It Takes a Village

It was such a joy to see so many faces- familiar and new, young and old- in the pews this past Sunday!  It felt a bit like the “before times”, didn’t it?  We also had a group of about 28 people tuning in on Zoom and were so glad to have your presence as well. Please continue to let us know how we are doing; the Board wants your feedback about the ways we are gathering, what will work for you in terms of in-person and online participation, as well as communal precautions.

It was also a joy for me to read all the notes that people wrote about “what we bring” which I’ll be sharing this Sunday. Our communion water has a lot of symbolic power in it! One of its first uses will be to bless those going on the Hike for Hope on September 25^th.

Many of us may have refined our skills in alone-time over the past years, but we humans need community.  A sense of belonging is so important to our inner sense of stability, security and purpose. Our kids and youth thrive when they get to participate in worship and service projects and rites of passage, when they have multiple wonderful role models, when they know they can be 100% themselves without the social pressures of school, and when they grow up with peers who don’t disappear when the soccer season ends or they graduate from middle school. (And yes, all that goes for adults, too!)

We’re still looking for folks to spend some Sundays with our youngest ones; sign up online, email Kerry Anne, or stop by the RE table at coffee hour. It takes a village, and our village is an awesome one!  In our village, we embrace our human imperfections, our human agency, our own best selves and each other. To put it in theistic terms, North Parish is a great reminder that “God don’t make no junk!” Each one of us is a miracle, and together we can move mountains.

Yours with holy water and enough spirit to raise holy hell,
Rev. Lee