A Word from Laura: Calling Pentecost People!
In the last week and a half, two groups of Western leaders have been working towards next steps in our ministry. The Antiracism Coordinating Team – Jen Druliner, Sara Parker, Naomia Suggs-Brigety, with support from Susanne Ward – invited the session to make a pledge or covenant to intentional antiracism and to develop a change team who would be responsible for leading that work in our congregation. (The session is continuing to discuss this, in hopes of acting at our June meeting.)
A new Hybrid Worship Team – Greta Morris, Ari Brose, Jack Hume, Jason Linde, Alec Resurreccion, along with Allan and myself – is working on a timeline to develop worship that includes both in-person and digital members of our congregation, in hopes that we will be able to welcome everyone at full capacity in September. (You’ll be hearing more about a fundraising effort to upgrade our sanctuary in June. I anticipate some smaller group experiences of in-person worship later in the summer.)
I’m excited to see what will come of the work of these two groups! Both represent the changes in store for us as we reconnect as a church following the pandemic. We’ll have other work to do, too, in terms of communities to re-connect with, among others:
· the GWU community, as both the congregation and many of the students “move back” into Foggy Bottom;
· children’s and family ministry, as many of our children and parents reestablish relationships after limited Zoom church experience;
· our neighbors experiencing homelessness, most of whom have not been able to connect on-line;
· older adults whose ability to connect on-line may also have been limited.
Each of these I’ve mentioned brings different kinds of diversity within the group – racial, economic, gender and nationality. You may also have some ideas of groups of people with whom we as a congregation need to connect or reconnect!
On this Pentecost Sunday, we’ll hear once again about how the Holy Spirit came to the first disciples long ago, giving them the language to connect with the diverse communities who had come to Jerusalem. And you know what? The Spirit is still moving us to be Pentecost people – those who know how to learn the “language” of different communities. I hope you’ll stay afterwards for the Free Inquiry class, when we’ll go a little deeper with what it might mean to “speak the language” of some of the communities at the edge of our congregation.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll find something red to wear (it’s the color of the Holy Spirit!) and get ready to join us on Sunday!
Yours in the Spirit,
Laura