June 7 Greetings

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June 7 Greetings

Dear Ones,

The Tuesday Morning Women’s Bible study is currently reading a second book by Rachel Held Evans. I have five of her books and have enjoyed every one of them immensely. Someone posted a quote by her on Facebook last week and I commented that our Bible study was reading her book Faith Unraveled. A seminary friend responded that she couldn’t bring herself to read any of Rachel’s work, it just made her so sad that Rachel was gone. Held Evans died three years ago at the age of 37 of complications from the flu. She left behind her husband Dan and two sons, ages one and three. She died too early. She had so much more to give and share with the world and her family. She and her husband had just poured the foundation for a new farmhouse they were building. She left a sixth book, a memoir 2/3 written, and she left thousands of people grieving her loss.

Many of us understand and have experienced loss. And there is no right way to grieve, everyone’s grief journey is unique. I feel bad for my seminary friend who stopped reading Rachel’s works because it makes her so sad. I find that Rachel Held Evans is alive to me again when I read her books. I was honored to have seen Rachel speak in person at a synod assembly several years ago, so I hear her voice when I read her books. She left a legacy of just 6 books, the last one completed by a friend just last year. The largest legacy she left was permission to ask questions when it comes to our faith. In Faith Unraveled, Rachel shares her faith journey. She talks about struggling as her own faith unraveled one unexpected question at a time. She realized, that in order for her faith to survive, it must adapt to change and evolve. She challenges us to disentangle our faith from false fundamentals and to trust in a God who is big enough to handle our tough questions. In this journey she re-read the Gospels one summer to search for a different Jesus.

She found a Jesus “who healed each person differently and saved each person differently; a Jesus who had no list of beliefs to check off, no doctrinal statement to sign, no surefire way to tell who was “in” and who was “out”; a Jesus who loved after being betrayed, healed after being hurt, and forgave while being nailed to a tree; a Jesus who asked his disciples to do the same… being a Christian, it seems isn’t about agreeing to a certain way; it is about embodying a certain way. It is about living as an incarnation of Jesus, as Jesus lived as an incarnation of God. It is about being Jesus…in tennis shoes.”

I am thankful for the time that Rachel Held Evans had on this earth, and grateful for the words that she has entrusted to us. It seems appropriate on this week after Pentecost that we think about how the Holy Spirit is alive and active in our lives and in our church. I will be attending the Grand Canyon Synod Assembly this Friday and Saturday, and I look forward to seeing how our synod is sharing God’s love with our neighbors and seeing

what the Holy Spirit is up to! God makes all things new…I hope we are ready for what new thing God has in store for us!

The lavender on our front deck is growing and offering a wonderful fragrance in the early evening. Send us pictures of what is growing in your yard to share in the newsletter!