Included in this Issue:
From the Pastor
From the Pastor
I was driving down Highway 26 this morning (or maybe, more accurately, inching down 26 in heavy traffic), and I was thinking about many projects and tasks that need to be completed today. I was also sorting through some disquieting news and difficult emotions when I noticed the vanity license plate on the car in front of me. It read: “WAT NOW”. And I thought to myself… “Yes! Exactly what I am feeling… What Now?!”
It seems there is always something catching our attention or grabbing our anxiety, isn’t there? If it isn’t too many tasks to complete it is not enough time to rest. If it isn’t complex relationships it is loneliness, if it isn’t the political realm it is the natural world. There is always something which unsettles us and distracts us from our fullest life. There is always some reason to wonder “What Now?”
Cleaning off my desk when I finally arrived at the office, I found this snippet of Psalm 83 from Nan Merrill’s book Psalms for Praying:
Clothe us with the dress of your peace, and the stronghold of your mercy,
that we might bear the power of Love. Let us walk in shoes of integrity,
and don the mantle of Truth. Let us shed the tatters of envy and fear,
the rags of anger and greed, and say, “We shall seek only the Truth,
which will set us free.”
So often we think of love as something soft and comforting, like a warm quilt wrapped around a shivering child. Yet in those moments when we wonder “what now?”, it helps to be reminded that love also has a punch to it, that it demands truth and justice so that it can tear down walls, and help us to get beyond the feelings, the circumstances and the fears that blind us to God’s presence.
The season of Lent begins at the end of this month (Ash Wednesday falls on February 26). During the weeks leading up to Easter our worship theme is “That You May Know… God’s Promises in Christ”. Each Sunday will focus on a different promise – that we may know hope, peace, wholeness, love, freedom and the rest of the story which leads to life. No matter how many “What Now?” moments we face, God is present in each one. Bidden or unbidden, noticed or unnoticed, recognized or unrecognized, attended or ignored, God is present.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, died on March 2nd in 1791. The story is told that when Wesley was at the very end of his life, with nearly all his strength depleted, he looked to the loved ones gathered around and said, “The best of all is, God is with us.” In every circumstance of life and of death, in all the “What Now?!” moments … what better promise could there be for us, than to remember God is with us!
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Donna
The Ciruit Rider is a printed publication that mails out every second Wednesday of the month. The articles above are only a few selected features from the latest issue. Events printed in the Circuit Rider are posted on the Calendar page. You can download a complete digital copy of the latest circuit Rider by clicking here.
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