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Well friends, this is it! This really is my last worship service with you. I have said that a couple of times in the past 2 years, first when my internship ended and then when my one year contract as the Step by Step coordinator came to an end. But each time there was a glimmer of conversation that suggested I would be back! And it was indeed delightful to come back and continue to work among you! It was an honor and blessing to know that you trusted my ministry and welcomed me into your lives.
Now the conversation around my leaving has shifted and my calendar no longer has planning meetings scheduled with the Board or Sharon. And I must admit that that makes me sad, sad that I will leave the community that nurtured my call to ordination, and leave the affirming relationships that guided me through doubt and trepidation.
There are so many things I want to say this morning … so many experiences and encounters I want to remember but I know this isn’t the place nor do we have the time to reminisce.
So that means then, that at another time I will have to talk … about how wonderful it has been to work with the remarkable children and youth in this congregation. Over the past 3 years I have marveled at their growth and abilities to take on leadership roles and challenges and push the learning curve. I hope each of them will stay in touch so I can continue to celebrate the amazing ways their lives are unfolding.
I’ll also have to talk at another time about the powerful mentoring relationship I have had with
Sharon
and how much I have learned and connected with her. I know the Spirit was truly at work when She led me to the strong and confident female roll model of the
Rev. Dr.
Sharon
. My whole life had been formed around male ministry figures and while I knew a woman was equally capable of pastoral leadership, I never had the opportunity to witness this.
Sharon
, has taught me that pastoring does not need to fall into the routine or mundane nor authoritarian or hierarchical. Several weeks ago
Sharon
presented me with a gift that I will hang prominently in my new office … a gold party hat … This will always be a reminder that JOY and celebration and parties are the wellspring and foundation from which good leadership flows. Thank you!
And … I’ll have to talk at another time about how much I appreciate the beauty of this city of
Redlands
with its mountainous, snow-capped vistas and the aroma of orange blossoms that welcome me as I exit the 10 freeway and head up
Alabama St
. There have been several days when I have actually pulled off the road and parked at one of the orange groves just to soak in their aroma therapy.
And I’ll have to talk at another time about the bittersweet necessity of “leaving my nest” of Redlands UCC” … the nurturing home where I learned to fly and then to soar above the negative context of my past religious and ministry experiences.
And another time about the wonderful music and gifted musicians who energize, calm, and soothe me … and I suspect you as well … every Sunday.
And I’ll also have to talk at another time about my new home – Diamond Bar -- and how much it reminds me of this congregation with its wonderfully progressive, open and affirming commitment … and how this new congregation shares a vision with RUCC for a world at peace, that moves beyond the old ways of violence and power-over others, towards new ways of non-violence and cooperation.
Yes … all of those things for another time!
Instead I’d like to take this opportunity to talk about the gift that you … this congregation … has given to your city of
Redlands
… in the form of the Step by Step program. Your leadership and generosity have made it possible for this dream to grow from an idea germinating in the imaginations of members of this church, to a blossoming community effort that now is supported by First Lutheran church, Community Presbyterian, the Latter Day Saints, Congregation Emanu El, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic church, Inland Valley Friends Meeting, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Pathways, Redlands Adult School, and Family Stabilization. It is truly a diverse group of people, both theologically and politically, who have come together to make
Redlands
a more compassionate and caring city.
Many of you may not know how the name SBS came to be. It was the brainstorm of our very own Jay Grayson who suggested that the process of leaving prison and moving toward positive reintegration back into society was really a “step by step process” … and voila … Step by Step became our name! These words (step by step) spoke to the manner in which individuals on parole must walk order to overcome the myriad of obstacles they face when coming home. With only $200 in their pocket they are required to return to their last county of residence to find housing, felon-friendly employers, health care, transportation, food, clothing, and whatever other needs they might have. And to complicate these daunting reentry issues, 50% of individuals on parole are functionally illiterate and unable to read at even a 1st grade level. For many the $200 is just enough to pay travel expenses from their release site to home. Without supportive services it’s no wonder that so many end up back in prison not long after they have been released.
But how did they get there in the first place … you might ask? Well 2 stories come to mind. Imagine for instance, growing up in a home where at the age of 5 you are exposed to drugs. Then imagine that at the age of 8 you start using those drugs. By age 12 you are a hard-core user and have your first entanglement with the law. By the age of 22 you have been in and out of prison several times. For this young person, the downhill spiral started long before he even had a chance to begin kindergarten.
Or imagine being a young woman, a teenager actually, who is lured into a relationship with an older man dealing drugs and before she knows it she has 2 small children to support. The promise of quick money through drugs and prostitution are the means for being able to keep her children fed and a roof over their head. The risk of prison is second to the needs of her children.
These are just a couple of the individuals that the SBS program is working with, people who have oftentimes faced unimaginable life circumstances yet continue to have a deep desire and hope that they can do right …that they can leave behind the bad choices and decisions of their past. But they are in desperate need of a visible sign, of tangible proof that their hope is not in vain.
And their need is not unlike that of Thomas’ in today’s gospel. He, too, needed visible proof that hope was still possible despite the terrible loss he and his friends had suffered. It seems to me that Thomas represents those injured people in our world who need more than invisible and esoteric promises. Thomas is the guy who challenges us to make plainly visible God’s love, to actively and willingly demonstrate the hope of resurrection to those who are hurting. It was Gandhi who said that the only way God can appear to those who are desperately hungry is in the form of bread; in a form that is tangible and touchable. And so it is for those who have often lost hope in themselves, in the social structures that are supposed to protect them, and in the people of their communities who reject them. Step by Step is the bread that demonstrates the existence of love in our world. Step by Step is the bread that affirms for our friends who have served their time, that they are cared about and not shunned or feared or judged.
Step by Step was and continues to be this congregations way of “stepping in belief” that all things are possible when we allow God’s goodness to lead us; when we work collectively to be bread to others. SBS was a vision that has now become a concrete manifestation of hope. And I am grateful to have shared in the dreams, the actions, and the community that gave birth to one more of God’s wondrous miracles.
I would like to close with some words from one of my many favorite singers … Rod Stewart … that I think fit this occasion.
“Have I told you lately that I love you,
Have I told you there’s no one else above you,
You fill my heart with gladness,
Take away all my sadness,
Ease my troubles, that’s what you do.”
Thank you for the opportunity to have walked with you during these past years and to have shared in your struggles, your joys, and your lives. The Spirit forever beckons each of us in new and unique ways. I pray that the time we have spent together and the connections we have shared are light and hope for the many journeys that lie ahead.
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