Barely Hanging On...to Faith and the Church || A Place To Be Healed
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Yoshiya Kuramoto || Howard and Mary Martin Ministry Intern
"But there is a difference between curing and healing, and I believe the church is called to the slow and difficult work of healing. We are called to enter into one another's pain, anoint it as holy and stick around no matter the outcome."
-Rachel Held Evans, Searching For Sunday
When did you decide that the church was worth it? There are definitive moments in life that leave a mark on our hearts. However, this is not a mere moment for transformation. On healing, Rachel Held Evans quotes Episcopalian priest Becca Stevens; "We are each reminded that healing is not an event, but rather a journey we walk as we make our way back to the memory of God." To view the process of healing, reconciliation, renewal, and transformation as ongoing, and not a destination, is a truth that a perfectly imperfect community that is the church is called to live into. In this week's sermon, we will explore the final passage from the letter of James and together imagine what it means to be embody the spirit of authenticity, truth-telling, and vulnerability as a path to healing.