Our Social Justice Minister, Erin Gingrich, asked me to participate in her service a couple of weeks ago. Her topic was “Hope Rekindled,” and she’d heard enough of my story to think some version of it might add something “powerful.”
I loved crafting a speech to fit the theme and metaphors we chose—visions of high school speech competitions made me smile as I worked. Even better was the opportunity to pull out parts of my story that could be told in an uplifting way. I wasn’t nervous that Sunday, just honored.
The third member of our service team that day, Martha Shen, crocheted a huge doily for Erin some time ago. She included a poem with her gift that became our service’s central theme.
a single strand
masterfully intertwined
whose beauty is defined
as much by the empty spaces
as by the strand itself.
Here’s my Reflection. If you’d like to hear Erin’s homily, you can click here.