Dear Friends,
Every year there is a “word of the year” celebrated – usually some new term, helping me see something I may not have noticed before.
At the Adult Education Forum after worship, our TIR, Corwin Davis introduced a new term to me: Quare. He talked about how feminism and womanism are related. Feminism being a word used primarily with white women and womanism being applied to black women’s liberation thought. He introduced us to the idea of “queer” versus “quare” – the same idea at work, with quare being a black queer liberation perspective.
The word of the year (though it doesn’t seem like much of a “word” to me) for 2023 was “AI.”
Our culture is always changing, sometimes ever so slightly; sometimes more dramatically. Poets and lyricists are all the time teaching us by the use of words helping us to see the world differently.
There can be moments when common words take on more powerful meaning because of the moment. I hear people talking about hope in either despairing or encouraging ways over the last couple of weeks.
As we are planning worship, particularly for Advent, I am thinking a lot about what does peace or hope or even, love mean in this moment? They take on more power and more intention. We can’t use them as easily or cavalierly, but thinking – what does the word mean with real power and intention with it in this moment. What do any of those words mean aimed at an enemy, a friend, a stranger?
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Many thanks to Jean Hodges for providing this piece by an actress I remember from my childhood singing a beautiful song about “Hope.”