New Beginnings

Today, I met a sister face to face, who I met on a clergy discussion board. Her congregation is located in Southern California, and although it has been in the same place for many years, they are in a process of revisioning, which will most likely include selling the property and moving to another location, in order to allow another group move in, who can reach out to the changing neighborhood more effectively.

It is posing some important questions for them as they seek to move forward and seek God's Spirit to guide them and direct them to the next steps for them. After discussions with Pam, and some of her congregation members, we took a look at the reality of needing to grieve before they can truly move on.

My supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education, (CPE) spoke of grief as being more than just the loss, but what that loss symbolizes for these beautiful people of God. It is the loss of the place where the sacred activities of their lives have taken place; the weddings, the baptisms, the weekly worship, the sacrament of the eucharist, the celebrations of the resurrection when those in their midst died.

It was such an honor to be with them this morning, and to be asked to give them a benediction. Beyond reminding them that they are not alone in this journey, and that there are a group of Desperate preachers who are praying for them, it was the reminder of Abraham who was called to move to a land that he didn't know, and the promise that God was with them, and would give them the direction for their next steps. I encouraged them to seek this new beginning with a sense of expectation for what God will do, but we discovered over ice cream sundaes, that they are grieving, and before they can move on with expectation, they need to grieve.

But, here is the benediction I left with them: "As you go, may God go before you to show you the way, above you to watch over you, beside you to befriend you, and within you to give you peace."

Shalom.