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Rev. Ruth Gibson, MRE First Church of Denver, CO Each year, as our children are enrolled in the religious education program and classes begin, we renew our covenants with one another. We let each other—committee, congregation, parents, teachers and advisers, youth and children—know what we expect from one another, in order for mutually supportive relationships to thrive, and we renew our commitments to those relationships and to those expectations. This year our Board of Trustees is also making a covenant and our Fulfilling the Promise team is completing its work on a covenant for the congregation—a statement that clarifies the things that members of the church have a right to expect from one another. A covenant is a promise that we make, and strive to keep, in order that our mutual relationship, our "belonging to one another" may e strengthened, and that our lives, so strengthened, may shine with the radiance of all the good which our growing strength empowers us to do. By their very nature, covenants call us to strive to be better than we are, perhaps even better than we imagine we can be. Because of this, we often fall short, let one another down. In this season of new beginnings, it is wise and well for us not only to renew our commitments to our best hopes but also to attend to those places where we are over stretched, falling short, and ask one another for help, encouragement, and forgiveness. We make a difference that matters in the world not only by living our faith but also, sometimes, simply by affirming the goodness we hope for, even though we don't know how to bring it about. Welcome to the new year! May it begin in sweetness and in strength. Then, as the poet Rilke said, let us take our "well-disciplined strengths and stretch them between two opposing poles. Because inside human beings is where God learns." |
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