On Connection
On Connection and Proximity
This morning I am at Starbucks in Sherrills Ford, which is my usual place to be on Wednesday mornings. Our coffee group has grown in recent months, and usually we have 5 to 8 or so people coming by. As it turns out, many of the regulars have other things that are keeping them away today, so I brought my computer so that i would be here should someone drop by
As I looked for something to say in a live FB post I do regularly, called “a cup of grace,” I found a poem by Meta Herrick Carlson.*
Here are a few verses from the poem:
“We are not built for mere tolerance
skepticism
fear
hate
disgust
indifference.
We are built for proximity in body and spirit,
to delight in God’s manifold image,
decorating each person with love that is natural
to honor, affirm, and celebrate.
*Ordinary Blessings: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Everyday Life, by Meta Herrick Carlson
I thought this poem, and many others in this book, speak to today.
Last night, I gathered with others to hear Charlotte writer Tommy Tomlinson speak. As usual, in his eloquent and entertaining way, he shared a bit about the why and how of his latest book, Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show. While many insights were interesting, what stuck out for me was his conclusion about dogs, and their human companions, the importance of connection.
In recent months that truth has become ever clearer to me. Connections to people are the single most important determinant of living a happy and fulfilled life. Connection, seeking it, offering it, is the reason I hang out at Starbucks and Untapped Territory on Wednesdays. It is why I do “Hops ‘n’ Hymns” and a banned book club. It is why I gather with others for all kinds of things - conversation, worship, ministry work, creative projects, protest. The older I get, the more connections matter. At last night’s gathering, I saw old friends and new, and the importance of being connected to others weighed heavy on my mind, but in a good way, like a weighted blanket.
This morning, as I was writinga, hanging around in case one of the dozens of people I have invited to join me on Wednesdays shows up, I got a phone call from one of those newer connections. She called to tell me about a disturbing event, the arrest on Monday of Rev. William Barber, Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove and Steve Swayne, director of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, while they were praying in the U.S. Capital Rotunda in D.C. I have met the first two, and heard them speak, read what they have written. I don’t know Swayne, but I have happily spent time at St. Francis in recent years. The retreat is a place of peace, and connection. The Reverends Barber and Wilson-Hartgrove are persons of peace, and connection. They speak out often giving voice to others’ needs, and our connection to them, our duty as decent human beings to pay attention to the urgent needs of our neighbors.
A dark side of the power of connection exists, too. Right now, connections to others are being used to control, to intimidate, to manipulate. Fear mongering, using power and money to control the very heart of democracy threatens the lives and livelihoods of many, including those the praying men held up in prayer on Monday.
Connection to each other matters. It can be used for good, or evil. I pray that I am gathering and connecting people in the way the poet suggested. We have a choice, and even if we have made bad choices by who we voted for, or political connections we may have held in the past, or things we have said, or not said, we can and should examine how we use our connection to others. Made in the image of God, every person is worthy to be loved, celebrated, honored, and affirmed. And if my opinion makes me unpopular, angers others, or even gets me arrested, I will continue to gather others to share hope, grace, and a glimpse of God’s love. I hope you will too.
Here’s a poem I wrote some time ago, but seems appropriate for today, too.
A Responsive Reading*
Why should we be discouraged
Or distracted
When we know
That you build things
Out of chaos and confusion?
The present times provide a platform
For the movement to become
Clear,
For us to stand with you
And in that standing
To be seen as something
Very different.
Give us voice and insight
So that we can re-imagine
The right order
Out of this chaos,
The world you set spinning
So long ago,
As we approach a
Landing spot
Where we can
Say "at last"
With deep sighs
And the tiredness of honest work.
And when things don't emerge all at once
Let this breather give us a glimpse
Of how to tie these knots together
To form a net that will catch all those
Scarred and wounded ones.
It is us,
After all,
Who must heal the wounds of
Christendom.
It is us,
Who must be ambassadors of
Reconciliation.
It is us,
Who must paint these signs and wonders,
To reach across
Class and race and gender,
Age and sexual orientation,
Culture and traditions.
We are the paintbrushes.
Let us make ourselves ready
For your hand to complete
The masterpiece.
Amy Vaughan February 27, 2016
*plucked from my notes from hearing
Dr. Elaine Heath on Feb 22, 2016
This picture is of a t-shirt I am wearing today!