Not Alone

This is my first blog of the new year. Kind of slow, I know, but it has been busy. The first full week of 2011, I officiated at two funerals, one for a ninety-seven year old woman and one for an eighty-seven year old woman. There was a lot of life there to celebrate.
On to the topic at hand.
I don’t know when I first encountered the Statement of Faith of The United Church of Canada. In seminary I think. When I did, I appreciated it deeply, and still do. The phrases are succinct and powerful and they really present a statement of faith. The ending lines come to me from time to time. A well of faith bubbling up. The whispering wind of the Spirit. They have been coming back to me in recent days.

In life, in death, in life beyond death,
God is with us.
We are not alone.
Thanks be to God.

Like many of you, I was horrified by the violence in Tucson over the weekend. The shooting of a congress woman, the death of a nine year old, a gun in the hands of someone whose thought processes were deranged. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
Over the weekend outside the small town of Cromwell (about 40 miles from Duluth), population about 200, two people were murdered. No suspects are currently in custody. Just the day before our church music director had purchased meat for our staff holiday party from the woman who was killed. The woman worked as a meat cutter at a local meat market. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
I have had a number of challenging pastoral conversations since the new year began – conversations where there has been hurt, anger, sadness, anxiety, concern about change, concern about relationships, concern about surgery. This in addition to the two families grieving. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God.
God is with us. We are not alone. Perhaps this God with us is whispering encouragement for us to be a kinder, gentler people. Perhaps this God with us is whispering encouragement for us to work together with God to create a kinder, gentler world.

With Faith and With Feathers,

David