Sometimes I near the end of the full week and wonder: now what exactly happened this week? It sparks my gratitude for an ever-present phone and camera used to capture moments, stories, glimpses of the movement of God around me. Today’s post stems from those pictures!
Last Thursday night, a group of our young adults gathered for dinner and discussion. It was one of those spring evenings where the sky, the breeze, the locale, the moment align such that the Spirit seems to hover close. Our conversation was rich and full, touching on that which matters most in life and death and everything in between. Then leaving from Trade Street, I drove past the front of our building. (An aside — have you seen the front of our building lately? Do so if you haven’t!) And what I saw there thrilled my heart so much, I couldn’t help but to grab my phone and snap a hasty photo while at the stoplight. Two young adults, enjoying the best of a spring night in May right there on our front steps! I’m sure I read a lot into our twilight visitors, but I did hope they felt welcomed and invited onto those steps, warmly and hospitably by the community of bold love and boundless compassion who calls it home.
Sunday afternoon took me over to our neighbors at United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, for the installation service of their new pastor, Rev. Dr. Alvin Armstead. It was so good to be there for this time filled with meaningful worship, abundant prayer, fervent preaching, community support, and real hopefulness for this union of pastor, people, and the broader Winston-Salem community, that God’s guidance lead them together into lands filled with abundance.
At week’s end, our family made our way to the pool — new to us, which promises to be a fixture in our summer! And with delight our boundless companion, we relished the opportunity to jump and splash, squeal and flutter. It was a cool immersion on a hot day, one that baptized us with the deep gladness of simple joy.
In word and image, Word and Image, God came close. Hope created. Peace surprised. Joy abounded. Love was made real.
Together in the work of Love,
Pastor Emily