- Afternoon Tea on February 14th at 3pm (please RSVP by February 8th or sooner–we are filling up)
- Tentative: Corned Beef Supper on March 14th (keep your eyes peeled for details)
- We are beginning our collections for Fuel Assistance for local families in need
- SOUPer Bowl Sunday Collections continue!
- Death Cafe February 28th at 4pm (we meet monthly)
- Discussion Circle is the Last Sunday after Church
- You, Me, and We: Walking Together with Love March 29th after Church
Visit our Calendar of Events to explore our upcoming dates and times
Our Sunday Reflection is recorded and can be found HERE (posts each Sunday late morning or early afternoon).
This time is sometimes called the Epiphany Season, but it is also the beginning of ordinary times. After Advent (the season of Waiting), after Christmas (the season of Light and Love), before Lent (the season of Prayer), before Easter (the season of Renewal) and Pentecost. Then Ordinary times return again until Thanksgiving and Advent.
Most of our lives are spent in the ordinary moments and the ordinary times. Sometimes, it is our most challenging work. How to live in the day to day? How to Follow in the every day ordinary? How to Live Peace (peace be with you and in you) in our daily lives? Shalom calls us to “live peace”.
In the ordinary times, it can be easy to simply live with a sense of relief that “things are not worse” and go about our ordinary business. We often do this by tiptoeing around and waiting for the next shoe to drop or hoping to escape the next crisis. It’s often when we hunker down and stay close to home. We tend to seek the solace of company when things are not-ordinary, during those times that we need-need others.
There is nothing wrong with quietly living our lives, in fact quietly living our lives is blessed/happy. But, we can do more with this ordinary time. We can use it to not hide from what might come (or what is), but to build our resilience for those extraordinary times. Whether the extraordinary times are “good” or “bad”, they come with stress. Yes, there is “good” stress, as well as that “bad” stress we all know too well. Both…stressful. Both require some good resilience.
It’s like preparing for a storm. We can hunker down, hide, and pretend it won’t come. Or, as in those places unused to winter storms, get out and buy shovels, ice melt, and hand warmers. We New Englanders probably already have these things. We do some of the “alone” preparation things—making sure that we and ours are ready for the storm. Then we support one another. We help shovel, we help others when they get stuck in the snow bank, and we check in on those we’re worried will have a harder time navigating the storm.
Resilience takes a bit of balancing of that staying home and staying in (preparing ourselves), and also being a part of community (preparing as a group). We build resilience with one another. As individuals and as a group. It’s like the offering plate. We can do a certain amount alone, but when we pool our resources we can offer and do so much more!
How do we build resilience when things are going well (or not)? We choose Joy and even Happiness. Happy are the ordinary (the meek, the humble, the sad, the peaceful, etc.). Happy orients us toward Love and Grace. This is not pretending that everything is ok as if more “bad” will notice us and swoop in if we’re not careful. But to embrace when “good” and happily “ordinary” is gracing our lives, because this is when we can most effectively be there for others.
Life is always in tension. We sometimes are the ones in need of the support and, at other times, we are the ones strong enough to give support. It’s a little like balancing scales…you know those really sensitive ones that seem to tip and topple so easily. It’s okay to be “doing well”. When we are well rested and at peace, we are better able to step in and be helpful. This is why we need these places to come together as community in peace and quiet…to restore our hearts and souls.
Another support for building resilience to “weather the storm” is to be honest about it. To not pretend. To be honest with where we are and how we’re feeling (we’re very not so good at “feelings”). Are things…not good? Are we…stressed? How are we stressed? What are the stressors and how is that impacting us? What are the worse case scenarios? One of the things that prophets do is to see things honestly. They move through the chaos and the clutter to see clearly what is real and what is true. Not what is good, not what they’d like to see, but what is real and what is true. They see, and speak of, what is not so good, honestly, so that we’re not…pretending and ignoring. We cannot change anything if we refuse to see it.
Embrace the Good when things are good and happy.
Be honest when things are good…and be honest when things are ugly and hard and messy.
These are foundation stones to building resilience.
Then, we have mirrors. Mirrors help us build resilience.
Have you noticed that in stories there is often a moment when the character looks into a mirror (or a pool of water) and sees themselves? Yes, this is usually a narrative technique, but it’s also more than just that. Sometimes the character sees what they expect and sometimes they see themselves in a new way. They notice change or the unexpected or see themselves as others might see them. We “mirror” one another. Our “mirrors” are also found our faith.
One mirror is that more often than not what most irritates us in others is something that reflects in ourselves. What irritates us often tells us something about ourselves. This is why honesty came first—seeing clearly and not turning away–like the prophets, stay with it, even if it’s uncomfortable. This is the first step toward change…not to be someone different or “better”, but to be who we really are, because who we really are is not the irritating and irritated version of ourselves (although God loves that part of us too).
We also see in others what we’d like to emulate. The parts of ourselves that we might shine up and nurture. If the things in others that irritate us tell us things we don’t like so much in ourselves, then perhaps the things we adore in others are things we love about ourselves (our potential). That’s a lovely thought. PAUSE.
We have mirror neurons and atoms that connect us. We are designed in God’s image; we are also designed to be in company with one another. We are reflections of God and one another–in every face is the face of God. In every heart, is the heart of God. One of the most powerful practices is to see the face of Jesus in everyone we meet–it’s hard to hate or judge or be angry in the face of that deepest compassion. We are designed to reflect. When we are in good company, we feel good, we mirror that good together. When we are sad, we reflect that in each other and we support one another through the sadness and grief. We are meant to be called together. We are meant to mirror one another.
Together, we are called. We help one another to stay on the path of Love. We help to keep one another from being led astray or getting lost. Or falling. Or failing. We lift each other up. Together, we learn to see differently from our own way of thinking. We grow and become resilient…as individuals and as community.
With Joy and Honesty. And Love.
We lift up rugs and shine lights in our dark corners when we connect through joy, honesty, and our mirrors with and for one another. We see where we might cleanse or reorient toward what matters most. And, in case you lost sight of it, what matters most is love. Loving one another.
We’re not here to change the world by ourselves. We are here to be part of an Ecosystem of Good People on all the different side roads and trails on the same great path. When we come together, like the offering plate, we become more. We are called together to make little ripples, not just in the here and now, but to continue the ripples that came before us and to be a part of creating ripples to come after us. All these ripples that together become bigger ripples, that trickle and continue toward the ocean of change and love and goodness. That lead back to Grace and Love…it’s always, always Love. Always.
Community Church of North Orange & Tully 