A Word from Laura: Seeking God's Will Together

This past Tuesday night, in response to a request from a church member, and endorsed by the antiracism group, the Session discussed a letter urging the President to create a commission to study reparations for slavery.

Before the Session talked about the issue, I invited them to share what they hoped God would be up to in our meeting. One person mentioned “good trouble”; another, that we would be the courageous community we aspire to be. For the record, in our theology “Good Trouble” may be another name for the personage of God we call the Holy Spirit, and “courage” is another word for what Jesus meant when he told the disciples, “Take heart.”

One of the gifts of being the church is that when we talk about justice, we recognize the Divine Actor, the Holy Spirit, God’s own self, at work. This means that when we make decisions as a church, we ask first what God is up to, or what is the will of Christ, rather than simply what we believe as individuals or how people might vote, if given the chance. It’s a different set of starting questions than our justice system or political system. It doesn’t mean we don’t consider a political point of view or what others might say, but politics and popular opinion aren’t our starting points.

While we value the separation of church and state, we also recognize that justice, equal rights and racial equity are inherently spiritual matters. We recognize the eternal consequences of how we live as individuals and how our society reflects God’s justice.

When we talk about these matters together, we also ground ourselves in God’s grace, recognizing that people of good faith don’t always agree. Whereas members of Congress or a President might retaliate against someone who believes differently, we recognize a scriptural call to speaking truth in love and practicing mutual forbearance, which means sometimes holding back a personal feeling or belief for the sake of a personal relationship or the benefit of the larger good.

At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, I also asked Session members to share one way they had experienced God at work in our conversation. Two members, independently of each other, shared their appreciation for learning how other members felt. Even though they may not have agreed with the other, they appreciated the spirit at work and the sincerity of the other’s belief. When our political society often goes on attack in the face differences, we can be grateful for church leaders who are committed to seeking God’s will together and to a spirit of love in the process.

With gratitude and hope,
Laura