Letter from Lindy Feb 6
Hello Pilgrims,
How are you today?
I’m at home penning (ok, typing) this note looking out at a dreary, drizzly Thursday sky. Walking Luna before sunrise had us dodging raindrops, so we efficiently did our morning constitutional, quickly turning back home. My refrain from going into the office is that today is Cancer Center afternoon with my mom, and we are quickly learning that stepping through those doors, one enters a time continuum all its own– no respect for any other schedules or commitments. You learn to just surrender, otherwise your anxiety, impatience and frustration gnaw at your insides because well, there is no release valve. You are where you need to be and so is everyone there. And, as we are learning across the medical system, teams are short-staffed and booked to the hilt. So, I’m learning that to honor the day, the process, the journey as a calling all in itself. Looking around the waiting room, you see that day’s collective cancer tribe (with stories of their own) and your heart reminds you are not alone.
I’ve come to believe our vocation is not a singular experience, even if that has been the parlance of pastoral ministry. Rather, I now experience our calling(s) as a fractal–a never ending pattern, infinitely complex that is self-similar across different scales. Our callings emerge as complex systems and patterns arise out of a multiplicity of relatively simple interactions, so advocates Adrienne Maree Brown in her facilitation of communal social justice. She posits that the work begins with forming a collective identity. Brown was a conversation partner last quarter as I continue to journey through my denomination’s Living Justice Practicum. Not deeply attuned to last fall’s discussion, I am playing catch up, but deeply intrigued by her principles for they seem to mirror Jesus’ approach to ministry as we will see this Sunday ;)
It is also the work before the church in 2022 as our collective identity has been tattered and frayed at the edges (and perhaps beyond) these past two years. We need to re-member being church. Interested in what you think about applying Brown’s principles to our journey.
Ponder:
Small is good, small is all. (The large is a reflection of the small.)
Change is constant. (Be like water.)
There is always enough time for the right work.
There is a conversation in the room that only these people at this moment can have. Find it.
Never a failure, always a lesson.
Trust the People. (If you trust the people, they become trustworthy.)
Move at the speed of trust. Focus on critical connections more than critical mass – build the resilience by building the relationships.
Less prep, more presence.
What you pay attention to grows.
Feels like the Jesus I follow.
with curiosity,
Pastor Lindy (she/her)whypronouns matter
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