I don’t have much in me this week to write about. I have been careening from one event and meeting to another without much time to think in between.
I thought things might calm down a bit after Easter … but it actually seems that things are even busier as things that were bumped during Lent have risen to the top. Below are some images of the four clergy in our North West End Cluster at our Holy Week collaborative services - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter sunrise.
That’s the nature of this faith community. It is a busy place. And, even though it can be exhausting, it is also energizing. It is a paradox. I am at the same time exhausted and energized.
I have been reading Brene Brown’s latest book Strong Ground with several clergy friends these past few months. (https://brenebrown.com/book/strong-ground/ )
Her chapter on paradox was particularly relevant for me at this time, and I have spent a lot of time thinking about it this week. She explains it in the video below. If you have 13 minutes, it is well worth a watch … Brown explains the basic premise of her latest book, (subtitled The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit) and talks about paradox … the skill of holding seemingly contradictory ideas at the same time.
https://youtu.be/5ZcHQUH32hg?si=mIDlf1chVfKyeL7I
In the mean time … I am trying to hold the anxiety that some members have openly expressed in the past few weeks about our finances (shared at the AGM on March 22) in my heart, and at the same time, I am also energized by some of the activities going on in our faith community, represented by pictures that Dana has posted on social media in the past month.
I see the Spirit moving so clearly in these moments. And today, I am, in addition to preparing for the morning worship service tomorrow, I am also preparing a very mini reflection for the worship service for an HRM youth event for upwards of 45 youth and their leaders who will gather at Bethany tomorrow evening. Dana and Ann have, with several of our youth, attended these gatherings at other churches over the winter, and it is time for us to host!
There are other events coming up … in the next two weeks, representatives from our Social Justice Working Group and its previous configuration the Affirming Committee have been invited by two of our cluster churches to tell our affirming story from the past several years.
As we look ahead there are teams of folks working on a Camp Kidston Bean Supper fundraiser on April 25, Shawn and many others are rehearsing for the Cabaret on April 29th, and Louisa and her team are very busy as they prepare for the Springtide Sale May 2,
Tomorrow, we will explore the story from Luke 24 about the Emmaus Road, and you will hear that Jesus meets us where we are. I will look for him somewhere in the middle between exhausted and energized.
Blessings folks … from the middle.
Martha