“The Art Institute of Chicago has an exhibition of the photography of Gordon Parks paired with the prose of Ralph Ellison, the goal being to combine images and stories from Harlem. When I visited, one photo caught my eye: a client at the Lafargue Clinic, his head in his hands. The caption read, “The Larargue Clinic aims to transfer despair, not into hope but into determination.” I was struck by the substitution—despair into hope is a common cliche. Yet sometimes hope is beyond our fumbling grasp; determination is the best we can do."
When I first read MaryAnn’s story, I found it helpful. I liked it. I nodded in approval of what she was saying in that section. But God continued to bring me back to that page over and over again. Each time I read it, I found myself being drawn into tension of “hope” or “determination” that the author is presenting for us. Since March we have hoped things will get back on track with our mission and ministry quickly. We hoped the governor will allow us to meet again, and we hope that our devotion and worship of God has taken on a new, deeper level. We have hoped for many things. There are probably too many to count.
But have you stopped to consider that saying all that we hope for might be "beyond our fumbling grasp?” Maybe what we are saying to God, and to each other in this time, is that we are determined not to let our love and devotion of God slip. We are determined to continue sharing God’s love, telling our stories, studying God’s word, passing the peace, embracing what it means to be the church in Cranberry. So that, when the time comes, when we are together again, our hope can fill the sanctuary because we were determined NOT to give up. I hope that MaryAnn’s word will give you cause to pause today.
Blessings
Rev. Derek
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