REFLECTION

“As we walked the land where our church is located, I intentionally tried to encounter it fresh in the moment. I tried to set aside my usual concerns about property maintenance and also set aside the history I know about the yard and buildings, and how the congregation has stewarded them in the past or made plans for the future.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see this land in another perspective. I noticed the sounds of a busy urban environment (helicopters & traffic) and the insistent growth of plants and mosses that resist our tidying-up efforts (conveying the message that this land wants to keep producing growth). The land does not care about being "managed," there is a good reason we cannot keep up with its insistent growth or tame it.

I also received the strong message that this land desires to nurture life, both for "insiders" who come to church for worship and nurture, and "outsiders" who also come for nurture at the day shelter which is currently operating outdoors. I saw the refuse that shelter clients have left behind (food containers, a banana, Christmas decorations, toilet paper) and signs of this property being used by the public (handrails chipped and worn-out benches). Where usually I might be upset by this disarray, I received the insight that this land is meant to be used to support life in many forms, and in this season of pandemic it is natural that this land belongs to the community as well as to the congregation.