Good People Doing Good Things: Session One
Each Sunday in Lent, all are welcome to gather in the Parlor at 9:30 to hear from fellow church members about the Lenten theme for the day and how it impacts their lives. This past Sunday, February 22, we heard from Christina Sunstone (SFBC Office Manager), Aaron Burkhalter, Megan Walker, Norah, Serenity and Jalen on the topic of “the good news is surprising!”
We began by inviting our panelists to share what they think “the good news” is. Answers were “God loves us all and we are worthy of that love and can share that love with the world”; “the good news is love and doing all things with love in our hearts” and “we all have a role to play in making the world a better place.” Norah shared about the walkout in protest of ICE at Highline High School, that it was inspiring to see so many different people stand together for an important cause. Christina shared about her experience teaching English in Slovakia, and how she and other teachers provided safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ students to be their full selves when they weren’t always accepted in other parts of the culture. Aaron reminded us that though we don’t want to rest in the idea that “the youth are going to save us” because we all have a part to play in making good change, it is really inspiring to see how young people are forming their moral and ethical boundaries and how they are risking being loving people in a world that is often scary and challenging. Aaron reminded us that sometimes in progressive circles, there are “code words” we use to talk about who we are as a church. One example is “open and affirming.” The people who are “in the know” understand that this phrase means being welcoming of and celebrating LGBTQIA+ people. But sometimes that phrase can be confusing or opaque for others, including new people. Aaron said it is important to be explicit about our commitments to welcome, inclusion, justice and peace, and not just retreat into progressive codespeak.
As we talked about surprise, we reflected that some people like surprises and others don’t, but many of us have positive experiences of being surprised by goodness. We named things that bring us joy, not because they are unexpected, but because they are so wonderful—which is one way we are surprised by God sometimes! Megan said she feels joy when she starts her seeds for her garden, and they’ve been starting to sprout this week! Our panel reflected that it is surprising to notice how many people are surprised by kindness—from people who usually sit alone at the lunch table to people experiencing homelessness not expecting to meet compassionate people, the lived experience of our panelists is that when they try to share goodness with others, it is often a surprise. Together we wondered how we can act in the world to make experiencing kindness and compassion and just treatment less surprising, but more of a way of life.
We also celebrated that church can be a place where people who have different interests and skills can find a place to share those skills for the benefit of others—and that’s a way we spread good news! Christina talked about how wonderful it is as a staff person to see how many people are willing to give their time and energy to their fellow church members and neighbors. Aaron reminded us of how the youth group’s passion around issues of mental health and wellness started as an organic conversation in coffee hour and expanded to a presentation the youth group shared with our church and with our Evergreen Association, as well as a whole Mental Health Sunday. This was possible because our church listens to our youth and takes them seriously, which is a gift and a skill we foster here. Megan and Aaron shared about their experience with fostering children and how their family has expanded with foster children over time, many of whom they still consider family. They spoke with gratitude about how this church has embraced their family in its many configurations with whole hearts, and how good it is that the church has made space for many different kinds of families.
We closed the space after some audience questions to the panelists by inviting the panelists to “tell us something good.” Here are their answers:
“Eat good food.”
“Springtime is almost here.”
“Meet and give gratitude to our church staff.”
“Children are good news.”
Check in next Sunday for more sharing from our church members as we tell each other something good during this Lenten season.