I am a “people person.” I am interested in folks….the ones I know personally, the ones I serve, and those I have yet to meet. I consider it the greatest of privileges to be able to participate in the mutual sharing of lives, whether it be with a friend of long duration 3,000 miles away, or as close as the bedside of a patient in the hospital.
In doing so, I am forever grateful for the words of Corinthians 12:25-26 which clearly connects us one to another using the human body as the metaphor for our interdependence of having a mutual interest in and care for one another. I like the way Gene Peterson states it in The Message:
The way God designed our bodies as a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t; the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved and hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.
For me, these words ring true for all communities, known as church or otherwise. Be that as it may, I am especially blessed to be a member of a “beloved community” we know as Union Church.
To me, the word beloved brings with it a depth of meaning to our relationships, perhaps even deeper than the words “I love you,” for I believe at heart of those words (pun intended) is also the seat of compassion, seen by the ancients as being the “gut”, that place in our bodies where the digestive track takes that which we have ingested and transforms it into living flesh. Is that not like what happens when we share with one another as human flesh, each of us “takes in” interactions which then become part of our being. In compassion we are both givers and receivers of that which is shared …lament and joy and we can then can bear the image of God to share the image of God who sees us as “beloved” critters, in spite of our human limitations and frailties, “warts and all,” as the saying goes and who also delights in our joy.
Often it is assumed that our personal prayers are primarily for those who are suffering. However, it is good to be reminded that our prayers can also include thanksgiving for the exuberance experienced by others. Each week in our Sunday bulletin, in our gathered time, on the website of our church, Consider, and through support groups and personal contact, the joys and concerns of others are noted. So please remember to include both joys and concerns of others in your personal prayers. I encourage you to share those parts of your lives which include both suffering and exuberance so that we as a “beloved community” may join in the healing and hope as well as the joy and excitement since often it is the absence of someone with which to share the “good parts” that brings heartache.
So friends, know that you are beloved, that you are treasured, valued, and part of a community which cares and knows how to cry and celebrate with you and each other, and very truly wants to know about you and yours so that can be shared. Please be in touch with Pastor Kent, me, and especially each other.
Peace and Blessings,
Carla Gilbert
Pastoral Care Support
- Rekindling the Spirit! September 9
- September Worship is All about “All ‘IN’: Building a Beloved Community of Outsiders Just Like YOU!”
- From the Pastor: Worship Ways: The What, Why, and How of Union Church Worship Opportunities
- Church Council Votes to Partner with Thrivent Financial
- Habitat for Humanity’s Apostle’s Build is Blessed and Underway!
- Another Successful Berea Leadership Experience!
- Updates from Administration and Properties Boards
- Water Bottles to Benefit Faith Development
- Healing Arts Retreat September 15 – just a few spots left!
- News of the Family, Birthdays & Anniversaries
- Life Line Screening at Union Church
- Celtic Service, God on the Quad,Middletown Marker photos
Leave a Reply