All Shall Be Well…
As is typical, I was one of the later people to walk into the potluck on Sunday—my gabbing and checking in with folks after worship often means most others are already seated with food and friends. I entered the Social Hall and had to stop. Looking around, planted in place by awe, I just hadn’t expected the bounty: crockpots and breads and desserts; gluten-free and vegetarian and vegan; people and people and people. Pastor Davi circled the room on Zoom with one or two members who chose to join us that way, children and adults participated in crafts with a gratitude focus, and new visitors mingled with long-timers. I was overwhelmed. Reflecting back, I realize the feeling I had was one of wellness.
No, everything is not “back to normal” in the sense of what life was like before the Covid-19 pandemic. Honestly, I don’t know that life will ever fully “go back” now that we’ve experienced the implications of disease spread and caring for more vulnerable members of society (RSV and influenza are severe this year, and we want to stay aware of that in our community). Neither is everything okay in the world (far from it!). Rather, what I felt in that moment at the potluck was a different sense of wellness. It was the wellness I hear in Julian of Norwich’s quote, All shall be well and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well…
Worries will be forever with us, and hard things will happen to individuals and nations. And still I believe that our faith community will support us through those times because we are in a place of wellness. Not only that, but as Julian also said, there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go. We may wonder what variants will emerge next and what effects the war in Ukraine will continue to have on the world. We may learn a diagnosis that devastates us or finally face a family separation. We may feel distanced because we need more mask-wearing or less mask-wearing. We may fret over personal finances or how to alleviate widespread poverty. First Congregational Church of Bellingham is here for all of us through these things. That is: you/we are here for one another through it all. And even if we are not feeling personally well in this season, Julian of Norwich’s quote speaks volumes to me in this moment because it is what I believe about our congregation. All shall be well…For there is a force of love moving through the universe that holds us fast and will never let us go.
Thanks be to God,
