the new normal...

Life over the last year has been interesting. we are striving to establish the new normal, while trying to maintain hope in our future. i spent a long time talking to Dino about the oddness of this middle space which we find ourselves in. Part has been incredible, part much less. this week is the vote. ya the big one the one where the church decides our future. i am vastly excited by this but with a deep nervousness. a sense of abandon. a recognition that it is truly out of my control. As a control freak i am sure that is where the nervousness comes in.

i have been having a new awakening recently. a new old avakening. i have been going to a matthew class at our church, and reading mark scandrettes book soul graffiti. both are the precurser to my awakening not to mention my two ethics classes this semester. in ethics i am continualy awakened to how truly grey life and moral choices are. every moment and in all actions we each act(hopefully) on the best information and on the entirity of our histories. this is great except each and every action has a reaction, and we dont control those reactions. thus reaction is not under our control, our response is... i know i am rambling. i guess what i am thinking about first is that things grow increasingly less clear in life. even our positive actions sometimes the best action we know how to make can hurt those around us and even others that we have never met.

second... in reading matthew an the the scandrette text i am reawakened to the boldness of christ. both in voice and in action. there was a distinct decisiveness to his action. and it is quite different in my opinion than most of the Church makes it out to be. there was a revalutionary character to christ's actions that he calls us toward. JUSTICE... MERCY...Love these are central to his action and speach. there is a real awareness of the poor and hurting. there is a deep understanding of humanity, its needs, its interconnectedness of spirituality and physicality. can we be the church without truly meeting the needs of the world? can we be the church without dirrect interaction with those the church currently holds as outsiders? can we be the church without be politically active and socially responsible?

As i approach the next month full of possibilities. I wonder how to move the church forward? not my church the Church...

more ramblings to come. one thing is certain we are moving toward a new, new normal.