Dear Friends,
This past Sunday we celebrated 165 years. We asked three people to share with the congregation what they hoped to see in the next 165 years. What we heard was amazing!
Bridget Fortna said she was hoping for a Koala farm at the church! I love the playfulness and the imagination in this congregation!
Darren De Reuck went next and said his hope was the congregation would live with courage into the next 165 years. Yes, yes, yes! To have lived through the previous 165 years of struggle, Civil War, 2 pandemics, 2 world wars, deep division and anger, civil rights and so much more, has taken courage and for another 165 years to live with courage is just the right medicine!
Chris Grooms, a relatively new person to our congregation, talked about sleeping on the streets of New York City, and one very cold night sleeping over a grate on the sidewalk. He said, “the heat coming up through the grate, was the breath of God to me.” He went on to say, “First Church has been the breath of God to me, and I hope it will be the breath of God to many others through the next 165 years.” What a stunningly beautiful image.
These three things “koalas, courage and the breath of God” signify to me the imagination, heart and soul of this congregation. These are our spiritual DNA. Let’s continue to nurture them in old and new ways!
Thank you for the privilege of sharing this journey with you.
Keep tellin’ the Story,
Mike
Courage, imagination, and the breath of God are evident in this sung prayer (Ploughshare Prayer by Spencer LaJoye)