Dear First Church family,
A rare event is defined as infrequent or few and far between. It is marked as being out of the ordinary. Unfamiliar. It is heartbreaking that accountability and justice are seen as rare events. It speaks volumes that what is a remarkable feeling at first, all too quickly exposes what we have been missing all along. A rare event reminds all who are witnesses to keep going, to keep working, to keep pursuing so that accountability and justice become common and frequent. Experience and lived in every day.
Perhaps this is the feeling that the early disciples experienced on Pentecost in the book of Acts. When the Holy Spirit came like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. I would consider this quite a rare event! It was a moment when all were able to understand each other. They all of a sudden had the ability to speak with others. We read further that they were learning about the needs of their neighbor and sharing all they had. If this isn’t a rare event, then I don’t know what is. But does it have to be a rare event? Should understanding one another really be out of the ordinary? Should our abilities to speak with one another be few and far between? Should learning about the needs of our neighbors or sharing all that we have be unfamiliar to us?
The season of Pentecost reminds us that we as a family of faith – we who are witnesses to the ways in which the Holy Spirit breathes life into our lives – must keep going. We keep moving forward and pursuing those rare events of God’s love lived out that look like recognizing the humanity of our neighbors. Because if and when we do this, life becomes familiar. Love becomes the marker in which standards are held to. Sharing and understanding with one another become the ways in which community and fellowship are experienced. What would our world look like if we lived as if?
We have a busy month ahead of us and our First Church family. Well, perhaps busy is the wrong word. Yes, there are a lot of events and it will be busy, and it will also be Spirit-filled and reflective of our shared communal mission of being a “progressive, spiritual community advocating for the homeless and hungry and creating a refuge of inclusive Christianity.” In the coming weeks, we will be having numerous celebrations to mark the end of the ministry year at First Church, for our graduates who have accomplished a remarkable feat this past year, and to be in solidarity with our LGBTQ+ siblings on Pride Sunday. All of these events have in common the community and fellowship aspect that makes First Church home for many.
Wherever we find ourselves today, tomorrow, or next month, may we be able to recognize rare events that spark the breath of the Holy Spirit in us. May we be able to stay grounded in recognizing the Divine in one another. May rare events become obsolete because understanding, sharing, love, justice is experienced by all of God’s creation every single day.
May it be so.
Pastor Yvonne
You can email Pastor Yvonne at: Yvonne@firstchurchseattle.org
Or contact her by phone at: 206.622.7278