Dear Friends,

Over this past week, I’ve been basking in the glow of Last Sunday’s wonderful Homecoming Celebration, with gratitude for all of you who planned, prepared, donned costumes, led tours and games, as well as those of you who simply showed up and offered us the gift of your presence. I believe we did a really good job being together safely, too, by wearing masks to protect one another while indoors, and holding our picnic outdoors so that we could converse and share our meals mask-free.

And yet, all the while I’m keenly aware that the COVID case numbers in Richmond continue rising and are now at levels as high as they were last winter, so we must remain even more diligent in exercising precautions to stay safe and healthy as we move on into the fall. In this week’s newsletter, you can read about the extra steps we will be taking for our worship and fellowship gatherings based on our bishops’ recommendations, and I hope that you will agree that our congregation’s health is our primary concern, regardless of the additional limitations this requires.

Like many of you, I grow weary of this ongoing process of “three steps forward, two steps backward,” but I am remembering to focus on all that we still do have – the opportunity to worship, still, in our church, the technology to share our worship online with those who are not able to be present, and the deep sense that we are all connected and belong to one another. And I’m reminding myself, once again, that being a great church community doesn’t necessarily mean a certain attendance number on Sunday morning, or the most programs, or the largest turnouts for fellowship gatherings. It sometimes means letting go of our standards and expectations and being open to the love and life that emerges in ways we could never have masterminded or imagined. It means learning, in the words of Alice Walker, to “expect nothing, live frugally on Surprise.”

In this week’s gospel passage, we find the disciples arguing over who is the greatest, unable to accept the reality that Jesus keeps on sharing with them – that he is going to die a terrible death before he rises to the fullness of his life and love. “In order to be first, you need to be last and the servant of all,” he tells them. They have no idea what he’s talking about; they cannot comprehend that love and life is often fully manifest in the very moments where it seems the worst has happened and everything we expected is lost.

Born as most of us are to a culture that is all about judgment, comparison, and achievement, with winners and losers everywhere, this teaching is hard for us, too. But Jesus wants to assure us that if we can be okay being the least and letting go of our expectations, then we can be truly free in our spirit.

For me, this is a lifelong process. I had a mentor who used to ask, “Would you rather be right, best, the most successful, or would you rather find joy?” I offer this same question to all of you, and I invite you to use it as often as you find your hopes, desires, and spirits constricting in the face of the changes and chances of life in pandemic mode. Remember also, the words of Alice Walker. “Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise.”

In Christ,

Amelie+