(Published May 20, 2020)

Happy Wednesday!

It is my hope and prayer that you all are well in this season! So much has changed in the short time since we’ve last heard from one another. Flowers have gone into full bloom, our weather has taken on a consistent flow of warmth and rain, states have begun to slowly reopen their various doors, and we will soon celebrate Pentecost Sunday! What a year it has been thus far, I need not remind you of all that we have faced, but we have done so together. It has been quite the joy amidst our crisis, to witness many church’s and ministries adapt with urgency to the climate of our nation. Faith communities have truly embodied what it is to “rethink church” (shameless plug for our very own Professor of Evangelism Dr. Doug Powe)  and have done so in a way that represents what it means to be the church lived out.

I believe that now more than ever, we have come to recognize that who we are called to be, in whatever way we are called to be, may take a reimagining, or a restarting, to do so as effectively as possible. I am reminded of a time in my teenage years where I asked my mother about how she as a parent, had the flexibility to raise four very different personalities all at once, and how she did so with such excellence. She said to me “My being a mother does not change, it is who I am to all of you, it is my purpose in your lives. However, how I do so with each of you, is dependent on the ways that I see that you need to be loved and nurtured. All of you are my children, and I love you all with all of my heart at the same time, but I recognize that, that love manifested in your lives must adapt in a form that each of you need.” This lesson from my mother taught me that in our purpose, the source from which we draw our strength (for us, God) will always be present, and filled with power. Yet, let us instead recognize that in order to be effective with this power, we have to be willing to adapt it to a form in which it is needed.

As we continue to rethink and reimagine church, may we not lose hope or sight of our purpose and the Holy source of God from whom we draw our power. Let us continue to be innovative and transformative, with the love of our creator as our source of power, and our purpose  lived out in whatever way the world needs, as our love for community and the world over!

Peace and blessings,

Elijah S. Ferebee

PS. Join us this Thursday evening for a conversation about how you can engage the community outside of the church walls as a student at Wesley! Register here.