Dear fellow CUCC'ers:
The Deacons Ministry continues our outreach efforts in this time of COVID-19. Contained within this email is yet another devotional for our collective reflection, penned by Susan Hasbrouck.
Please remember that if you are in need of support or assistance, then please don’t hesitate to call or reach out to one of us. We are happy to receive your prayer requests. We are also able to contact pastors or church staff on your behalf, should you require their support. We will strive to help any way we can.
You can find contact information for the Deacons in Breeze (look for the "Deacons" tag).
Thank you for being in community with us. May we remain unified, loving, passionate and compassionate during this difficult time. Peace be with you!
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How is your new normal going? At this point we’ve long since baked many snow days’ worth of bread and finished all the puzzles. We’ve set up and tweaked the ideal Zoom spaces for work and school and social gatherings. Of course we’ve figured out how to mask and social distance and get groceries. For the first weeks and months it was all new and the logistics occupied our time and our minds. As the modified routines fell into place, there were even some silver linings to temper the restrictions and losses: more time for family meals, less driving, less rushing around town!
But now? For even the happiest introverts among us, the idea of continuing apace with a greatly circumscribed, precaution-filled life for a future amount of time with unknown end, is frankly enough to bring anyone down, whether occasionally or regularly. I’m here to tell you that it is okay not to be okay. That is true at any time for any reason, but especially during these extended, upside down times.
The Bible promises us a hope far greater than any measure of depression or sadness we might experience, but in the process, does not attempt to portray negative feelings as anything but completely and fully human. From beginning to end, we read of sadness, suffering, lamentations, the brokenhearted, despair, troubles, anxiety - the full array, it’s all in there.
Nadia Bolz-Weber, a wonderfully irreverent reverend, tells us that, rather than our piety and successes, it’s our shared brokenness that most connects us to each other and to a redeeming God. It’s the level of vulnerability found from admitting to suffering that connects and shows us the transformative power inherent in being loved in such a state.
So it is okay to be fine, then not fine, then something in between. It is alright to be fully human and our humanity is met by God with grace again and again.
Peace and love to you in your humanity, friends.
Susan Hasbrouck, Deacon