HELLO!
And God stepped out on space, And God looked around and said: I'm lonely—I'll make me a world. And far as the eye of God could see, Darkness covered everything, Blacker than a hundred midnights, Down in a cypress swamp. Then God smiled, And the light broke, And the darkness rolled up on one side, And the light stood shining on the other, And God said: That's good! James Weldon Johnson’s poem Creation
The fourth session of our Woodlawn United Church Faith Study will take place Tuesday, October 29th at 7 pm in the Sams Room. Everyone is welcome, whether you attended any of the other sessions or not, whether you have read the book, Testimony by Tom Long, or not. I will summarize the chapter, then invite conversation and sharing. This process, in a circle, has worked well in our previous sessions. We had 14 people for the first session, 17 for the other two. We’ve enjoyed a lot of participation.
This session is title “First Light”, but it is more accurately summed up using the words of Psalm 118:24, also Hymn #412 from Voices United, “This is the Day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it”. Long points out we spend a lot of time thinking about our duties and our pleasures, but we rarely ponder our deepest joys. Long believes our deepest joys come from a response to God’s search for companionship, as evidenced by the words in Genesis. God desires relationship, when we respond to that summons, we find deep joy, deep connection. Long believes when we find the words to describe that response, we find our testimony, our faith story, the way we talk about God with others.
How would you put to words your response to God’s desire for a relationship with you? In my life, I find this response in my walks, with my dog, by myself as I walk on Mount Edward or Woodlawn or Caledonia roads, as I talk to God and feel God’s response. I feel a joy in this connection. It is not always what I want to know, to hear, but it does fill me with assurance, wonder and possibility. I pray you find your words too.
Peace, Kevin