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What Does It Mean to Be a People of Awe?
December 2019
That is the question that Soul Matters asks us in this month of December, a month filled with opportunities to give and receive, to celebrate and mourn, to feel sorrow and joy and stress and happiness.
Scott Tayler, Soul Matters lead, says this about what it means to be a people of awe: “The path of awe seems well worn. It’s a journey intended to bring us down to size. Pictures of our galaxy with a note that there are 100 billion more just like it. Videos of deep-sea creatures with bioluminescent bodies. Images of the northern lights that are utterly otherworldly. All of them remind us that the universe is more vast than we can imagine. All of them leave us with a sense of wonder that overwhelms. We are brought to the edge of what we can wrap our minds around. It’s like staring into an incomprehensible abyss. One can’t help but feel humbled and small. But religion has never wanted us to stop there. Hold tight it says. I know it’s hard but trust us: the path doesn’t end with a deep darkness that doesn’t care. Just stand at the abyss a bit longer. Lean in just a little bit more. And when you do so, suddenly an invitation emerges from that awe-full abyss. You look into the vast mystery and surprisingly, it stares back, as if to say, ‘Welcome home.’ As physicists tell us, contemplation of the vast universe doesn’t make them feel smaller, it makes them realize the larger story of which they are a part. We are stardust, as they say. From the vastness we came and to it we will return again. In other words, to be a people of awe is not so much about feeling small; it’s about feeling connected. And not just connected to the stars, but also to each other. Awe reduces our size in order to make room for something more than our personal needs, wants and worries. With our narcissism shrunk down to a reasonable proportion, it becomes possible to notice that we are not the only ones up there on the stage. It’s in this way that looking up into the cosmos allows us to look across at each other.”
I am in awe of the courage and honesty and integrity that you have brought to the transition process so far. You have looked across at each other, over differences and broken relationships, and begun a conversation that will lead to reconciliation. The Transition Team and I want to thank all of you who have contributed to the History Wall and who attended the Story Telling/Listening Circles in November.
We hope you will continue to bring that honesty and courage to the process as we continue, in December, to work on the transition task of claiming and honoring the congregation’s past and engaging and honoring its griefs and conflicts. You can to add to the History Wall until Sunday December 22. You can attend a History Wall tour with optional conversations facilitated by members of the Transition Team on Thursday December 19th or Saturday December 21. The sessions begin at 10:30 am; you can drop in any time between 10:30 and noon to read and to share.
I also want to invite you to “What Makes Your Heart Sing?” on Thursday evening December 19th @ 6:30 pm. This interactive workshop will help you discover something inside of you that calls you to serve as you explore how to answer that call in a spiritually satisfying.
I look forward to being with you December 18 – 22. And I am absolutely thrilled that Rev. Marti Keller will be with you earlier in the month as she begins in earnest her ministry with you and her co-ministry with me. Welcome back Marti!
In Faith and Love (and Awe),
Rev. Roberta Finkelstein
Transition Minister
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