| “Are you looking for something you can despise in me or love in me? Are you looking for something you can relate to in me or fight against? Are you looking for something ugly or beautiful?” – Julieanne O’Connor We live in troubling times. Though that could be said at just about any time in history, it seems more substantive because we are living in them. The fibers of our culture are being pulled apart. Loss of faith in the structures of our national life. Loss of faith in leadership. Loss of faith in the rule of law. Loss of faith in justice. In integrity. And even each other. We are all struggling with finding a solid footing on what has become constantly shifting sand. Thoughts of doubt slowly creep into our thoughts like a cold mist that seeps through our clothes and into our bones. This causes us to doubt a great many things that had given us a sense of stability, safety, and security. When any society experiences the depth of disruption we are seeing, those who survive such turmoil find something to cling to. To rely on. To put faith in. Each of us must find that stability in our lives. A touchstone that provides a “rock of ages” to which we cling and weather the storm. To me, the first of those bedrock faiths is Jesus Christ. Though I will admit that, at times, I struggle. Not with the belief in his existence, but in his “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love…” of me. You might have read the poem “Footprints in the Sand”. When I think of myself in that poem, I see two sets of footprints walking along the beach. The one set of footprints veers off into the ocean. The other set of footprints turns and seems to stand there for a moment. (You can envision arms crossed, one foot tapping, and head shaking in impatience.) Then, after a while, the second set of footprints walks into the sea and then comes back to the beach, and the first set of footprints appears alongside again, having been lifted from the sea and set back on the beach. I sometimes think that’s the Lord taking care of me. Walking along the beach talking, learning, and then for some reason I veer off into the water where I flounder, and the Lord, looking at me doing it my way, mumbles “Here we go again” and wades in to save me. “overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love…” Another touchstone is my family – my birth family and my chosen family. Both of which I know are God-given. (I know there are those who do not have this in their lives, and wish it were otherwise, praying that you have the love and support of a chosen family.) I know that my birth family’s love is unconditional. I know this because I’ve tested it from time to time. My chosen family is Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church. What I found in RMCC that first Sunday I walked in the doors was a response to the question I had been asking since my teenage years. Is this my faith home? I always found churches whose Christian philosophy seemed to be “We love you, but…” Always judgment, qualifications to be met to receive love. But I heard that the first Sunday in RMCC was the answer I had been searching for: “But…we love you.” And I see that love in action every day, if not just for me but for many others. As we walk the perilous paths through today’s society, there are forces pushing us to doubt and question. Question not just our faith but each other. Survival depends on our reinforcing our faith and embracing our families. We must cling to one another. We remember Romans 12:10 NIV: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” We will have difficulties, quarrels, and disagreements. But know that love will overcome all of these. It is through love that we build each other up. It is through love that we are strengthened. It is through love that we overcome and rise. As Andrew Davidson said in The Gargoyle, “I am more than my scars.” “Live a life that is so saturated by love that no matter how much power someone has or how big their platform might be, they are still incapable of convincing you to hate other human beings.” – Rev. Brian Cremer I sincerely hope that all are planning to participate in RMCC’s Collective Liberation. Our Collective Liberation Retreat will be on January 24 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and will bring us together as our chosen family. As Rev. Candace said in her Mobilizer article on January 7, it will “be a space for building a stronger sense of belonging at Resurrection MCC. We’ll engage with questions of inclusion and equity through storytelling, skill-building, and shared meaning-making.” Let us continue remembering Colossians 3:12-17 ESV: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” I leave you with a final quote, this one from Deb Caletti. “That’s what people do who love you. They put their arms around you and love you when you’re not so lovable.” |
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| Bill Russell,Board of Directors, Treasurer |
| View Last Sunday’s Service HERE |