In Toni Morrison’s book Sula, two young girls grow up together, closely sharing the drama and joy of childhood. Their lives change and they do not see each other for many years. Morrison describes what the loss of that friendship looked like to one of the women.
"There was something just to the right of her, in the air, just out of view. She could not see it, but she knew exactly what it looked like. A gray ball hovering just there. Just there. To the right."
Change can be joyous or tragic, wanted or resisted. But, no matter what, it carries with it that “gray ball” that hovers just outside our consciousness reminding us that we are rooted in something that goes with us forward into the change.
It is that way with individuals and with churches. Our response to change depends upon our willingness to embrace the mystery of what might happen as a consequence of the change.
UNMC is changing. What we need to keep in mind is that everyone who comes here and participates in any of UNMC’s ministries is here because s/he has a need to be here. And that need is as varied as the individuals.
The need can be described metaphorically. One of my seminary professors said,
"We are born with a God-shaped hole in our soul, and it has to be filled. Of course, God wants us to fill it with God’s love, but we have free will and can fill it with whatever we want."
When we walk through the doors we are seeking to fill our God-shaped holes. It could be God in community, God in friendship, God in service, God in spirit, God in prayer, God in music, or God in any number of ways.
As more and more of us come seeking to fill our God-shaped holes, we need to embrace the resulting changes as a calling. A calling to live out God’s love.
We need to affirm the gray ball hovering just outside our consciousness reminding us that we are rooted in something meaningful. And, we need to embrace, in love, all the mysteries of growing a congregation for worship and service in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
See you in church,
Pastor Lillie