Thursday, September 8, 2022
Ashley Wade
From the Inside-Out
I am fascinated by how we change. I am awe-struck at how time moves faster and slower in different seasons of our lives. I feel deep tenderness for the youngest among us and the oldest. I wonder at the upside-down-ness of God’s kingdom: the rhythms that beg for slower tempos and longer pauses; a faith that assures us God is as present in failure as in success (and a fresh perspective on how failure and success present in the kingdom vs. the human realm); a wisdom that grows in suffering and walking alongside others in their pain. How counter-cultural, mysterious, and refreshing to experience God’s kingdom sprouting and emerging, always from within. This inside-out, upside-down kingdom calls us together asking us simply to be present to it and to each other.
St. John’s has lived through many seasons, and through my lived experience amid this community and the relationships and stories that have been shared, I have emerged with a great gift. I get to work at the center of the knitting together, the telling of our story, one that moves and grows from the inside-out.
Again, I am fascinated by a culture of community that fosters inside-out growth. One where roles can emerge through organic need, new programs can be envisioned and born into the world, caring for people and creation can take center stage. A community where the branches can be pruned to produce more and better fruit. A community where imperfection and messiness can stand beside ancient tradition. A community where people are freed to live into their gifts. A community where the youngest and oldest can be seen, known, heard, and loved.
The week leading up to kickoff Sunday has always been whacky. (And in truth we haven’t done a real kickoff since 2019!!) People like me suffer under the weight of details and deadlines but are saved by angels who show up to help and offer support and words of affirmation. I am grateful to stand in my role in this season at St. John’s, collecting helpers and connecting dots. Putting ideas into motion, updating webpages, and getting the words and links out to a community that is not only physically in our midst, but virtually around the country and world. There are 15 various ministries invited to participate in a parish ministry table this Sunday. We will continue an effort to expand our welcoming team and make the pathway for newcomers smoother and straighter. We will ask you what you need, what you want, what you think. We will adjust, learn, grow, change. We will make plans and then be flexible. We will do our best to listen and step forward in love.
We will make mistakes and we will take breaks. We will miss things and blunder others. We will also strive to reflect a diverse, multi-generational community with myriad interests, needs, and gifts. We will use our resources responsibly to amplify the great light of our message and efforts, always striving to bring more beauty and love into the world through our shared time, resource, joy, pain, past and future. Always seeking truth, always honoring our bodies and spirits, always from the inside-out.