Was it two days or just one? Yesterday was filled with good work,
conversation and the wonder of joy at the ministry Salem is offering to
the community, one another and most especially the Lord Christ whose
Church we are. It was busy but brought good rest at the end.
Fall is, for me, filled with all the elements of program start-up. The
hustle and bustle of last week culminated in a beautiful Confirmation
Sunday for the 8 young people who were added to the adult membership of
the congregation. Thanks to all the good work given by the staff and
volunteers, Sunday morning was filled with the excitement of God's
Spirit. Pastor Chris Beamsley provided the confirmation class of 2011
with the message of hope and challenge that marks this rite of passage in
the community of disciples. I was pleased that a son of Salem could be
present and generously offer the gift of preaching ministry to and for his
home congregation and the ELCA.
Back to Fall. Autumn is a beautiful time of year in which to begin
another program year in ministry and I'm blessed by the gift of serving
with the staff and members at Salem for a while. The staff has been
welcoming and helpful. It is a joy-filled gift to work alongside each of
you. Nonetheless, autumn's beauty is always edged with a somber outline
in my experience. Perhaps that is because many losses and a fair amount
of pain in my life have appeared and been forged in this season.
Over the years, though, I've come to experience a soothing hush on fall
mornings and when the day settles into evening. There is still the
melancholy that calls to me from years deep in the past. What
is different is my awareness of the profound and continuing promise of our
Heavenly Father that just as the earth prepares to lie dormant for another
year, and then after winter, will come spring and new life, just so,
because of the Father's grace, my spirit will have new life and darkness
will give way to Christ's glorious light. Joy will surprise me once
again. The transformative change, which has ushered in this transition
into an acceptance and peace with autumn emotions, began some 20 + years
ago when a friend who walked with me during an in-between-time of life
shared a Spirit-filled message with me. Just a simple thought but one
that so often has been a source of stability for my soul.
Having listened to and felt my transition pain with me, my friend told me
what a spiritual companion had given him as a "life walking stick" of
support.
My friend wrote inside the front of one of my books:
"There are places in the heart that cannot be there except for pain."
I'm so grateful for that "life walking stick" because it has allowed me to
allow myself to experience pain, accept and not minimize it, and know that
my Father can make something beautiful out of everything; and just as
Spring follows dormancy, Joy reappears—
"Weeping may last for the night but Joy comes in the morning."
Autumn is here, we walk into a new adventure of ministry together and the
Spirit calls us into the harvest; enabled and more willing to touch new
places in our hearts because of things that are painful, but filled with
grace to be shared.
Blessings to all for the days ahead.
Robert C. Kinnear
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