Dear Friends,

I've been thinking about courage the last couple of days. Not a dramatic and heroic courage, but an everyday courage. In 2 Timothy 1:7 we are given a hint about what courage looks like: "for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline." Everyday courage may be about the connecting to the Holy Spirit, living in love and doing these things in a disciplined way. David Whyte has this to say about courage: "courage is a word that tempts us to think outwardly...but to look at its linguistic origins is to look in a more interior direction and towards it original template, the old Norman French, Coeur, or heart. Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with one another with a community, a work, a future."

So I think I want to be present to my own life and to those around me in a more heartfelt way. This takes a measure of courage, for it calls for a vulnerability, and authenticity, and a willingness to be less in control and more in the moment. I'd like to say this this is easy work, but it may be the bit of courage I am being called to. How about you?

On another note:

This Sunday we gather to do a little of the work of the church in the annual meeting. Its a old and important part of New England Church culture and the basis of the town meeting. This church is yours. I hope you will come and help us be the church.

Blessings,

Susan