W CROSS R D Summer 2020 July 9, 2020 The fragrant old white cream-colored rose bushes in front of the farmhouse in Freedom outdid themselves this season of blossoms. Now the ground below the bushes is covered with the delicate fallen petals, waiting for some blushing bride to process up to the altar! Out behind the red barn, vegetables have germinated and are pushing their tender green way out of the hot dry brown soil and ask for a drink every time I walk by. Staying ahead of the many lawns around the farm is a challenge, and last week the haying crew cut, raked and baled a good crop of Timothy. We cannot stop the seasonal growth and change happening all around us. How is your garden growing? Jesus used agricultural images in teaching about our souls and how to live. All remember the seeds and the sower, the weeds and the harvest. What an unpredictable season this has been! In one sense, the seeds of the Corona Virus were sewn prematurely – before we had time or tools to prepare. And the weed crop has been devastating: how many lives lost to date, and the toll still climbing? Despite the horrific sacrifice of human lives, there have been positive things happening. The planet is healing. A slower pace may afford greater focus and attention to each other. Values may get clarified and essentials may come clear. The meaning of faith community is in transition. Injustice has been exposed, again. During the past couple of years, looking for God in the community beyond the walls of St. Patrick’s wasn’t an obvious assignment from the “Living Local” program. Now that the physical walls of our congregation have been taken away, the fog may be lifting a bit, revealing the neighborhood. The neighborhood is poor, many are sisters and brothers of color, and through technology, we are beginning to uncover an identity of white privilege. What does this mean for the St. Patrick’s community, and for most of the small monochromatic communities of faith in Maine? Faith without works is dead. How can our faith about “Black Lives Matter” not be without works, and avoid being dead? In a recent sermon (I’m sure you remember every word!), I suggested we have at least three alternative responses: 1)do nothing; 2) read about racism and discuss it; or paddle our canoes upstream and engage personally with the Penobscot Nation, perhaps using A Seat at the Table. Personally, I am inspired to reflect and tell my own story about race. I am in the process of that discipline as I write this. It is a starting place for me, and as I prayerfully remember and write, I invite you to do the same. There is a lot of power in sharing our stories. None of us was ever alone on one step of our journeys, and none of us will be alone as we move forward in our response revisiting and living more fully into our Baptismal Vows in the future. In the context of the Spirit’s wise and energizing counsel, together we can: Pray and break bread together Resist evil and repent Proclaim by word and example the Good News of God Seek and serve Christ in all persons Strive for justice and peace among all people. “We will, with God’s help.” Shalom, Rick
