Piloting Faith: It's up to you...
A Word for the Day...
This Sunday I had the privilege of speaking at the 96th-anniversary celebration of the church I co-pastored for a number of years in Atlanta. The church is thriving, and it was a joy to see so many friendly, familiar faces. This congregation is located in an ideal walking neighborhood of young, progressive professionals. It's a perfect match of people and values.
Because of that synergy and the excellent leadership of their current staff team, they are in a position to do big things in the city.
I looked out at the congregation Sunday morning and offered this heartfelt challenge to them:
As you look to your future, know that the kind of change that we seek in the world cannot be made without your leadership. YOU set the agenda for how love and inclusion become real in this community.
Don’t mistake this call as one of flowery language or weak action. Love in the face of injustice is fierce. Hope in the face of despair is rooted in magnificent courage.
Your responsibility begins with your own awakening. It becomes fully expressed in what you create, stand for, and what you allow to exist in the world.
Create love, stand for justice and allow for greater and greater space for peace. And in moments of resistance or despair, remember, God is with us always, hoping for our wholeness.
As we begin this week, maybe this is a good reminder for us all. A more just and generous world begins within you.
- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight
Prayer for the Week
To the One
who laughingly gave us
language
and absconded
with its limits:
I smile
to think of all
your names
I may never know.
May the God who dwells beyond us
and the God who dwells among us
and the God who calls us to dwell together
bless you now
and always.
- Jan Richardson, Sacred Journeys