Dearly Beloved,
If you have a little extra time and are free tomorrow between 11:00 am and 12 noon, come join myself and Nicoletta taking down our Christmas decorations -- many hands make light work!
Thank you again to everyone in the congregation on behalf of the whole staff for your very generous Love Offering, for your cards and gifts and prayers this holiday season. And thank you to everyone who made Christmas Eve, the Sunday after Christmas and this past Epiphany Sunday beautiful -- it was such a joyful Christmas season for me in our church.
This coming Sunday, we will move into our Epiphany season worship. As I look at the state of our country and world, I find myself longing for opportunities to show up fully, honestly, and with generosity and love. It seems to be a rarer and rarer thing to see on that national level and even in our encounters with neighbors, strangers, friends and family members, it seems that we are all too quick to throw up our hands or to simply clam up and keep quiet than to engage deeply, vulnerably, and honestly. I have been thinking about the Covenant for Cultivating Beloved Community that we adopted at our 2025 Congregational Meeting and the ways in which it can guide us not only in how we want to be with each other, but in how we want to be in general, out in the world, with everyone.
Scripture and guidance from the prophets, from Jesus, and from Paul ground our congregation's covenant, a reminder that God's people have long reflected on and sought guidance for how to be in right relationship. During this Epiphany season, we'll use our covenant to shine a light on how we commit to be in relationship with one another in this congregation and how we feel called to relate to others more generally. This coming Sunday we'll hear this text from Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ in all its richness find a home in you; teach each other, [admonish and] advise each other in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Parent through him.
Over the Epiphany season, we will reflect on what it means to:
- acknowledge our shared humanity and that mistakes are inherent to our God-given nature;
- recognize conflict is an opportunity to learn and grow;
- commit to assuming the best of others and to learning and growing with grace for myself and others;
- commit to the health of our community and the safety that enables us to live out the extravagant welcome of Christ; and
- embrace mutual accountability as part of this covenant. I understand that when I make mistakes, others will invite me to take responsibility for the impacts of my actions. We will work together to cultivate repair and reconciliation.
I'm so grateful to get to walk this road with you. And to share in faith and love not just with this community but with our fearful world in which people are so desperate for deep connection, belonging, and love.
With peace and love,
Thandiwe
