Communion and Communication

It was a sweet favor to slip out of worship early on Sunday, to continue our communion celebration with siblings at the United Church of Underhill. My cherished colleague Jen Mihok is regretfully moving away this summer, so it was good to cover her on vacation and bring the church our condolences and warm greetings. The preaching topic Jen chose for me was “Empathy,” so I was able to vent my feelings about this shocking trend that Pr. Dan alerted me to. 

I was alarmed to see this kind of commentary from conservative Christians, denigrating the biblical value of empathy and even calling it sinful. But knowing how deep Pr. Jen digs in her reflections, I challenged myself to see if I could find any empathy with that position! You can judge how well I did by watching minute 30 of the worship recording.

It truly is a skill to look for the valid human communication beneath the commentary. Grace flows when we practice understanding. At Good Shepherd, we will practice communicating even beyond language barriers this Sunday! Two of our members are preparing a wonderful bilingual presentation for International Women's Day using the new screen in the Grace Space, so I hope you will join us in there for Adult Forum! 

Community is a communion, when we find ways to communicate.

with love, Pr. Chelsea