A MESSAGE FROM REV. SUZANNE TRUMP: LISTENING FOR UNDERSTANDING
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Happy Autumn! Welcome to the beautiful rich colors of the fall season. For some reason, Autumn makes me want to clean my house, get some new clothes, and assess how the year is going up to this point. Assessing the year seems like a worthy pursuit as the days become cooler and shorter and I take some time to recharge my batteries.
This Sunday after the 11:15 a.m. Traditional worship 
service we will have a congregational meeting. As part of the meeting, we will share our current financial situation and begin to assess where we go from here. This meeting along with the season of Autumn finds me reflecting on how God is calling me to be a witness to God’s love and forgiveness in our community and the world in this season of change. Change for our community of faith, change for our nation as we elect a new President, and as an individual as I continue my faith journey.
I know that I am in good company in my dislike of change. I really do not think anyone looks forward to change and invites a constant cycle of change in their life. We like routines, we like knowing what comes next, and we like comfortable, dependable lives that are steady and solid. Along with change, most mainline Protestants do not embrace the concept of “witness” for God. It is not that we do not believe in it or that we are not capable for being a witness for God’s love, it is that we are not encouraged to embrace it and practice it.
So, I am going to challenge all of us, myself included, to both embrace and practice being a witness for God’s love. And to embrace that with change there are new opportunities for witness and spiritual growth. The first thing I am going to ask of you and me is to show up and listen. That’s it, just show up and listen.
Listen to friends and family, neighbors and fellow citizens. Listen to their stories, listen to their concerns, be open and really listen to each other. Try to suspend judgment, try not to insert your own story, try not to state how your viewpoint is different. Just listen to each other. The goal is to acknowledge the divinity in every person.
To respect and value each other as a child of God. To acknowledge that we have many viewpoints and if we listen, we might learn something or see a position from a different perspective. Take time to listen, not to convert someone to your point of view, instead try to understand why they feel the way they do.
When we see both the divinity and humanity of each person, we can build a relationship of trust, compassion, and support. We can walk with each other through the changes in our community of faith, in our nation, and in our world. Let’s build a bigger, more inclusive and welcoming table acknowledging our shared divinity and humanity.
Blessings,
Suzanne