Letter from Lindy July 5

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Hi Pilgrims,

I found myself hesitant to name yet alone claim a ‘happy 4th of July' if even our country marks its 250th anniversary. Wavering because of doomscrolling this week’s headlines that brought pain to my heart. From the quiet surge of ICE arrests to heart-breaking Supreme Court decisions to unethical financial profiting of our elected leaders to the broiling of our planet, I found myself struggling to “celebrate” our country. As I said, flooded was I by the swampy waters of the moment. 

Then I happened upon a graphic of the American Mosaic that filled my heart with hope as it traced the roots of our nation of immigrants. The tagline “melting pot, tapestry, mosaic, kaleidoscope, salad bowl–every cliche being true” led me to jumbled, overlapping stories across the extraordinary expanse of our country that reveal America’s ancestry that reaches, as the authors state, to infinity. Our 250 year history of immigration defines who we are no matter the sweeping exclusivistic bans the current administration attempts. And for this history, this founding story, I am deeply grateful.

Thank you for tolerating my meandering bypass to bring us to our destination of gratitude. Greyson offered an attitude of gratitude last Sunday for all of the VBS volunteers without whom VBS could not have been. This Sunday our attitude will be directed toward some individuals who will move into a July break. We will offer heartfelt thanksgiving for our choir, Sunday School teachers and caregivers (who sadly do not get a July break) for all of the ways they show up week after week offering their time, talent and energy to create the sacred space we call worship. From the safety and learning of our children to the music that lifts us to the heavens, our Sundays would not come together as they do without those special people who give of themselves. 

Our Sundays are sanctuary because they envelop us with the love of community that help us feel seen and heard in a world that is increasingly isolating and lonely. When the air that surrounds seeps with the toxicity of division and disconnection and hyper-individualism, we need the purifier of beloved community to filter out such allergens, circulating back into us the breath of holy Love that weaves us back to wholeness and belonging.

I am so grateful for all of the ways Pilgrim does just that.

 
Pastor Lindy

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