HELLO!

This Sunday, July 6^th, I am on vacation. Bethe will preside and preach. And you know what that means…it will be over by 11 am (I can see you smiling and nodding your head and saying “AMEN!”). Seriously, Bethe puts a lot of thought, work and prayer into the services she leads. As worship leaders we compromise; she likes more visuals, I would be happy to gather in the basement, she likes quotes by poets, I like strange reflections by misfits, she likes to teach, I like to tell stories, she likes hymns with words she finds life-giving, I like hymns people sing, she likes people to feel affirmed, appreciated, a place where they belong, I like to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, remind people this is a place to call home. “Belonging” is mission where Bethe’s and my gifts converge as worship leaders, hospitality and welcome are our common language. And, we like each other (well, I know I like her, she tells me she likes me). When the Search Committee chose us to be a team, I had never heard of Bethe. Who knew she would be such a perfect companion for the last leg of my ministerial journey. I hope you join her on Sunday.

Bethe’s theme this Sunday is: “Sending out the 70”. Bethe suggests we leave our comfortable chair and sandals (for the record, I loathe sandals, if you ever see me in these, you will know I am unwell) behind and join the journey with Jesus! Bethe writes: Luke 10 is a story of a “commissioning for mission”. Jesus sends out the 70 to heal, spread peace, and announce God’s kin-dom is near. In the passage, Jesus encourages us to travel light. He says leave everything behind. Picture losing you luggage at the beginning of a long journey, how would you cope? As someone who lives life prepared to be spontaneous, I travel efficiently but not light, so there is lots for me to unpack (literally) in this passage! Perhaps if we all travel light it makes the journey equal for all us travellers, there’s no comparing with each other.  I wonder if we can learn to trust the kindness of strangers along the way.

As we explore this story we see some of the baggage Jesus is asking us to leave behind isn’t physical, it might be our lack of confidence, the weight of others’ opinions, past traumas, anything that holds us back. Yet, like the heaviness of “stuff”, these too prevent us from moving forward. The comfort is knowing God invites us to trust the journey will give us everything we need. May we go with God who trusts we are equipped and have everything we need for our journey.

Peace, Kevin