A Word from Laura: Soul Work

“I must continue by faith… Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives.”

Martin Luther King, Jr., Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom, 1966

Soul work: it’s the reason any religion needs spirituality, the side that allows, invites, and even challenges us to examine our innermost being.  Dr. King knew social change couldn’t happen without inner transformation.

When people have no rhythm of examining our motivation, or experiencing divine love and grace, or expecting a call from God on their lives for the sake of the world, society suffers. (If you need evidence, I can point you to a certain president’s twitter account, or the current government shutdown.)  Soul work is essential for us humans to live together well.

This weekend as our nation remembers Dr. King, our drum major for justice, I hope you’ll also remember his call for inner transformation.  Join me in gratitude for his soul work that gave birth to racial and social change.  Take a minute to consider what in your own soul still needs transformation.

And come join us in worship, recognizing that our soul work happens as we work together toward the goal of beloved community – a sign that we need each other, and that God’s love will lead us.

Grace and peace for all your soul work,

Laura