Across our nation, a bomb cyclone of cold weather has descended, dropping temps into dangerous levels. I am especially mindful of those who are unhoused in these dangerous weather days. I am grateful for our churches who have opened their doors to those without shelter or heat!
The cabinet and I have been in Cody, Wyoming this week, preparing
ourselves for the appointment season. Yesterday, as the temperature never rose
above – 20F and had a wind chill factor of -50F, I noticed something as we
broke for the day. The caretaker of the retreat center came to our meeting
space and turned on the gas fireplace. I watched as the cabinet members all began
to gravitate to the fireplace. Hands reached out towards the warmth. Conversation
was both playful and meaningful as we stood around the fireplace.
In the midst of cold weather, we are a species drawn to warmth.
I have been thinking about this as a metaphor for our
churches. This world can be so very cold—community is hard to come by;
judgment and intolerance is often encountered; we feel isolated and alienated.
Our spirits become brittle and break in the face of a chilly and unwelcoming
world.
How is your church an oasis of warmth in the midst of a frigid
world? Are people drawn to the warmth your congregation exudes? Will they find
a place where they can allow their souls to defrost and be reformed in Love?
I am praying your church can offer a generous hospitality,
so those whom the world has frozen out can be embraced with open arms that
comfort and thaw even the most frozen hearts.
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