Faith in the Cracks

I am not going to lie, I am glad the election is over. No more political ads. The country continues to be divided. I wonder what it looks like to lean into our faith as we vote. To put self aside for a bit and look at what is in the best interest for the common good? Which candidate brings compassion for the vulnerable? Which candidate looks to make the world a more just place? No matter who you vote for - how might faith lead in our decisions about leaders?

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What if abundance is not about accumulating as much as possible, but rather an invitation to use all of the resources entrusted to us to share with others? What if abundance is not just about us, but is also about everyone around us? Our culture pushes a myth that the one with the most toys wins, but I really thing the one who has invested in themselves and in others to build a community is actually the winner. 

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In the fall, the light begins to fade. It gets darker earlier and stays darker longer. Sometimes that can reveal darker areas within us. We can get stuck in grief and loneliness. Instead of trying to shine bright lights all the time to avoid the darker moments, maybe we need to take a cue from nature and just sit with the darkness a bit. Don't worry about fixing everything or having all the answers. Listen in the darkness for what needs to be heard. 

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I love Autumn and watching the leaves change color. I also think we can learn from nature. In the fall, the leaves fall. Some are already on the ground, others are turning color and will fall later. yet when the leaves fall, the tree is still the tree - just in a different season. New leaves will sprout in the spring.  Perhaps we need to not hold on so tight to ideas, relationships, or knowing what is next. How can we embrace the middle places where we leave old things behind even when we do not fully know what is next? 

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In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, he tells the people that the God who began a good work in you will see it through to completion. God starts on us and there is always room for us to grow in our faith and within ourselves. We are always a work in progress and we should celebrate growth and not wait until we are finished. 

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As we have talked about the creative process, it is important to dream, to hover, to risk, to listen, and to re-integrate. It is also important to rest. Not like sleep or vacation, but stillness. Actually stopping. Which our society is not very good at, at least I know that I am not. What happens when we let go of the need to produce and control and let God be God. 

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This is the 3rd in a series Drawn In. A book by Troy Bronsink and a Sermon Series by Dr. Marcia McFee of Worship Design Studio. 

How often do we hear things? How often do we really listen? We can hear lots of things, many that our brain filters out. But what happens when we listen? When we hear all of what someone is saying without formulating a response while they are still talking? What happens when we listen? Do we hear a different perspective Do we learn something new? Do we realize that we have more in common with someone than we first thought? 

That leads to re-integration. A reminder that nothing exists in isolation. My actions effect others as their actions effect me. We are stronger because we are different. Unity and uniformity are not the same thing and we need the variety of gifts that we encounter and are indeed better together. 

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Continuing on with Drawn In based on a book by Troy Bronsink and a Worship Design Studio series by Dr. Marcia McFee after dreaming comes hover and risk. 
Sometimes we are called to wait. To hover. To pay attention. Then once we have stopped for a bit we do need to move, to risk even if we don't know the whole picture. 

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Dreaming of a world that hasn't come about is very much part of the creation story. God saw possibility and created out of the void. How might we imagine how things could be different than they are and work toward them. It is not unlike MLK Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" Speech. King never saw his dream come to its fullness, but he took faithful steps toward it and the work continues. What might you dream of and work for? Where is God still creating?

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Say the word church and many people think of worship spaces, preaching, and music. If you are Presbyterian like me - potlucks and casseroles too. But the church has a side rarely talked about or seen. Budgets, Building, staff, committees and even coffee hour. All of them tell the story of a gathering of people who are forming into a community,

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