Hi Tab Family,
This past Sunday, Pastor Katie quoted one of the brothers she met at the Holy Cross Abbey in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland this summer. Upon starting up the abbey, the brother said:
“We had to ask for everything! And this was the greatest
blessing of all: to not have money and to be in need! You know, self-reliance is not a Christian virtue.”
Pastor Katie went on to bring our attention to just how present loneliness has been, especially over the last three years, and highlighted some writing and research on the phenomenon.
What a blessing to be in need. What a blessing to be lonely. What a blessing to avoid having to be The End-All-Be-All of your own life, to avoid having to know it all, do everything right, constantly think twelve steps ahead, anticipate everything, be everything to everyone– including yourself. What a blessing to need other people.
It was a blessing to be lonely back in Spring 2021, when I found Tabernacle United Church listed in the More Light Presbyterians (MLP) directory of open and affirming churches. At that time, all I knew is I needed a home church closer to where I hoped to be going to seminary, because I knew I wouldn’t make it through seminary without one. I knew I needed a church already affiliated with More Light Presbyterians because I didn’t want to be The Person coaxing a whole congregation along further into the kin’dom of God, to a place of queer and trans affirmation.
And there y’all were, Tab. I didn’t know how much I needed this community both as a whole, but also specifically, down to each person. What a blessing to be in need. What a blessing to know also, that you’re needed.
My hope for all of us as the week continues is to revel in the ways in which we need one another. I hope you feel in need and needed. I hope we can run after each other across patches of great green clover, and find one another.
Blessings on the rest of your week,
Taylor