I have a complicated relationship with September this year. Fall is my favourite season and usually I am ready and eager to re-engage with the busyness of ministry and all that a ‘new year’ brings. However, this summer was a little different for me. A good friend received a terminal diagnosis in late spring and much of the early summer and July was spent with her and a group of her friends, caring for her at home and then visiting her in the hospital, and then presiding over a Celebration of Life while she was still alive to hear it. And then after a wonderful week in Newfoundland, my husband and I both got Covid and my energy is still not up to my normal levels.
So, as per normal, I ask, “Where is God in the midst of this?” God calls each one of us into ministry, to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves. In this season, I think for the first time I realized that this statement is not a hierarchy, but a circle and right now I need to have a little bit more care and love for myself than I usually do. So, even with the demands of a ‘new year’ in ministry, I will be doing my best to pace myself and remember that I am a beloved child of God ALL of the time, not just when I am productive.
The Biblical texts over the next few weeks all center on covenants or promises. This week we take a look at Genesis 6:5-22; 8:6-12; 9:8-17; it the story of Noah, the flood, and the promise of the rainbow.The next four weeks in worship brings a focus on The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, specifically the Calls to the Church, always through the lens of our faith stories.