To everything – turn, turn, turn
There is a season – turn, turn, turn
And a time to every purpose under heaven
The song Pete Seeger wrote (based on Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8) and The Byrds made famous in the 1960’s is on my mind-heart-soul.
It’s that time of year, when a familiar refrain I hear in conversations is “Where did the summer go?”
While some of us are hanging on to and relishing every last drop of summer, others are already shifting gears to new school and program years. Teachers are getting ready to welcome students back, fall schedules are being put in place and dates marked on calendars.
Our church staff is getting ready to roll out our new house meetings next month (stay tuned for more details, coming soon!), and our Redeemer Parish Day School is blazing a trail with our first ever 3rd grade class learning and growing on campus.
Seasons are shifting in other ways too. Many of our beloveds continue to depart this earthly life, while others are preparing to go. Couples are getting ready to exchange vows and rings. Parents are inviting friends and family to come celebrate with us in church, to welcome their child as the newest member of “Team Jesus”.
And what about all that continues to shift and change in the world around us, in the wider communities of which we are a part?
Amidst all that is changing, all that is shifting, all that is turning, God Is. “Abide in me,” our Lord whispers, agitates, invites, reminds, “Abide in me.”
At the end of last spring/beginning of the summer, a prayer-poem came to me that I shared with all of you. I’ve changed it, shifted it, turned it, so to speak, and I invite you to pray it with me, in a new way, once again.
Grace and peace, strength and courage, comfort and love to you, as we continue journeying along the way, together.
Grace at the threshold II
as we walk
across the threshold
behind us — what has been
before us — what has yet to be
let us be mindful
of what
we carry with us
like those
who are packing
our bags
to go
on pilgrimage
let us take time
to be still
to reflect
to envision
let us choose with intention
and take special care
that our compass
orients
to the voice
of the One
who calls us forth
to be
to become
to embody
more fully
who we really are
Beloved
Beloved
Beloved
Love,
Cristina