Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up I am reborn.
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Our Soul Matters them for the month of April is Emergence. It’s a good theme for us to consider as we emerge into warmer days. I already hear the voices of migrating birds as they return with the spring. It feels good to witness the world being born again. While we are not a people who speak about being reborn into salvation, I do think we are born again and again into our own lives. Every morning is an opportunity to start again – to write a page in another chapter of our lives. And while we are each responsible for our own lives, this thing called life is really a group project. I see how we do this together at Starr King UU Fellowship. We compare notes on living. We hold one another as we experience sorrow. We laugh at the absurdity of our lives (because sometimes life is simply absurd). And, honestly, we show up. I see something beautiful when I witness how we worship, work for justice, and play together.
If you are someone who dances on the edges of this community, not quite sure how to emerge into a little more involvement, I encourage you stretch yourself to engage in just one small way this month. It might be the commitment to talk to one new person on a Sunday morning. It might be contacting a committee chair to volunteer to serve on a committee or getting involved in justice work. It might be as simple as committing to participate in an activity that you’ve not done before. Community is about relationship and it is in relationship and engagement that we build the beloved community we so long for.
We live in challenging times, but looking back at the past month I found myself feeling the joy of resistance at the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. The joy of social justice work doesn’t come easily to me, but it was the 30 Starr King Fellowship members who were present with me that made my joy real. This event was about relationship and engagement and I was honored to be in such good company.
This coming month includes opportunity for us to simply enjoy each other’s company. The auction, the piano dedication, and the April Fools’ service offer us varied ways of happily
engaging. I’m looking forward to spending some time simply having fun!
In faith and love,
Rev. Linda
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