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The Musings of Reverend Catherine Harrington The past month has been a busy and productive time for People’s Church. Stewardship: time of taking stock, looking forward, and sowing seeds for the future. I recently read an article that reminded me of the importance of seeing the glass “half-full” as opposed to “half-empty,” a simple shift in perception that alters the way we react to circumstances that makes all the difference. It’s more that just positive thinking, its transformative thinking. Without the ability to transform negative thoughts the creative process is diminished if not completely annihilated. The people I met in the barrios of Nicaragua have this amazing kind of transformative vision and the ability to create something out of practically nothing. I remember seeing a clock in one home that someone made from an old toilet seat. It was really cool! And, there were the kids playing basketball in the dirt alley who made a basketball hoop out of an old bicycle wheel. It worked famously! And, those crazy light switches concocted from old syringes! Who would have dreamed? Where there’s a will there’s a way… I think we are pretty good at this kind of seeing; our recent survey results seem to indicate that we are great at it! There’s no shortage of creative optimism dwelling among us. How about the optimists who believe we can grow to a Program-size church of over 350 members? How about that large contingent of folks visioning that our little church will soon be bursting at the seams, overflowing with more families with lots and lots of children. I love that one. Isn’t it wonderful when the blanket is completely covered up with kids on Sunday morning for the Story for All Ages? How about the recent Sunday when one not so big, big sister held her arm carefully around her little brother’s shoulder during the story? And, once when he spoke aloud, she whispered in his ear and gently touched her index finger to his lips. I wished everyone could see the two of them. It was one of life’s most precious moments that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss for the world. The “number one” strength listed in our survey was the people of People’s Church. It’s the people who transformed the Rose Hawley Museum building into a sanctuary, into our church. The people form the community and as a community, we are primarily concerned with how we should live, individually and collectively, so that we might become better people, partners, parents and citizens. We seek, in our different ways, for the values worth living by. What core values can we use as a guiding factor in our decision-making when it comes to how, when and where we will transform our time, talent, and treasure into that glass overflowing? In faith, Cathy |