Friends in Faith,
Nearly a month ago, Rowena and I moved into a new apartment here in Sacramento, but we are still settling in. We both spend several hours a day going through our things and deciding what we want to keep and what we are ready to be rid of. It's amazing how our stuff piles up, and we don't realize just how much we've acquired until we are faced with the task of packing it all up and moving it.
This past Saturday we were finally able to take a huge carload of donations to Goodwill. Most donation centers remain closed, but this one was open on Florin and it was busy! We waited in a long line of cars, all eager to get rid of stuff.
In fact, as I check in with friends, family, and you all during these unsettled times, I have learned that so many of us have taken this time of quarantine to do a lot of cleaning, paring down, and reorganizing. Initially, it can be difficult to get rid of possessions and gifts—many of our things have sentimental value and we also wonder if there might still be a reason to use an item that's been sitting around for a long time. But as we begin to say good-bye to those things that we no longer need, we find the experience to be freeing, even cathartic. It feel so good to lighten our loads and have more room to breathe!
In these intense days of pandemic and protest, we have been afforded the opportunity to not only reconsider our possessions but also the other baggage that we may be carrying needlessly. As our routines are upended and our daily duties are in disarray, it's vital for us all to spend some time reflecting about our lives, our communities, our church, our nation, our world.
Are you living a life of purpose and joy, or are you feeling stuck or lost?
Are you longing for a new way of being?
And are we listening to the angry voices that have taken to our streets in protest of racism, violence, and injustice?
What can we do to make our world a more loving, peaceful place? And what about our beloved church—do we find hope and inspiration there, or are the many committee meetings tiring us out?
How is the Holy Spirit speaking in 2020?
How might we unburden ourselves of fear and anxiety, and place our precious time and energy into those things that are meaningful, loving, fun, and life-giving?
The COVID-19 crisis, as well as the Black Lives Matter protests, has forced us to think about these and many other important questions. Though change is always challenging, when we engage these big questions, we often find that we are able to reach a better way of being and we feel a sense of unburdening and a deeper ability to breathe. And that's good for all of us!
I hope in the coming weeks, as a church family, we can continue to offer safe space to reflect about these questions together.
In Christ,
Jesse
UPDATES:
Everyone is invited to our weekly Zoom check-in Wednesday, June 10, at 11 a.m. You can find this link—and all others for our other Zoom meetings and worship services on the News page.
And please join us—and invite your friends, too—for our Sunday morning Facebook Live worship service that begins at 10:30 a.m. Just log onto Facebook and find the live video (which actually starts rolling around 10:20 with music by Natalya) and click "share." Choose "start watch party" and it will show up on your own Facebook stream.
Immediately following the the Facebook Live service, we then have an informal Zoom service that includes a time of faith sharing and prayer.
Stuff!
