Redundancy

I'm posting my newsletter article, even though it's a bit redundant.

Ponderous Thoughts

I imagine the size of the universe, and I wonder what’s out past the edges
Then I discover inside me a space as big and believe that I’m meant to be
Filled up with more than just questions
--Chris Rice, “Big Enough”

Wow! What a great day we had Sunday! At my last count, 24 people joined the church yesterday, and we have several families getting ready to join in the coming weeks. All of the 21 young people who joined us for Confirmation class will be joining our church as full members. As Eric pointed out, this may be one of the first adult decisions these young people make.
Our church has so much to offer—from opportunities to pray and serve God in the world to a place to come and people to be with when we’re struggling. And one of the gifts we have to share with all these new members (and some who’ve been around a while) is the freedom to think about how God fills the spaces inside us, and to learn from those around us that our faith leads us to ask questions, and to understand the answers, and to live in the tension created in the in-between spaces.
Yep, that’s what I said…faith is how we live when we don’t have the answers, not just when we do. As long as we are growing in grace and faith (as long as we live), we will ask questions, and sometimes we won’t find answers. But we’ve given all these new members, and especially our Confirmation class, the great gift of being able to come together, ask our questions, and find that one another’s faith helps us find answers when we can, and peace when we can’t. And they give us that same gift in return.
Thanks be to God!

Anne