Waiting. Waiting is not always an easy thing to do. Waiting can be hard. Both seasons of Advent and Lent are about waiting. This season of waiting seems stuck on pause as in, are we not still in Lent 2020. And Advent seems to still be with us as well. Waiting.
Each year we see Christmas cards with the words “peace, comfort and joy”. This phrase is a constant and welcome phrase each year. This year those words are part of the title, our theme for Chapter/Convocation. The full title is “Peace, Comfort and Joy: Caring for Our Community”. These words I hope bring us together at a time when we and so many others desire to just be together after a long year plus of not being together. We as a community have not been in person since June 2019. Yes some gathered in small groups before the world shut down. and yes we have been on Zoom many times. We have been waiting to be physically together for more than a year. We have been on a pause, just waiting.
When we do gather what will that be like? I suspect we will be filled with joy. The waiting will be over. And then what? Life in community will continue to happen. At Chapter/Convocation we will pray together, laugh together, worship together, talk with each other, take walks and eat meals together. My hope is also that we will care for one another.
How do we care for our community? Yes as the previous two reflections have stated we have at times experienced hurt/harm, something that happens in community. And yet we experienced hurt/harm in our families, at work, with friends, in our local faith congregations and our neighborhoods. We carry these hurts/harm with us everywhere we go. This past year we have experienced the suffering that COVID has brought to us. Our families and friends have suffered other tough situations. Our local communities have experienced some violence or natural disasters. And we carry these with us. They shape the way we think, express our feelings, how we make decisions. So yes we bring these to our community and we take our experiences back home with us as well. We can learn to handle and address these hurts/harm. There are many tools in the tool box.
Again I ask the question how do we care for one another in our community? Recently I asked that question of a group of people. A response I received was something very simple and very profound. This person said “I feel cared for when others call me by name”. Many of us believe that our names are important. Just the simple act of calling someone by their name sends a strong message of care, acceptance and of being affirmed.
Creating a culture of caring in our community is the single most loving act we can do for one another. When we have a space where we can be honest with each other, where we can express our feelings and thoughts and be accepted and where we can cry or laugh then we can reduce hurt/harm. A space where love wins.
I am coming to Chapter/Convocation to experience the peace that is in the space we create sitting by the fire pit with a fire (I know it is in June), or at a picnic table sharing a meal. I am longing to receive and to give comfort to my siblings. This may come from long talks late into the evening or early in the mornings with coffee or thru support and encouragement on the ropes course (PRC will have a ropes course). I hope we all experience the joy of being together for a few days. Joy I hope fills us up and can carry us further on the journey. My hope is that we become the peace makers we are called to be both in this community and in the world we live in. The care we give to one another in this community is also the care we share with the world we live in. And so I ask, what can we do to show care for one another in the upcoming days?
The waiting is almost over.
Peace, comfort and joy to each of you in 2021.