A Time to Every Purpose

Perspective. Sometimes one must step back and discern what's most important about a particular goal. That's what I ended up doing about plans for a community worship service as we recover from Her Horribleness.

What I really wanted to do was some kind of service right now! And then something on the anniversary date of the storm. The first would be a support as we deal with the free-floating anxiety that's hanging in the air while we await what is to happen this hurricane season. The second to be present for the very real issues which will be popping up big time around 9/24.

The reality is that we just plain can't pull together two huge worship services so close together, so we had to decide which was more important. September 24th wins hands down!

Anniversary dates bring out all sorts of feelings and one of the best things the faith community can do is provide a venue for healing and expressing the very real depths of pain and loss that Golden Trianglers will be experiencing. Everyone has anniversary dates (and not just the generally good ones of weddings and birthdays). I know I tend to become numb and wrapped in cotton emotionally around a couple of my own significant anniversary dates. Others have different reactions.

September 24 is going to be especially difficult for those who still aren't in restored homes, or those who lost loved ones as a result of the storm (even if the loss occurred later), or those who stayed during the storm and experienced first-hand its power, fury, and devastation. Even people who think they haven't been affected sharply by the storm will probably find themselves dealing with anxieties and concerns about then.

So ........... We're focusing on how best to help our community as the fateful date approaches. We've a theme - Shelter from the Storm: A Service for Healing and Wholeness. First task - Identify where to hold it. We're going to see if we can get Ford Park Arena. What an appropriate symbolic location! Once we get the place set, we'll be working to get as many in the faith community as possible involved.

Keep us in your prayers! We've a lot to accomplish and a relatively short time to do it. There is a rightness about this. I trust that God will bring this to fruition - a time to every purpose - to mourn, to share our fears and anxieties, to gather for comfort and support, to encourage each other, to celebrate how far we've come in one year and to acknowledge just how far we have yet to go, ... to worship together across all boundaries. Yep! I think we can do this!