At our Worship Team retreat on 11/14/19, we discussed Sunday services from January through June.  We talked about the widespread anxiety and angst in most of the people we know—including ourselves.  We decided to “amend” the theme of “Generosity in All Things” to something addressing the confusion and worry about where our country and world are headed.

I recently attended an audio/webinar of “Transformational Resilience for Climate Traumas and Toxic Stresses.”  I found some jewels in the material.  What moved me was the premise that significant changes are coming. There is a role for churches to prepare our congregants to respond constructively and compassionately.  I interpreted this as our religious responsibility to build resilience to help us all respond to the trauma and changes coming.  While change is inevitable in life, the forecasted changes due to climate change are not individual, but will collectively have a negative impact on all of us.  What we expect in life (power, water, clean air, cheap resources, easy/economic travel, economic stability, etc) may change dramatically—if not for us, certainly for our children and beyond.

I liked this jewel of preparation in the materials because it gave me something to grasp and think about instead of being overwhelmed with the apocalyptic forecasts.  Understanding climate change is challenging, but deciding on what to do to slow it is overwhelmingly perplexing. The threat is so complex that it can cause paralysis, denial, or apathy.  BUT—if we spend our efforts on building resilience in our community, we will be able to respond to the changes adaptively and see the opportunities in what unfolds.

Our collective angst is not based solely on climate change.  The angst list includes the impeachment process, immigration, homelessness, housing crisis, wealth/income inequity, healthcare, crumbling infrastructures, and threats of invasive technology to cite a few.

Our Worship Team talked about what a church can do for the emotional state of our congregants.  We came up with a theme of “Supporting Each Other in Changing Times” for Sunday services.  This feels right to me—and names what we can do together.  Some monthly themes we talked about include Building Resilience, Making a Good Life in all Situations, Learning from the Margins (those impacted first in social changes), Finding Hope, and Living with Tension.  I’m thinking that these topics can be explored in Sunday services, Small Group Ministry sessions, Adult RE classes, and other methods to build resilience in our congregation across the generations.  If we can become the leading edge of collectively adapting to the coming changes, we can set the example of facing our challenges constructively, with compassion, and working toward our vision of the Beloved Community.

We can respond to climate change and the other challenges of our era—if we collectively work together building resilience.  Our lives will become different than what we’ve come to expect, but they can be rewarding and progressive.

Yours in shared ministry…………………..Rev Russ