Dear friends,
Last week, Pauline preached the sermon titled “Meaningful Endings, Hopeful Beginnings.”
In it, she quoted Richard Rohr about change.
“The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But transformation more often happens not when something new begins but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart—disruption and chaos—invites the soul to listen at a deeper level. It invites and sometimes forces the soul to go to a new place because the old place is not working anymore. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, darkness, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is, it does not feel good and it does not feel like God. We will do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart..This is when we need patience, guidance, and the freedom to let go instead of tightening our controls and certitudes. Transformation usually includes a disconcerting reorientation. Change can either help people to find a new meaning, or it can cause people to close down and turn bitter.. The difference is determined by the quality of our inner life, or what we call “spirituality.” Spiritual transformation is an active process of letting go, living in the confusing dark space for a while, and allowing yourself to be spit up on a new and unexpected shore.”
Join us this week, as i speak about change – about baptism, transformation and hope.
miak