Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places:

Greetings in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ!

Let us be the church today.

I woke up in darkness this morning, after a fitful night, to the news that our world has changed.  Now I do not presume to know how you are feeling right now.  If you are fine with the election results I welcome the invitation to talk with you and the vision you voted for.  We all need to be in conversation.

But at the moment I am spending the day fielding calls and texts from many who are anxious, fearful, and distressed.  I am one of them, because the vision that won last night has little or nothing to do with the Jesus I know from my reading of the Bible.

I worry about people who don’t look like me or who have not enjoyed the privileges I have been given simply by being born a white male.  I worry about people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants.  I worry about climate change and our environment.  I worry but also know Matthew 25 is our mission and our calling.

What I know is that we still have arms to hold those who are fearful and vulnerable today.  God is present with us still and will never let us go.  And I have read the ending of the Bible and God wins.  Yes, God does!  It’s right there in Revelation 21.  We’ll talk about this on Sunday.

In the meantime, let us be the church today, and in the days to come.  Let us go deeper than before.  Let us lift each other up to stand upon the shoulders of prophets.  Let us not worry about little things that distract us but how we might better become the beloved community which walks with all who are hurting, and those worried about their life and the welfare of our planet.  Let us listen to, learn, and live the words of Jesus, like never before.  Let us be courageous and imaginative.  Let us be who God calls us to be.  Yes, it’s our turn now.

Tonight I invite you to a healing service in the sanctuary at 5:30 pm.  It is our weekly Celtic Evensong service, and tonight it is about healing, Iona-style.  I need to be there for my own healing and hope you will join me. If you are unable to come in person, we will also Zoom the service (see the link below).

Come and bring your fears and hopes and confusion.  Come as you are.  Come because we need to be with others.  We will be saying words which are recited every Tuesday evening in the Abbey on the Isle of Iona.  I know them now by heart and they always bring some peace.

Spirit of the living God,
present with us now,
heal you in body, mind, and spirit,
and free you of all that harms you,
in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

Then on Sunday morning, besides gathering for worship at 8:30 and 11 am, David Solem will be leading a conversation about the election during the Adult Education hour at 9:45 in the chapel or by zoom.

I hope you will join us as we come together as the church.  How I need to be with you, the church, today and in the days ahead.

Grace and peace,

Harry

NOTE:

Tonight you can join us in person in the sanctuary or on Zoom at 5:30p