Like you, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on the impact of Covid on our spirits, souls, hearts and communities, never mind our physical well-being. I am convinced that its impact will be felt for decades and that we have a lot of work to do for the restoration of relationships. 

During this month of my time with you, we’ll be exploring the meaning of Pentecost and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I know that sounds like doctrinal teaching, but that is far from where I’m headed. Indeed, the theme of our gatherings on Saturday mornings, Living Legends, is largely about the work of the Spirit in ordinary people’s lives – and their extraordinary impact as a result. 

Over my almost 50 (!) years of ordained ministry, I have come to believe that most of us are more inspired by story than by didactic or doctrinal teaching. Frankly, those bore me. The Bible’s “peculiar” stories attract me because I find depth of meaning in them. Somehow predictability just doesn’t grab me. And the Holy Spirit is anything but predictable. 

So I invite you to think about who you have known who has inspired you, who you’ve met in your life who overcame great odds, whose life-witness changed life for others. I’m not talking about famous people, but about the person who surprised everyone, or at least you, with the outcome of their presence among us. 

After all, the disciples were anything but extraordinary when they started out. They came from many lines of work, and stood out because of the questions they asked and the commitment they were willing to make. Isn’t that true of us today? 

It’s my hope that through our time together we will contemplate ways of rebuilding the social fabric around and among us, ways of listening more deeply to one another, ways of speaking with care, and imagine life as we might hope it to be in five years or so. It’s not going to turn around fast, so let’s pace ourselves and do this well and right.

Davida