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In the Meantime,

Love is our Doctrine. Service is our prayer. Justice is our calling.

In the Meantime,

He’s here.  I was in a VUU zoom last night when word came through that Samuel Kyle Wooden, son of Stephen and Adelyn, was born.  All the Connection Circle leaders got a look at him as I held up his picture to the camera on my computer.  It’s the same picture you see.  

That’s why the Happenings is late again. Wednesday they went to the hospital so we worried and I forgot about the deadline.  Thursday we worried more and again I forgot the deadline.  Then he arrived and in the glee of relief I forgot the deadline.  Today I was focused on seeing him in person and… forgot about the deadline.

I never forgot the lifeline though. 

We live in a society that has lots of deadlines and very few lifelines.  No wonder our politics are awful and our jobs are hard and so on.  We live by deadlines not lifelines, and when you live by deadlines you die.  Maybe not physically – though that really does happen – but mentally and personally.  

Might we be better off if we lived by lifelines?  Houses of worship are supposed to be that, and most of you would say they are.  Imperfect as we are, we give life.  This Sunday we hold the annual meeting, a necessary act, something of a ritual and often feeling like a chore.  It is when we have to deal with official deadlines like fiscal years and electing trustees, and bottom lines like whether we have enough money to do this or that program.  These are serious things.  

But so is our mission, the big one all houses of worship share – to give life.  As you discuss and vote, ask yourself – Will this strengthen the lifeline or just satisfy the bottom line?  Are we here to meet a deadline or be a lifeline?  

I am sorry this column came late and missed the deadline.  But right now my lifeline weighs about nine pounds and is sleeping.  When you have a lifeline, you see, deadlines and bottom lines mean a lot less.  – FW –