I didn’t sleep well Saturday night. I kept waking up with the wind whistling around our house. It seemed to sweep those night time spaces bare, and even though I was cosy under blankets, it felt exposed. When I woke up Sunday morning, one of my colleagues sent a text saying he was cancelling their service, and I briefly considered doing the same – but I knew that not everyone would get a message, and I couldn’t imagine how terrible it would be to trek through ice, snow, and wind only to find the church closed. So I made the long trip to the church by transit (watching as we passed someone out for a jog), and worked on coordinating messages encouraging people to stay home safe, and to cancel different things that would have been happening.
And then people arrived, pitched in, joined in work and worship. It was a wonderful time. Several people cleared off steps and put down de-icer to make it safer for those arriving and leaving. One person made coffee and tea, so that we could sip on something warm during the service. Someone else pulled out cookies. We replaced the choir anthems and time with the children with a hymn sing, by request, and paired my brief reflections with time for small group discussion rather than a sermon. And then, we all had the opportunity to share our prayers in the lighting of candles, and the candle light flickered with the warmth of our thoughts, and our hearts. There were 40 of us all together – staff, choir, children, youth, adults… And after the service many people lingered, talking together before venturing out into the wind once again. I was glad that so many of you made the decision to stay safely at home on such a windswept and unwelcoming day, and I am thankful for those who came to the church and by your presence made a welcoming space in the midst of it all.
For everyone who stayed safely at home, I wanted to leave you with one of our questions for reflection. I invite you to take some time and sit with this:
What do you hunger for?
And then, for everyone, the follow up questions: How is that hunger being fed? What do you need to feed that hunger? Let’s talk about it. Maybe over a meal?
Blessings, Rev. Emily Gordon
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