I am so grateful for this congregation, for the chance to serve you, and the wider community of Nashville. I will admit that I harbor doubts when I look toward the future. Trying to do ministry from afar is, at best, awkward. I miss seeing your faces in person, and I know you miss this too, But I am so impressed by how you show up for each other week after week, and in countless ways throughout the week. You are all ministers to one another.

Once we decide to begin a new relationship with our own bodies, to accept and love them just as they are, we begin a spiritual quest. We begin the arduous journey of self-concern. It won’t make you popular, because some people will call you selfish and indifferent, and imply that you’re not compassionate.

I think this time of isolation and separation has been difficult for so many of us and yet at the same time it has allowed us to see what is really important, what really matters. I believe that we have taken a deeper look at our relationships not only to people but to animals, nature, and the world around us.

Even though we work as “a team” and consult with one another frequently (or maybe because,) Nathanael and I have never taken the time to sit down and get acquainted.

It doesn’t matter whether you grew up in Nashville or even whether you grew up in the United States. Every place, every people has a history.

What if we were more intentional about those interactions, and what if we approached conversations with the goal of making the world a better place?