Words from Rev. Fred November 2021

Like Those who Dream

As I write…
…it was last Sunday that we heard the Psalm Reading from Psalm 126 which begins:
             When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
                     We were like those who dream.
                     Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
                     And our tongue with shouts of joy

…it was also last Sunday that we were hit with some severe weather (at least one of our members sustained significant damage to their house; our campus saw some flooding in one meeting room);

…this coming Sunday we will have our final outdoor worship service of the (Pandemic-influenced) season and celebrate our Fall Fiesta;

…and the Sunday after that, we will move to indoor worship in the sanctuary (while maintaining online worship) during this time of Pandemic which we’re still in.

As you read this, some or all of what is still to come as I write will already have happened and the Pandemic will still be a part of our lives and perhaps other challenges will have come our way.  So, why am I quoting this Psalm, about “restored fortunes,” now?

Because of the twist that the Bible gives to our understanding of time and grammar.  Did you notice that “were.”  Part of the genius of the Bible and part of the genius of our common faith, part of the genius of our life together, and part of the genius of so many (all?) of your lives (I know because you’ve told me, in one way or another) is that we move forward with God and God’s Spirit toward a goal that we already (to some significant degree) have reached.  We know everything’s gonna be alright because we know God is with us on the way.  Will difficulties and challenges continue? Yup. And/but what we know is that God and God’s Holy Spirit will be calling, pushing, pulling, comforting, and guiding us on the way.

As we move into the colder, shorter days of coming Winter, as we move toward the challenging and comforting days of the Advent season (Advent begins in November this year), as we move through the challenging and invigorating (they can be!) days of our Stewardship Season, as we move forward through the challenging and seemingly ever-changing days and weeks and months (let’s hope and pray no more than that) of the Pandemic, as we move through whatever it is that comes our way–we move forward together, with God’s Spirit.  We remain, ever and always, open to the Spirit and to each other. And always, always…

We are “like those who dream.” That’s how God made us. That’s who God made us to be. Mission and vision is what we’re all about, joy is in our DNA. We keep moving and we keep dreaming.

Blessings,