By Rev. Nina D. Grey
July, 2001
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By Rev. Nina D. Grey July, 2001 |
I called my daughter, Kimberly, a few days ago, to talk about my vacation visit with them in July. Granddaughter, Hannah, came to the phone. She's six and a half, now. I asked her one or two questions, thinking she would just speak for a minute or two, as usual, and then say, "I'll put Mom back on" and go back to whatever she was doing. Not this time. She chatted on and on, sharing all kinds of news about her new home in New York City, her room, and her school. "I go to Public School 3, but it's P.S. 3. Don't you think P.S. 3 sounds better than Public School 3? It's messier than the other school but the teachers are nicer. I'd rather have nice teachers even if the school is not as neat. Don't you think that's better?" It was wonderful to be in touch with these family members, the apples of my eye.
Rabbi Edwin Friedman, the late author of "Generation to Generation" said that religious communities aren't families but they are made up of families. Some of us bring our families or part of our families to church with us. Most of us are connected to family members and friends beyond the church, folks who live in the suburbs or other cities or states, even other countries. It is good to be aware of the folks our church members and friends care about, to know that we are connected to a vast array of relations. I like the way we say some of their names aloud in the Community Naming part of our worship service, bringing the spirits of parents, grown children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, friends into the congregation, and sending out the wishes of the congregation to our beloveds near and far. It reminds us that our religious community has permeable boundaries, and the love flows into the community and out from the community.
During these summer months, I hope you will have some time to be in touch, personally, by phone, by email, by letter, in whatever way you can, with some of your family and friends who may live out of the area or whom you don't get enough chances to see regularly. It is important to honor and nurture those ties of family and friendship. We are more whole and healed when we do so, and we bring healthier selves into religious community life.
I will be visiting with some very good friends and some family during my vacation. I look forward to these opportunities to renew and strengthen loving ties with folks far away. These connections with my extended circle of loved ones help me to bring a strengthened, nourished self back to my beloved church community. And in one of the places I visit, I will choose some special water to bring for our Ingathering Water Ceremony in September.
Some of us will be away for a week, or two, or longer, but the community abides. We tend to the loving ties that bind us, throughout the summer. We worship together, there are Religious Education classes, and some First Forums. Many of our groups and committees continue to meet, to plan, and to act. There are special summer social gatherings (at the beach and a water park). And July and August are months when new people move to the city and make contact with churches. Let us welcome them and their families warmly into the community which is our church. And when we welcome them, let us welcome their full selves, as individuals, as family members, and members of the whole human family.
With love, in faith,
Nina