By Rev. Christian Schmidt
Our worship theme for the month of May is “Acceptance” and the questions I keep coming back to are these: How do we accept ourselves, warts and all, and then accept those around us, and then come to grips with this thing we call reality?!?
Acceptance is something I’ve struggled with, often in regards to myself. How do you balance high standards with forgiving yourself when you fail? How do reckon with your mistakes and try to make amends? What does it mean to be imperfect beings in an imperfect world? And what does all of that mean in perhaps the biggest world crisis of our times?
As my wife, the Rev. Kristin Grassel Schmidt, wrote recently:
“Many our stories over the last year have been about the importance of doing whatever is necessary to stay safe, to protect our democracy, to prevent virus spread, to care for one another in the midst of very real threats. While the danger is certainly not past, and while precautions are still very much necessary, it’s time that we shift from mere survival stories and into the story of how we will emerge from this tough chapter thriving. How do we shift from feeling always on the defense and into feeling like resilient people navigating choppy seas yet headed toward liberation and joy? What story about yourself, about the different communities of which you are part, will help you move into the future with a sense of your own power and possibility and accountability not just to one another but the generations to come?”
This month we’ll be tackling acceptance, and also considering our new mission, vision and core values, electing new leaders, likely hearing who the next minister will be, and passing a budget for the year to come. That’s a lot, but I know that we can do it together.
In faith,
Rev. Christian