May 15 Minister's Message

“Be still and know that I am God….” Psalm 46

Somewhere a transformer blew, and the lights went out. They stayed out. Office phones died. The church server went down. Correspondence and creativity ground to a halt. Copy machines silenced, along with the coffee maker and the electric security doors. For a time, we couldn’t figure out what to do. Then the staff went home.

Conversations continued among those few of us who remained. It felt odd to finish a sentence, a thought, without any noise or interruption. No whir or beep or alarm, nor familiar quiet voices or laughter in the hall.

I’m rarely alone as now. And I find myself both grateful and unsettled. I’ve often wondered how much more productive I might be if I, like Martin Luther 500 years ago, were locked in a tower, passing laundry out the door, receiving trays of food prepared by others, with nothing to distract prayer and progress at whatever the writing task at hand.

The idea of such self-mandated solitary confinement holds a certain appeal when like today, unfinished projects remain. As the day ends, it will have to be sufficient to have organized and prioritized the now and the next. When the to do list so far exceeds the done, I remind myself that come tomorrow, no one will care what I accomplished today. They will care only how I show up for them in the morning.

Perhaps it is so for you. Whatever you’ve done today is sufficient for today. Whatever you yet do or not, the holy one isn’t keeping a running list of accomplishments that will rule you in or out of the beloved line. So stop, just stop. You’re fine. You are God’s beloved regardless.

Prayer: God of all Creation, your rhythm flows regardless of our attempts to speed up or slow down or step off the wheel. Thank you for the spectacular and the ordinary and the now. Amen

God’s grace, mercy and peace be with you,

Rev. Dr. Anna V. Copeland

Senior Minister, The Community Church of Vero Beach, Florida