The Comfort of ReConnecting

You probably noticed in worship, either in person or online, that there were a lot of bells added to the All Saints banners this year! 54 of them representing 54 beautiful and beloved people now departed from us! So many bells were added to the already full banners that we were not able to carry them at most of our worships that day.  I, and some helpful recruits, were blessed to simply shake them during the last two verses of our singing “For All the Saints.”  It was joyful for me, but also deeply emotional, looking up at the names and bells of the departed as the whole community sang triumphantly.

54 bells represent a lot of grief, a lot of hurt, a lot of difficult change and emptiness in one year. No doubt Covid was an escalator. But so was cancer. I added a bell this year, and I was so thankful to grieve surrounded by a worshipping community. For a few holy moments I was again reConnected to the truth that death does not have the last word, that we are never outside God’s love and that there is a place in heaven for all, however we might think of it.

This coming Sunday there are two unique ways to reConnect in the community of faith.

•    The whole Church commemorates this coming week as the last Sunday of our worship year. Once called Christ the King Sunday, today it is often called Reign of Christ Sunday. We remember that we are never without comfort and hope, because a loving God is ‘in charge.’ God is reigning with mercy and grace whether we can feel it or not every moment. Yes, that creates some questions; notably for me, is “if a loving God is in charge, why did my friend die so young, leaving so many who loved her?” No easy or cheap answers to that one. But the Church faithfully proclaims from generation to generation that the world remains under the loving reign of the God who created us all, and who loves us all, forever. That is a reConnection of the deepest kind, and a source of so much hope.

Our Prince of Peace Church is also reConnecting as we prayerfully discern our response to our congregation’s ministry and God's blessing in our lives. In response to what God is doing here, among us and through us, we are making financial commitments for the coming year. Estimate of Giving cards have been mailed to members and are being received in worship this Sunday.

God’s love has been such a faithful blessing this past year in my life, and yours. To be sure, stuff has happened. Ugh. But I am so thankful for the opportunities in this congregation that reConnect me to the knowledge that our loving God is still at work in this world. I’m glad you are part of all that God is doing here, too!

Peace be with you.

Pastor Jim Wilson