A Letter from Lindy

Hello Pilgrims,

At CAN’s clergy caucus this week, our theological reflector invited us to explore what triggers human beings to respond to situations with heroism.

You know, a passer-by running into a burning building to save someone. A random person inserting themselves into a dangerous situation to protect a stranger. My colleague had attended a lecture this summer by a neuro-scientist who studies the brains of these specific individuals and discovered not only do they have larger amygdalas (that little part of the brain where we experience emotions) than the rest of us, but also that these heroic folks experience fear–just like the rest of us. Yet for them, fear doesn’t paralyze, it moves them beyond it to respond with surprising acts of bravery, often without even thinking about what they were doing.

The neuro-scientist went on to explain that human beings can grow their amygdala, thus creating the capacity for us all to become heroes. What was surprising was learning which emotions build our capacity to do so. It's not what you’d think. The two emotions humanity can practice to enlarge our amygdalas are gratitude and awe. As my colleague listened, her companion (another pastor) leaned over and whispered, “Gratitude and Awe. That’s the work of the church!” And so it is.

As much as Felix and I wanted to help us shake our collective depression by incorporating our Attitude of Gratitude each Sunday, who knew we were also building Pilgrim’s super-hero capacity?!

And super-heroes we celebrate two-fold this Sunday at our bi-annual congregational meeting. The Pilgrims who have said yes to the call to serve and the Pilgrims who have faithfully served, their tenure of leadership now concluded. It is good practice to thank these wonderful out-going leaders as we offer them a fallow season to renew and replenish. Our fearless moderator, Ami Nagle, has named those who will be stepping away, offering our collective gratitude for all of the ways they have shared their gifts for the good of beloved community. We will do so in person on Sunday, commissioning them with blessing.

As we celebrate these leaders at the end of worship, I wonder if we can feel the collective growth of our brains as we practice gratitude together.

Heroes in the making.

Pastor Lindy (she/her) why pronouns matter

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