celebrating our own interdependence
It’s hard for me to believe we’re already a month deep into our Summer of [be]Love[d]! I wonder if you’re using your permission slips—giving yourself permission to give and receive love over the course of the next several weeks? Setting an intention like this helps us to develop practices that shape the way we occupy our lives. It helps us to reinforce what God and so many others already know about us—that we are beloved. And, of course, we’re built to spread that love, too!
As always, summer is busy around here. We’re busy teaching classes, repairing our campuses, growing our support of folks needing assistance in our community, welcoming seasonal members of our church family, welcoming visiting chaplains, planning our stewardship campaign, doing all we can to spread love and make a difference in Jackson Hole. From where I sit, it seems to be working! Our church pews are full on Sunday mornings. Our offices are humming during the work week.And you are deployed all over our valley inching our mission of love along. Thank you!
Later this week we’ll celebrate Independence Day. Our town will swell to beyond capacity.So many of us will line our streets in our best red, white and blues waving flags and enjoying the privileges we are so richly afforded. My prayer is that while we celebrate Independence Day we might also celebrate our own interdependence! I hope that we might reflect on the rich benefits of our small but powerful community. I hope that we might acknowledge that we need each other, and that we are all working toward making our community a stronger more loving place. I hope we might take time to acknowledge our interdependence on God—that we are beloved of God and that God is using us to spread love right here where we live, whether we live here during the summer only or during the summer and the snowy time, too!
We’ve got a good thing going here, St. John’s. And, we’re going to make it even better!
Love, Jimmy
