August 12, 2022
On Thursday I spent a little time moving chairs in the sanctuary to create space for the Red Cross Blood Drive that will be held at Saint Anne's today (Friday) from Noon - 6 PM. Though I was in there alone, I was definitely not alone. Saints and angels kept me company, and you were there as well, all of you, just as surely as I was.
With outdoor services since the beginning of June, it's been a little while since we've all been together in the sanctuary, but along with the saints and angels, your presence in that space is palpable. Your laughter and tears. Your prayers and longings. Your love and losses, your light, and the hope you carry. It wasn't lost on me that I was clearing space in that room so that we might all give blood: share lifewith one another. That's what we do, isn't it? Share life with one another. The ups and downs, the joys and the sorrows.
This Sunday we will have the joy of welcoming Amanda Fredrickson in baptism. Baptism is central to how Episcopalians see our place and purpose in the world. We believe every person is created in the image and likeness of God and is loved beyond imagining. Baptism is about welcoming all into this belonging. We believe every person has been given gifts needed for the healing of the world, and everyone is needed for that healing. Baptism is about the commitment we make to help create the world we know is possible. And Baptism is about the promise of new life. The promise that all things are always being made new, sometimes in unexpected ways and places. The promise that even death is not the end.
As I moved the sanctuary chairs this week, I thought about all of this. I prayed for Amanda, for Christian, her husband and baptism sponsor, for each of you, for myself, for our community, for all who will receive the gift of new life through the blood we will donate. I prayed for all that has been and all that will be. When I was finished moving chairs, the newly open sanctuary space felt just right. It still held every bit of who we've been, every prayer that's ever crossed our lips, every sorrow, every joy, every note of music played, but it was also ready for something new. Something waiting to be born. It reminded me that we're all always on the cusp of something new waiting to be born. Thanks be to God.