May 18, 2016
So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off. Proverbs 24:14
Dear Friends:
This is graduation season! Next Thursday evening Epiphany's Preschool graduating class will happily don their caps and gowns and process down the aisle to the paparazzi of parents, grandparents, teachers and loved ones and say farewell. Graduating from preschool is the first of many graduations as we go along the path of learning. Very well prepared, may God bless them as they await kindergarten!
Last Saturday we attended our daughter's graduation as she received a master's degree from Catholic University's School of Social Work. God held the rain. Parents, grandparents, spouses, partners, children and friends filled the air with rousing applause as some 90 graduates processed across the makeshift stage under a tent, just in the shadow of the Basilica. As the Dean and fellow students stood to offer remarks about courage and strength and perseverance, I couldn't help but remember Emily's graduation from First Presbyterian Preschool in Richmond, over three decades earlier. Then, her graduation from Lower School and Upper School at St. Catherine's, Richmond where she was a stellar student; and her graduation from Barnard College of Columbia University where she graduated not just from Barnard but from the city of New York as well. She did it! This graduation looked very different from Emily's previous parades across the stage. This time, in her arms she held, Charlie, the youngest of her three children. Along with Emily, Charlie held a big smile across his face, happy to have graduated with his mommy.
Emily's ability to go through graduate school with three small children comes from her great passion to gain the wisdom of the field of Social Work. While kids have been running in and out for snacks and soccer and baseball and play dates, Emily set up her work station on the dining room table and just kept at her studies. Somehow, she managed to organize carpool schedules back and forth across town along with her internships at George Washington and Children's Hospital. She made the work seem effortless. We all know there's nothing effortless about striving for a graduate degree, especially when you're juggling family responsibilities. She exercised amazing wisdom in her accomplishment.
This Sunday, Trinity Sunday, we'll look a bit at the wisdom literature of Proverbs in the Old Testament. "Wisdom" as it is referred to in Proverbs is knowledge of truth about human behavior and about making good, sound choices. Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings and instructions intended to teach those seeking knowledge, how to cope in life. Proverbs is an optimistic guide to self-control, with one another and a right relationship with God. The virtue of Proverbs is its timelessness. In Sunday's reading from Proverbs 8 we'll hear the insistence of wisdom as the writer beckons, "Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling?...Listen...learn good sense...shape up...I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best...God...delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family." These words of wisdom fair well for not just graduates, but for all children of God.
So, on Friday night this week, we'll share some wisdom as we begin our first Parent Support Group for parents with infants to toddlers. We'll gather at 6:00 p.m. for dinner in the Gathering Space and spend some time getting to know one another, and learn from one another how the Epiphany Parent Support Group can be most helpful. Babysitting will be provided so parents can just relax a bit.
Sunday, we're hoping to worship outside at 10:00 a.m. But, if the ground is too wet, we'll be in the worship space. We'll remember our graduates in our prayers on Sunday as well. Then, plan on gathering for our Parish Picnic, rain, or shine! Please, join us and help by bringing a side dish. Sit with someone you don't know and be rewarded by the wisdom you glean!
Congratulations to all graduates over these next days and weeks as you apply your works of wisdom!
Blessings,
Hillary
