Boxes of Remembrance

A little over a year ago, about three months into our ministry here in Portland, during a goal-setting gathering, the congregation of Chestnut United Methodist Church formed a Site Team for the purpose of participating in the Urban Mission Training Program, and especially to move forward with a process of discernment and planning for the future. After 12 months of praying, planning, researching, learning, hoping, dreaming, trusting, daring, discussing, disagreeing, finding consensus, and stepping out in faith, we have articulated a new vision for ministry that feels God-led; we've purchased a new home for worship and ministry; and we've begun ministry in the Parkside neighborhood of Portland, Maine.

Today we gathered for a little ritual, led by Priscilla Dreyman, to mark the ending of one phase of the journey and the beginning of another. On a piece of watercolor paper, each of us wrote about some of the things that stand out most about this journey we've shared. Then we did some painting with watercolors... first on strips of paper, which later we cut into smaller strips on which we wrote words of blessing for one another... and then on two square pieces of watercolor paper: the one on which we'd written our memories and another piece. When our paintings were dry, we folded them into beautiful little boxes, which we're calling Site Team boxes. Our memories are folded inside, not visible, but enclosed within the box. We had a time of sharing -- about what we'd written inside, about what we'd painted on the outside, about our experience together -- and then we passed around the little strips with the words of blessing, so each of us has a strip from each sister or brother on the team. The blessings will remain in the box, and the box will sit on my desk as a symbol of this journey.

I'm so thankful for this team of faithful folks: Priscilla, Sue, Geraldine, Tom, Pat, Shirley, Erica, Sara, and sometimes Jim. I'm thankful for all that we've experienced together... for the laughter we've shared... for the love is at the center of our community. I'm thankful for times of deep discernment and deep sharing. I'm thankful for the faith and trust with which we embarked on the journey -- faith and trust further confirmed by this experience. I'm thankful for this place where God has led us, and for the feelings of hope and joy and possibility with which we embrace the adventure that lies ahead. And I'm thankful for today's ritual, which gave us the space to remember, to give thanks, to mark an ending and lean forward to a new beginning.