A MESSAGE FROM REV. SUZANNE TRUMP: PAYING ATTENTION
Greetings to members and friends,
On Tuesday afternoon, Lindsey’s beloved grandmother passed into eternal life. Lindsey is currently spending time with her family and will return to church on Sunday. Please keep Lindsey and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
Reflecting on my sermon last Sunday I continue to
think about what it means to “Just show up” for those in need. How do we show up when a funeral is several states away? How do we show up when there is yet another school shooting in Georgia? How do we bear each other’s pain and listen to the stories of those who live so far away? How do we listen to stories of people we do not know? I cannot answer these questions for you. In fact, I am trying to discern the answers for myself.
Here is what I do believe and that is God will direct us. Our call is to pay attention. Perhaps it means having conversations with those around us. We cannot change the whole world and there is much out of our control. I believe that we are called to pay attention to what is around us, to focus on the things we can attend to and to listen.
We can send cards of sympathy and comfort even when the funeral is far away and then talk to the person when they return home. We can talk to teachers and students around us and in our community and listen to their stories. Listen to their fears, their hopes, and send them with a blessing. We can vote to improve our laws, create meaningful mental health initiatives, and work together to create a community that honors the dignity of every single person.
It is human nature that we do not bring things up if we think it might upset another person. For example, not talking to our students and teachers about school violence because it might upset them. Not talking to people who are grieving because it will make them cry.
We do not make them cry; they cry because they are sad and that is OK. The only way through grief and fear is to walk through it and our calling is to walk with them. Perhaps we cry with them. We acknowledge their grief, their fears, their anxieties. We listen to their stories, we allow them to be heard, to be assured of our comfort and willingness to walk through the pain with them.
At some point in our lives, whether we want to admit it or not, we need someone to walk with us. To remind us of God’s love and forgiveness. To share our grief, to honor our dignity and worth as a child of God.
I pray that this week we are all listening, paying attention, focusing on what God is calling us to do right at this very time and in this very place. God bless you on your journey.
Blessings,
Suzanne