practice applying these to issues that face us today, so that if and when we are face to face with our own ethical dilemma, we have some idea of how to process and move forward. If you think about it like that, coming to programs at church (Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings, Crew, Thirst…) could end up saving a life.
I struggled with the idea of writing a “downer” column and yet, I can’t help but think of the many among us for whom the fun fall things listed above just sound like a distant cliché. The ones who have walked a difficult journey this year and struggle as we enter the holiday season. Maybe a relationship ended unexpectedly and you’re suddenly navigating all this alone. Maybe a loved one has passed and this will be the first year with their seat empty at the family table. Pain and loss can take many forms, and I’ve been a part of that group struggling to make sense of a “new normal.” Thirteen years ago, November marked the birth of my much-longed-for twin boys. But they were born far too soon, and within two weeks they had both left my arms and returned to heaven. I don’t share this for pity, but to say this…please know that you are not alone. We honor your pain and loss. If you trust us in sharing your loss or struggle this season, as a faith community we will walk alongside you and hold space for your pain, even if we don’t know exactly what to do. Being present in someone else’s pain can be an uncomfortable thing: what do I say? Do I just fall back on my Southern roots and drop off a casserole? (Sometimes a great idea!) But what about this, church family? What if we invite the hurting (both among us and outside our doors) to our tables this year? What if we would truly be the hands and feet of Jesus, ministering to those hurting? Listening, and letting them know they don’t have to walk this alone? I encourage you to start looking around within our church and within your neighborhood and ask the Holy Spirit to show you places of pain where your listening ear and willing hands can make a difference. As Jesus said in John’s gospel, “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples - when they see the love you have for each other.” Join me, and let’s go be disciples of Christ!
~Summer Johnson