Dear St. Lukers,
The season of starting school has always been one of my favorites. Growing up in Michigan, the beginning of school was always after Labor Day. The weather was starting to become cooler, leaves on the trees had just the hint of color, and you had one last weekend to head off to the lake or have one last jump in a pool. Buying school supplies was also a hit! Planning out the locker decorations, organizing folders, fitting everything into the right spaces in the new backpack was tops on the list. And then when school days turned into college days, there were football games, the sounds of the band, and the fun of good food and friends being together.
This year is different.
Face Coverings
Hand Washing
Room Cleaning
Temperature Checks
More Hand Washing
More Cleaning
We mourn the loss of seeing friends and catching up on the summer vacation news. We still grieve for what was lost at the end of last school year and what we are going to continue to miss this school year. We worry if the decision on how to attend school for our children was the right decision. We feel these differences deep in our hearts. They are causing stress for many families. People are being judged by the decisions that are made for their families.
Brené Brown said, “We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity.” As I begin this new path at St. Luke’s directing the Child Development Center, I am reminded that it is going to be a challenging year with many differences. Yet, a year where we can learn so much together. Through wearing face coverings at school and reminding each other about keeping space, cleaning up after ourselves and hand washing, we are learning about how to keep everyone safe around us. Not one person’s needs are above another. When we see each other face to face for conversation, we are reminded how important our words can be. We cannot take for granted that we will have a chance to make things right the next time. We need to live in the understanding that our words matter now.
From the book, Reckless Love, by Tom Berlin, the sermon for Sunday will be covering the chapter on Valuing Others. The word for Vacation Bible School this week has been “Hope.” As we learn to live with these differences, instead of thinking that our own actions are the right ones, we can begin to value others and look at how our actions can reflect love for everyone. We can look for hope in each new situation and work towards bridging the gap between people. When we approach each new change with love, then we can look at things with a new light. God’s light. And that has never changed.
Grace and peace,
Janet
Janet Chambers
Director of St. Luke’s Child Development Center