A Letter from Lindy August 10
Hi Pilgrims,
What a lovely, full worship we had the first Sunday in August! So many folks, so many children, that we ran out of communion elements. We are so sorry for those Pilgrims who did not receive the bread or the cup. I seek your grace as our numbers both delighted and surprised us, with an entire month of summer left. I am so grateful that we wanted to be together to worship God and to connect as beloved community. I hope our joy in being together outweighed the oversight in predicting numbers.
As I named during prayers last Sunday, our music director was back among us– deeply missed was Ali (and Lluey, of course). That being said, the only person Lluey wanted to see was Mr. Kyle, so the rest of us know where we stand with this delightful toddler ;) Mr. Kyle will be absent this Sunday as he (hopefully) is reveling in reconnection with his high school classmates at a reunion. Myself, I have complex emotions around any such event because when I graduated, I disconnected from my hometown and teenage peers, setting my sights on new places and people.
Curious, though, am I at how my classmates would have received me and each other in adulthood. Would we hold each other’s journeys with care and compassion? Would we find ourselves so different from each other, based on those journeys, that we would find it hard to bridge the gap, except for small talk? Would we hold each other to our teenage selves– angst, drama and all– and not receive the person before us? Or would we delight that we could traverse the years and reconnect with both recognition and joy? Curious minds will have to ask Kyle how it went.
I pray you will remain curious and engaged for our Sunday speaker, Karon Falaq Johnson, MSW, LCSW and Associate Dean for Practicum Education at the UNC School of Social Work. I gave a brief introduction last week, and Felix and I will introduce her more formally on Sunday. I am grateful for her willingness to share her presence and expertise with us. Karon also oversees the joint MDIV/MSW practicum program with Duke University. As if her plate is not full enough, she is also working toward her DMin through Vanderbilt University Divinity School developing a thesis on Interprofessional Learning and Collaboration between Social Workers and Chaplains. So much we will glean from her holistic approach to trauma, grief, and loss, including intimate partner violence and sexual assault, and individuals dealing with life transitions.
Even with these amazing accolades, in our year of journeying together, with her as Felix’s supervisor, I have come to experience her as just a tremendously cool human being to boot! And I can’t wait for you to meet her.
grace and peace,
Pastor Lindy
(she/her) why pronouns matter