After weeks of enjoying glorious New England fall weather– even the apples lasted long enough for the fellows to go apple-picking with their Prayer Partners in late October– things have finally turned against us this week. Grey, rainy gloom pervaded our check-in vibe during Emmaus/staff community time on Wednesday. And this morning I look out my window and see more than an inch of snow on the ground, the frigid remnants of Hurricane Zeta working its way up the coast.
Perhaps Mother Nature is matching the mood of many of us, as COVID-19 cases rise across the country and pre-election unease sets in. We just don’t know what lies ahead. And maybe if we’re being totally honest with ourselves, we also can’t be sure how we’ll respond to it. Like Jesus’ disciple Peter, today we say, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” (Luke 22:33). Yet we know Peter’s story ended with the disciple denying Christ three times. Feeling alone and afraid can overwhelm our best intentions.
Over the past few weeks, if I’m being honest, I’ve had a few of those moments questioning whether I’m up to the task. But at the same time, I’ve noticed something: as challenges arise, members of our community have come alongside me to meet those challenges. Some have reached out with support and connection to fellows experiencing isolation in these COVID times. Others tirelessly have given their time and insight to our Associate Director hiring process. And of course, 90 of you joined us for Write the Vision last weekend, filling my heart and rekindling my passion for the work we share– the work of transforming the world to reflect God’s dream, and transforming ourselves in the process. Like the guideposts Micah fellow Andrea Albamonte shares in their fellow reflection, your participation is to me a sign of God’s presence in the midst of it all. I’m not alone. You’re not alone. We’re not alone.
So as we go into the coming weeks, I’m looking for ways to lean into community and ground myself in the values that we share in Life Together: values that affirm the belovedness and dignity of every single person; values that strive for equity and the conditions for all humans to thrive; values that lean into our collective capacity to create change. I hope you can draw strength from those values as well, and encouragement from this community of changemakers. Because whatever the weeks ahead hold, together we have the capacity to shine light wherever it is needed most.