In the life of the church, joy and grief often sit at the same table, and both are welcome guests. We gather for meals and potlucks, celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, rejoice in one another’s successes and lean on each other in hard times. That is why Rally Sunday is such joyful homecoming each year. There is a special energy as we reconnect, and the children head off to their first day of Sunday School. We are starting a junior high youth group in October, and that is very exciting!
We look forward to being on the Green for SOTG, too. We’ll have our tent, our beads and baubles, we’ll play with the kiddos, and we’ll generally be hot, sticky and over-tired…. Sounds like a fun weekend to me.
But the church is not only a place of celebration. Since spring, we have lost four beloved parishioners: John Biggerstaff, Miriam Blackaby, Anita Glynn and Ron Corriveau. We trust they are at peace, yet our hearts still ache. Grief remains present among us, and in its own way, it is sacred. So often in the world we are expected to stay upbeat, even when we are hurting. The church offers something different. Here, we are free to mourn, and to do so together; because shared sorrow is somehow made lighter.
This is one of the church’s great gifts; we do not have to choose between joy and sorrow. We are allowed to hold both. On Rally Sunday, we will celebrate new beginnings even as we remember those we miss. We will give thanks for the lives that have shaped and blessed us. We will laugh, and some of us will cry. Both belong.
The Christian story has always made room for this tension. Our faith teaches us the persistence and reach of God’s love. We believe in new life, yet we do not deny the pain of loss. We trust that those we love rest safely in God’s care, and that promise allows us to face our grief honestly, without being consumed by it. But it still hurts, and being together is healing.
So, as we gather this fall, let us come as we are. Bring your excitement for a new season. Bring your memories of those you miss. Bring your hopes, your worries, your gratitude and your tears. All of it belongs here. And in the midst of it all, we will once again discover that God is present: holding us together as one family of faith.
Rally Sunday will be at 10 a.m. on September 13. There will be a bounce house and special activities for the children. Join us!
Blessings on your day, Denise.