There is hope, always.

Dear Friends,

What a week it has been in the life of our nation.

I must admit that I'm writing this to you on Wednesday, without knowing who has been elected president. Perhaps that is best, as it forces me to write from liminal space a word of hope.

Because there is hope, always. Our Catechism, which outlines our faith, reminds us that the Christian Hope "is to live with confidence in newness and fullness of life, and to await the coming of Christ in glory, and the completion of God's purpose for the world" (p. 861, BCP). Together, we remember God's dream for us, a dream of wholeness and healing, a dream of reconciliation. Together, we work into that hope, remembering to whom we truly belong. Together, we follow Jesus.

Presiding Bishop Micheal Curry writes, "The journey is always a struggle. But the movement is always forward, no matter the obstacles."

If this election season - and, this week - have revealed anything, it is that there are deep divisions in our country. And yet, there are also deep wells of strength, resilience, and compassion. May we harness the healing power of the latter as we recommit our lives to the pursuit of justice and love.

Maybe by now we know who will be the next president. Maybe we don't. Either way, there is work to be done. There is Jesus to follow. And, in that, is our hope.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen. (BCP, 833).

Yours in Christ,

Crystal+