Breakage

I go down to the edge of the sea. 
How everything shines in the morning light! 
The cusp of the whelk, 
the broken cupboard of the clam, 
the opened, blue mussels, 
moon snails, pale pink and barnacle scarred— 
and nothing at all whole or shut, but tattered, split, 
dropped by the gulls onto the gray rocks and all the moisture gone. 
It’s like a schoolhouse 
of little words, 
thousands of words. 
First you figure out what each one means by itself, 
the jingle, the periwinkle, the scallop 
       full of moonlight.

Then you begin, slowly, to read the whole story.

+ Mary Oliver

Oh my.  We inhabit a “schoolhouse of little words”.

This world we live in these days is a veritable wonderment of shiny and shattered things.

How then shall we live?

Rather than look away from the broken, we are called to behold the things that are tattered and split.  It is deeply soul-grounded work, this willingness to see.

Being present to the brokenness is the way of Jesus.

And.

There is shine.  There is shine to lend us the courage to take the shards of the broken and hear through them the whole story of God’s vision for creation.

At our church, we are seeking to honestly name the places of brokenness in creation:  Racism, the unveiling of failed systems made stark by the pandemic, and the divisive nature of our public discourse, to name a few.

To the sharp edges of the broken we bring the power and shine of the message of Jesus.  We are called to proclaim and work for relief for all held captive by oppressive systems.  We are called to bring good news to the exhausted of spirit and those overcome by despair.

We are called to shine the light of hope.  Not because we won’t look at shatter, but because we believe that the Holy gives us the power to live the whole story Jesus came to teach.

Are you hungry to join with others to fully enter the story?

Join us.  Our small groups are leaning into “Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose” by community organizer/pastors Lewis, Williams and Baker.  Join us for video worship or nightly prayer or through parking lot worship or Wednesday night learning and music nights or any way you can reach your heart to another to create strength and meaning for the living of these days.

In this pandemic reality, hearts and intentions powerfully transcend geography.

Join in the story.