Piloting Faith: When someone speaks your name...

A Word for the Day...

To get into the Halloween spirit, we toured the famous Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta this weekend. We learned about some of the fascinating characters buried in that historic place. Each story was inspiring, helping us to better understand our city and the fight for justice that is so deeply embedded in its founding.

At the end of the tour, our guide told us about a Mexican tradition of “The Three Deaths.” He said,

• Our first death is the moment we breathe our last breath.

• Our second death is when our body is buried.

• Our third death is the last time someone speaks our name.

Perhaps this is why All Saints Day, the Church's version of Halloween, has always felt special to me. We gather as a congregation to remember the "saints" of our community who have passed on but who are not forgotten. We speak their names and give thanks for the difference they made in bringing us this far.

One day people will speak our name. When they speak of you, what would you hope they would say?

- Rev. Cameron Trimble, author of Piloting Church: Helping Your Congregation Take Flight

Blessing for the Week

Blessed are they who fall in the mud, who jump with gusto and rip the pants, who skin the elbows, and bruise the ego, for they shall know the sweetness of risk.

Blessed are they who make giant mistakes, whose intentions are good but impact has injured, who know the hot sense of regret and ask for mercy, for their hearts will know the gift of forgiveness.

Blessed are they who have seen a D or an F or C or any letter less than perfect, who are painfully familiar with the red pen and the labels as "less than," for they know the wisdom in the imperfect.

Blessed are they who try again, who dust off, who wash up, who extend the wish for peace, who return to sites of failure, who are dogged in their pursuit, for they will discover the secret to dreams.

Blessed are they who refuse to listen to the naysayers, for their hearts will be houses for hope.

Blessed are they who see beyond the surface of another, for they will be able to delight in the gift of compassion.

Blessed are they who stop running the race to help a fellow traveler, who pick up the fallen, who stop for injured life, for they shall know the kindness of strangers.

Blessed are they who wildly, boldly abandon winning, for they shall know the path of justice.

- A Blessing for Risk-Takers and Failures By Robin Tanner