Purpose. Hope. Joy.

 

Dear Caldwell,

“What was on the news?” Kelly asked last night after cleaning up from painting the dining room all day.

“Record floods in Louisiana. Raging fires in California. Dying children in Aleppo (Syria),” I responded.

Ugh, I thought to myself. What a downer of a report.

Then I thought of my old friend and mentor, Joe Martin. Joe was my boss and the “conscious of the company” that was NCNB, then NationsBank, then Bank of America, where I worked for 18 years. That was what Hugh McColl, our CEO, called Joe. A devout Presbyterian who was at best a reluctant banker, Joe was at the company to direct how the company used its power for social good. Joe was one of the smartest men I ever knew, a master of words with a PhD. But when he was diagnosed with ALS, Joe coined a surprisingly simple phrase that helped us all deal with the tragic news.

“A good hug is great theology.”

That became our rally cry, among his friends and supporters. It’s a great reminder to me, as your theologian in residence, of the basics of the life of faith in the face of  big challenges.

Tonight, I have the privilege of offering the invocation at the Annual Dinner of the Joe Martin ALS Foundation. The theme for the dinner, as Joe would have it, is “Purpose. Hope. Joy.”

That’s a well-timed reminder for us all that there is more to the world than the abundance of discouraging news we encounter.

“Purpose. Hope. Joy.”

Those who were in worship Sunday morning, and those who gathered later that day at the Interfaith Pride Worship Service, organized by our own Lisa Raymaker, heard a lot about “Purpose. Hope. Joy.” We shared in the purpose and hope of our member, Sasha Strock, as she lives with faith and integrity into who God made her to be.

As for joy, I wanted to share the joy-ful perspective that some offered after the Pride service Sunday. I was struck by the “good news” of the perspective and progress they saw, after more than 30 houses of faith offered open invitation and authentic welcome to the LGBT community. People said:

“I never knew there were so many open and affirming faith leaders and houses of worship in Charlotte.”

“To see this service grow in number of participating clergy members and attendees over the years does my heart good.”

“I feel safer and more supported knowing that the faith community has my back in these trying times.”

“To know that members of the faith community feel as strongly as I do about HB2 and making our community safe on many levels is amazing.  They are willing to stand up for our rights too!”

So, yes, there is much in the world that can be discouraging. But there is also much in the world to remind us of the importance of “Purpose. Hope. Joy.”

As we travel from Sunday to Sunday this week, we are winding up for all the events at Pride (please see the call for help above), knowing that our witness there is not just an encouragement to all but has brought new members into our fold.

In worship Sunday, our friend and former intern Phanta Lansden, will preach on our continuing look at the question of “What is faith?”, specifically Jeremiah 1:4-10 and Hebrews 12:18-29.

Other important gatherings this week are Pints and Paths, tonight in The Third Place at 7, Disci)pleship of Race and Class Thursday at 6:15 pm and the Worship Committee, also at 6:15 pm.

Also, for those who want to know more about hwo to support our transgender friends, there is a “Trans 101” education oportunity at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte tonight at 7 p.m. (234 N. Sharon Amity Rd.).

Meantime, keep in mind that, in the absence of easy solutions to today’s profound problems, “a good hug is great theology.”

In Christ,

John