Pastors’ Ponderings

This kind of in-between old and new is what we call a liminal space. It is like being on the threshold of a doorway, not outside and not yet inside. It’s a place of leaving one thing and not yet being sure of what is next. It can be a scary place to be, leaving something old behind and not knowing what is next, but it can also be an exciting time. It’s like what young people experience when they go off to college. The old ways have prepared them for what is next, but what is coming is going to be vastly different than what they knew before. They have the benefit of having people around that can help them through, who have gone through college and can tell them that the chaos they feel is normal and it will get better and everything will be okay.

Unfortunately, we don’t have that with the pandemic. No one alive has been through this, and we all are going through it together. There is no one who has gotten to the other side to tell us it is going to be okay. There is no one to give us tips and tricks; we are developing and learning new things from scratch and we are tired.

But I think if we step back a little, we have a grand opportunity to develop something new. Just like going to college, you have the space to be exposed to new ideas and you have a chance to dream about the way things could be.

We have that opportunity right now. We have this time to dream and listen to God and look around at the needs of our congregation and our community and think about a new vision. What tools and resources did our lives pre-pandemic give us that we can use going into this new thing? What are the things that don’t work anymore and we need to place in a “museum” of sorts and honor for the gifts it gave us, but move on with different patterns or knowledge or tools for the time that comes next? And how can we take some ownership of the new thing coming and make our corner of the world a better place for everyone?

What are some things specifically for United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton that we want to envision? What values do we hold dear and how do we want to use them to help nurture our congregation and the people in downtown Binghamton? How do we want to nourish our children? How do we want to use our gifts? We would love to hear from you.