Beloved,

It’s another rainy day, a warm one. Hope you are able to be cozy and reflective, wherever you are, let the rain slow you down, keep you in, ponder things in your heart, from the sofa or the cubicle. It’s good to reflect, to be and not do.

Sunday in church, we’ll finish the sermon series on Extraordinary Relationships. Perhaps you’ve had a eureka moment, been able to reflect on family dynamics or patterns, get insight into where you’re stuck, and been able to move, incrementally. Perhaps what you’ve noticed, reflecting, has frightened or overwhelmed you. Here’s the thing: God has put into our minds, it says in Ecclesiastes, a sense of past and future. Not just past. The past informs the future, but does not control it. We control, or at least direct, our futures. That little thing called free will.

I’ll be preaching this sabbath on spiritual maturity: the willingness, according to rabbi Edwin Friedman, to take responsibility for our own emotional well-being and destiny. As we get ready to travel or make holiday plans with family, we need not be ruled by ghosts of Thanksgivings past.

This Sunday, if you like, bring a picture of yourself as a child, to put on the altar–and write on the back a single word that you want to define your future. We’ll bless the pictures before you bring them home. Chet is our intrepid liturgist. Lisa C. offers the last of this season’s stewardship messages. Laura Ruth and other Firsties are on the road to bring good news and great music to Williamstown; we’ll pray for them. We’ll dedicate your pledge cards during the offering–bring it, with joy! and thanksgiving for a church like ours.

After worship: bell choir rehearsal! cantata rehearsal! Godly Play orientation for parents! A vigil for immigrant rights field trip! And of course, good coffee and new friendships.

Christlove, all,
Molly