“I just wish I knew what to expect…”

I’ve heard this from different friends recently: someone with an uncertain diagnosis, a parent trying to figure out next steps for their child’s learning differences, a candidate for affordable housing in a new neighborhood. It’s human to want to know to what lies ahead.

Yet we find ourselves in a time of constant adjustment – changing health, fluctuation in world economies, the price of milk, the metro schedule, weather extremes, or a friend or family member’s call to let you know they’re sick. As much as ever, it’s hard to know what to expect.

This past Tuesday, we at Western had a new opportunity to see God at work at 24th and G Streets, NW. The two-alarm fire across the street at St. Mary’s Court was heartbreaking, chaotic, and tragic for those who were displaced…

This Sunday we’ll recognize All Saints’ Day at Western. In a strict sense, it comes every November 1, but we’ve begun observing it the first Sunday of November.

No one knows the precise history of All Saints’ in Western (think larger tradition) Christianity. I’ve wondered if an ancient culture observed a remembrance of those who had died, and as with Christmas, Christians appropriated the date as a Christian holy day.

I’ve gone back to the picture a few times this week, just to make sure that I’m getting it right: Woven through all of the responses at some level, a deep sense of spiritual community was a constant theme of appreciation.