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The Fledgling--Week of April 24, 2020
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From Mother Megan:
The Daily Office readings of late have taken us through the middle part of Exodus.
In this part of the story, the Israelites have been adjusting to life in the wilderness free from slavery, and have greeted this situation with a great deal of grumbling. "Did you bring us out here to die? Oh, for the fleshpots of Egypt!" they tell Moses. Once he convinces God to provide bread for them, they then begin to grumble about how boring bread is day after day. "Why can't you bring us meat?" they ask "At least some vegetables. Remember all those lovely cucumbers we had in Egypt?" Moses, in turn, complains to God. "I didn't create this people! I didn't give birth to them! Why are they mad at me?!"
This story, miraculous sea-parting notwithstanding, is perhaps very familiar to anyone currently quarantined with children and/or teenagers. Or to anyone just dealing with their grumpy self, day after day. Now that the newness of this pandemic has worn off, the frustration has set in. The reality of what we do not currently have, and the fullness of what we face, is setting in, and we do not care for it.
It's not, I think, that the Israelites are necessarily whiny. Let's recall--they were enslaved. They were suffering immensely. And now they are out in the desert trying to find a new home, away from all that's familiar. The constant grumbling can be seen as a traumatized reaction to some very frightening circumstances. It makes sense that in their fear, they would want to grasp on to anything familiar, even if it wrecked their hard-won safety and liberty.
It helps to remember that God has remarkable empathy for the Israelites, even as they are throwing a bit of a fit. God provides them with bread. God provides them with meat. God shores up Moses, when Moses wants to throw in the towel. God bears with us, when our anxiety and frustration get the better of us. But at no point does God let the Israelites go back to Egypt. God does not let God's children go back into oppression, no matter how much our traumatized minds get nostalgic for it.
So, it's totally fine right now to have days of frustration and grumpiness. It's fine to have moments where you would rather sit in a corner and wish everything could just go back to normal. Hold those times gently, and remember that we are all going through something huge and frightening together, and we're allowed to grieve.
And at the same time, know that God is still with us, and God is going to stay with us into a new future that we haven't been to yet. And God will both support us in our grumpiness, and carry us through til we get to our destination.
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If you have a submission to the Fledgling, send it to the office by Thursday morning for inclusion on Friday. Bulletin announcements should be into the office by Wednesday morning.
- If you know of someone who would like to receive the Fledgling, please send their email to the office.
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Prayer for the week
O God, whose blessed Son made himself known to his disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold him in all his redeeming work; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Readings for this week
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Coming soon: The bishop's visit!
The bishop's visitation has been rescheduled for May 3rd. She will worship with us at 10:30 online, then join with us at Virtual Coffee Hour after the service before meeting with the vestry. Please make plans to join us!
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Volunteers for Pentecost Needed! We're putting together a fun surprise to celebrate Pentecost. If you can speak a language other than English, and are somewhat comfortable with technology (or are willing to learn!) please let Mtr. Megan know.
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Have you had coffee/tea/hot cider with Mtr Megan? Send me an email and we'll set up Skype/Facetime and chat! It's fun (I promise) and we can still meet while we're staying safe right now.
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