November 11, 2022

This has been a deeply tender period of time for many. The death of Saint Annian Hadley Bakker is a such a great loss and sadness for all who knew Hadley and Lori and their family. Some in our community are grieving other losses and navigating other difficult situations as well. Our communities and our nation just wrapped up another divisive and stressful election cycle. We are still figuring out how we are emerging from an unprecedented time of global pandemic. This is a tender time, in many ways.

Lori Bakker shared the following piece by Bishop Steven Charleston this week, and it feels just right for this moment:

Let us treat one another with a gentle touch, a hand of grace and comfort, for none of us knows what tomorrow may bring, and none of us is immune from what we least expect. All we know for certain is that our time to love is far too brief. The least we can do is provide a safe space for one another along the road of life, a place of understanding and support. We have that gift to offer, that quiet blessing to share, giving to others what we may need one day ourselves, a shelter from the storm.

My prayer for you this week is for you to have the opportunity to find, to share, and to be a hand of grace and comfort...a safe space along the road of life...a quiet blessing...for and with one another. This week - and always.