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As we turn our focus toward a new year, it might be easy to despair. Millions of people are
suffering from war or the need to flee their homes. Powerful corporations are profiting and
profiteering from our climate crisis. Too many people are struggling to piece together the basic
human needs of food, shelter, and meaningful work. And we are witnessing an ongoing attack on
our democracy. At a time when we need one another more than ever, many people are feeling
isolated and alone. Communities are divided, and some are eager to exploit those divisions. How
shall we — as people deeply informed by our Christian values and faith — respond? How might
we take these concerns seriously, feel their urgency, and yet remain hopeful, joyful, and
compassionate?
Christianity is rich with sacred stories of courageous individuals who witnessed devastating
events in their world, envisioned different possibilities, and inspired others to act upon those
visions. They didn’t hesitate to name injustice and to engage in resistance to that injustice. To
sustain their vision and their resistance, they drew upon support and accountability from their
spiritual communities. They grounded themselves in scripture. They attended to personal and
community spiritual practices. And they asked lots of questions. We must follow their example.
As we enter 2024, we are invited to gather up our courage and curiosity to meet the deeply
ethical, theological, and spiritual learnings that will challenge us and inspire us this year. What
questions are you asking? What are you wondering about? Where do you see hopeful
possibilities emerging? Where do fear and faith meet for you? Where have you seen or
experienced someone’s generous heart lately? What does courage look like? Do you lean toward
“why me?” or “why not me?”
Asking these types of questions is an essential part of envisioning and creating a different kind of
world where all people have access to the resources needed to thrive. And whether they seem
like it or not, these questions are profoundly theological, pointing us toward what it means to be
human and what it means to be a part of God’s divine creation. Despite what some people might
want us to believe, we are not alone on this journey of life and faith. We belong to one another;
we belong to the refugee at the border, to the forest, to the heron at the streambed, to the mother
seeking help at the food pantry, to the polar bear, to the open prairie, to the veteran out of work.
We do not have all the answers to all the difficult questions; but that is not the goal of faith. We
do have the power and capacity to struggle together, to ask hard questions, and to welcome
moments of joy and hope that find their way into our lives. These moments come to us in big and
small ways. I find joy and hope in being a part of a community of faithful seekers like you who
are part of Disciples Seminary Foundation and in serving a God who also seeks — alongside us.
Together, we seek the deepest sources of life and justice and peace and grace and compassion,
wherever they may be found, and we hope to extend these gifts to others, as well as ourselves. I
pray these efforts guide us in and through the year ahead.
Blessings,
Christy
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