Dear Friends,
We are in the wake of an historic inauguration, a source of celebration for many as a glass ceiling in both gender and race was shattered. In the midst of a day of beautiful, moving music and speeches was a young female poet who rose to the occasion as the youngest poet at an inauguration. Amanda Gorman spoke with hope and vision, sharing, “We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one… There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it—if only we’re brave enough to be it.” She gave us a call to action in these words that seeks for all of us to become a light in this dark world, to be hope as we grieve 400,000 lives lost to Covid-19 and a change in leadership that has incited violence and bloodshed in a divided and broken nation. The light needs to be turned on!
Admittedly, we cannot all run for office or be chosen to speak poetic words on a national stage, but we can all be an inspiration and a beacon of good news to those around us. In our book club book, “Love Is the Way” by Bishop Michael Curry we are called to embody love, defined as choosing to be selfless instead of selfish, putting the other before our self. In such, our words and action can be healing. Our love for all neighbors can be life giving. Our faith can be the spark that helps to start a new revolution of reconciliation, restoration and repair. I for one am ready for a change from broken to beautiful and from destruction to rebuilding and I am willing to be a part of that change.
On Wednesday, February 17 we will begin our Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday, as a day of literally wearing our humanity on our foreheads through crosses of ash, admitting that we are imperfect and prone to sin. It is a day to acknowledge where we have fallen short and to begin the journey towards Easter utilizing fasting, self-denial and penitence to be able to wash ourselves of the ash and receive the grace that comes in the empty tomb of Easter morning. Let us not choose to sit in the ashes of despair, but like the great Phoenix, let us rise from the ashes with hope and new life.
Blessings, Pastor Stacy