"One Year Later..."

It’s hard to believe that it has been one year since I arrived at Hope United Methodist Church. This afternoon, on my scavenger hunt for a soda, I walked into Rev. Debra’s office who kindly informed me that Hope has a soda machine in the basement. Even after a year, there is obviously so many wonderful things to discover about Hope Church! I still need to hang pictures on my office walls…some even still need frames. In the midst of art tables and various toys, I still envision putting up colorful wooden letters on the office wall that read “Come and Play.”

While a little time is still required to get my office space feeling like home, there is no doubt that after this year it’s my heart that has moved right in. I truly believe there is no greater blessing than being a part of a church family. Knowing that when you are down there will be friends around to hold your hand and offer a tissue. Likewise, when you are up there are your brothers and sisters, gathering around with balloons and confetti. No matter where you are on life’s journey, it is in the church family that you are never alone. It always takes time though, to feel like you are home in a new place. It requires people who want to get to know you, are willing to take time to listen, and ultimately to take a risk to learn. If we do this love thing right, we will undoubtedly change one another’s lives.

Even if it is our call as the Body of Christ, welcoming new people into our family isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes it is the new person who threatens to change things from the way they were to the way they will be, especially when they are young with radical ideas and lots of energy! But maybe we are ready for change…for big ideas and radical transformation. Maybe we are ready for Jesus to become incarnate in our community through our loving actions to those around us as well as those who are not?

I know it’s true. You didn’t have to let me in. You could have written me off as being “just a kid.” You could have patted me on the head, turned your backs, and rolled your eyes. But you opened your arms and shared your lives and now, well, now we are on a journey toward something new. Transition is scary. Change is unsettling. Yet nothing of Biblical proportions happens without being unsettled, uncomfortable, and unpredictable. One thing is sure, in the midst of all ‘this’ we have one another. As we journey toward a new path with another beginning it is together that we take the first steps. I am not alone. You are not alone.

I thank God for this family and pray that as we move forward it will be in the direction of radical inclusivity….in the direction of Discipleship. That in response to this gift we have been given in the love of one another, we would welcome everyone to experience the same, calling out to the world,

“Come and Play!”