Dear Friends,

I think most people have a Covid story.

And now I have one to share of my own. This last month was a busy one with two weeks away on vacation with different family members. We came home for a week and then headed to a family wedding. Upon returning from that, our whole family was hit, one by one, with Covid.

I was frustrated with being sick because we had so much going on in the life of the church. As we prepared for different events, I wanted to be there for my coworkers. I felt restrained. And felt like I wasn't doing a good job at anything. My stubbornness prevailed over me, and I got mad, then I got sad, and also I cried a little.

And then...I heard something quiet, like a whisper, "just rest." But it isn't that simple, and I brushed the words aside. There are kids to take care of, laundry, and dishes to put away.

And I would hear the words again, "just rest." What about the emails and the notes to write and the assignments to prepare?

And then the words would come back to me, louder: "Just rest." So finally, I did...I listened. I put my stubbornness aside and tried my best to do more resting and less doing.

These words did not come directly from the great Divine, but it was the next best thing. I heard it from my family, I heard it from my coworkers, I heard it from my friends, and I heard it through many of you who sent me well wishes and prayers. And I realized the Divine was working through all these people. The people who love me and care about me were trying to help me get well. I realized God is in each of us, working through us, allowing us to care for each other.

As the familiar saying goes, "God works in mysterious ways." There are times we have to take a moment to rest to be able to hear when God is speaking.

Prayers that we allow ourselves to be able to see and hear the grace of the Divine through people we talk to every day.

Robin Hood

Care Coordinator

UCC Still Speaking

Those Who Start the Journey

Talitha Arnold

Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of [his deceased son] Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan; but when they came to Haran, they settled there. - Genesis 11:31 (NRSV)

Terah is generally overshadowed by his son Abram. It is Abram who hears God’s call to go to the land God would show him. Abram who is the “Father of the Faith.”

Terah had set out from Ur to go to that same land, but he only got as far as Haran before settling down. Consequently some scholars see Terah as a bit of a loser, lacking his son’s faith or courage. According to one commentator, Terah’s life is “the short, sad story of a man who settled.” Another claims, “The only good thing Terah ever did was to die.” Only then could Abram heed God’s call and continue the journey.

However, I’d like to put in a good word for Terah. He actually started the journey that his son completed. Before Terah, the ancestors stayed put. In the chapter-long genealogy that precedes Terah’s story, there’s a lot of begetting, but no packing up one’s kin to go to a new and foreign land. No leaving behind the place where one son is buried. No seeking new life for the other son and the rest of the family.

Terah did all that—without the promise God gave Abram. No, Terah didn’t complete the journey he’d planned. For unknown reasons, he settled instead in Haran. He didn’t reach the Promised Land.

But he had the vision to start the journey. May we have such vision, too.

I was taking my dog for a walk and found myself faced with a Summer Conundrum: the neighbor’s sprinkler hitting the sidewalk. What should I do now? Wait and try to time it so I run quickly past without getting hit? Or, just keep walking, letting the cool drops soak my face and shirt? I chose the latter.

The book, Faithful Families, by Traci Smith, is the gift I give to friends and family when I baptize their second child (the first is always a children’s Bible- duh!). This book has simple activities to create sacred moments with your family at home. One of the activities it suggests is to take every opportunity to remember our baptism. Most often for families this occurs during bathtime. The author suggests taking some water, making the sign of the cross on your child’s forehead, and reminding them that God loves them. As they get older, you can build on this time together telling them the story of their baptism or the story of your own.

Summer presents us with many more water opportunities! There’s the pool, the lake, or the ocean on vacation. There’s the ice cold glass we pour for ourselves when we come inside from a muggy walk. We have had to do some serious watering of our gardens this Summer with all these 90+ degree days! There’s always the evening or morning shower or bath. Covid has hopefully given us a renewed sense of the importance of washing our hands. Maybe you, too, have been posed with the Sprinkler Summer Conundrum. All that to say- what if we take even just one of these water encounters as an opportunity to remember how very loved we are by our Creator. I invite you to just take a quick touch to the forehead offering yourself a blessing on your discipleship journey.

One more quick story- I baptized a family friend’s second child while I was on vacation in Upstate New York this Summer. His older brother was frowning and grumpy the whole time. He refused to smile for photos and my usual trick of having him “test” the water before we baptize his sibling did NOT work. The baptism was over and I was packing up to head home when he came up to me with his mom and whispered, “I want to get bath-tized too.” Then I knew that we were just a little bit jealous of all the attention our little brother was getting. That day was the first bath-tism I ever performed!

In Joan Chittister’s chapter on “Fear” in The Gift of Years, talking about those inevitable joint pains and other realities we face as we age, writes:

Mark Nepo’s August 8 entry in his classic, The Book of Awakening, uses the metaphor of a duck he once noticed sleeping in a lake, with its head tucked into its body, bobbing peacefully in the water. “This little scene undid me,” he writes, “for here was an ultimate lesson in trust.”

On August 7, after the 10 am worship service, many gathered in the Weist Room for a reception to say goodbye to Rev Kate Shaner. After about 15 years of service to First Community, Kate is embarking on the next part of her life’s journey. Family, friends, and congregants in the worship service were moved by her final address from the pulpit. She touched on the generosity of First Community and shared her love for us all. In his sermon, Glen appropriately preached about how fear limits us. We all experience anxiety and fear when on the precipice of a transition stage. We wish Kate the courage to move forward and imagine all the possibilities for her life, knowing she will continue to serve her fellow humans no matter what she does.

I have worked with Kate for about eight of the years she served at First Community. I have enjoyed working with her, and we have established a symbiotic, fun, and effective working relationship over that time. Perhaps more importantly, we have also become very good friends, even family. My kids think of her as a cool aunt who likes to take them to the zoo and Build-a-Bear! You may remember in her address that Kate held up two tiny origami hearts she received that morning. They were from my daughter, Lucy. I also received a heart from Lucy that morning, as she knew both of us were facing an emotional day. While it is sad that our working relationship has ended, and I will miss our daily interactions, I know we will remain part of each other’s families forever. As my friend, boss, and pastor, I am so excited to see what she does next. Her larger-than-life personality, amazing sense of humor, and profound compassion will serve her well in her next phase of life.

A photo of Kate with the Griffith family during the reception that day is included. The family thanked her for her service to First Community and for the role she played in their lives. Also included is a photo of the shoes Kate accidentally left in her office when she was done packing. I’ll be sure to get them to her, but it was almost symbolic to me. Rev Kate, you leave shoes that cannot be filled.

Note: Our dinner times have changed from 5:30 pm to 6 pm throughout the summer. Book Discussion times remain the same.

Oscar’s in Old Dublin

Join us for the Women’s Guild Luncheon and Office Installation on August 20 in Grace Hall, North Campus from 11:30 am – 2 pm. You can register HERE, or, send a check to the business office made out to “Women’s Guild of First Community” and "luncheon" in the memo. Cost is $20 per person. Contact Robin Hood for questions at rhood@FCchurch.com or (614) 488-0681 ext. 235