Piloting Faith: This week it really hit home

A Word for the Day...

I've been checking in with people this week. We have been in the "new normal" long enough that the shock is wearing off and the grief is setting in. My friend and colleague, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis said it well in her weekly message to her people at Middle Collegiate Church:

"This week, I broke down and wept. Trauma suddenly fell upon me like a weight, crushing and insistent. The anguish I'm feeling isn't new, but it's a reminder that grief is never linear; it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing, sneaking up when we least expect. And I know I am not alone. The cumulative effects of isolation and prolonged, relentless tragedy echo through digital space. We desperately need human connection; a visit with family, a party with friends, a hug. But still loneliness stretches onward, without an end to cling to.

In this moment, I am reminded that hope is not the absence of sorrow, but the willingness to believe in a love that can still overcome it. As Cornel West said in a beautiful radio appearance this week, "I'm a blues man. The blues man takes despair and transfigures it into song, life, deed, action...Hope is as much a verb as a virtue." So-even amid my own grief and our collective trauma--I believe God is with us. She is present in love we share over Zoom, in the ways this congregation is rising to make sure that people are fed and cared for. She whispers, "soon and very soon," our tears will find relief. And I know that this love is what will sustain us."

We all experience this liminal space in different ways with varying patterns, with grief as the undercurrent of our shared life. In the midst of the unknowing, I give thanks to colleagues with beautiful words and the courage to be vulnerable. I give thanks for you, who are finding your way through this time with endless creativity and encouragement to others. Our best days are ahead, friends. Keep the faith.

We are in this together,

Rev. Cameron Trimble
Author of 60 Days of Faith: A Devotional

Prayer for the Week

God of Life,
you have promised to be with us every day,
also in difficult days, like in times like these.
Give us
clarity in our minds,
strength in our work and discernment,
rest as we sleep,
peace in our minds.
Be with those
who need help
more than we do ourselves
help us to see what we can offer
from your love.

Amen.

- General Secretary of the World Council of Churches

Conversations for Wisdom Seekers in a Time of Global Awakening, beginning May 17