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The Year Ahead


 "Religion, whether we like it or not, is intimately tied to the culture in which it exists." Phyllis Ticlke

I, for once in my life, am not planning on making any New Year Resolutions as we leave 2020 and roll into 2021. Our lives both individually and corporately this past year have involved little else BUT change as we struggled to come familiar with the unknown entity called COVID-19.  Indeed, as the health officials became more familiar with this virus, their advice changed to reflect the new knowledge that had been gained. And so our lives changed as well. We all remember the mask question. Do we wear one or not? The answers ranged from ‘If you want to you can but masks don’t really make any difference’ to ‘They help protect others but not the wearer’ to (and I believe this is where we are right now) ’While masks protect others, they have also been shown to protect the wearer as well’. Sometimes I feel like I’ve spent the last 10 months on a Merry-go-round! Don’t get me wrong. I do admire the health officials being up front and announcing changes as they became aware of them. However, my capacity for change has been well stretched and that stretching may well continue in 2021 .... so NO New Year Resolutions this New Year’s Eve for me!

Instead I have been thinking about what I hope for in that new year...

May I continue to appreciate how fortunate we are to have a safe place to live, family who support us in myriad ways, and the wherewithal to provide the necessities of life.

This time has given the climate a chance to take a breath and begin to renew itself as travel mainly by air but also by car was curtailed. May we build upon these small gains continuing the healing process.  

We have all been forced  to become aware of some of the capabilities of technology over the past year. (Even Dr. Phil has a virtual audience.) May we continue to integrate  it into the framework of our lives to the benefit of those who because of distance, health challenges, or other disabilities, are not able to fully take part in what was once our ‘normal’ way of life.From banking to shopping, from virtually attending concerts to playing virtual games of bridge, from FaceTime to ZOOM,  none of these things are new! But I wager that you have discovered some of them for the first time just as I have. Used properly they can continue to enrich our lives,

 Were you ever too busy to have lunch with a friend or to grab the chance for a cup of coffee at Tim’s? My promise to myself is to remember how quickly that can disappear from our lives and how very much it is missed!

Phyllis Tickle talked about something she called ‘The Great Emergence’. In fact she even wrote a book with that title. Looking back over history, she pointed out that every 500 years there was a schism in history, the last one being the Industrial Revolution, and that each schism was matched by reform/change within the church. If you have read any of her books or heard her speaking, you will remember her saying that we were now at the end of another 500 year cycle and that change was coming. I wonder what she would say about this virus and the last 10 months? Churches of all kinds have been forced to embrace technology as they tried to stay in touch with their congregation. Many are live-streaming their services and even those who have just posted sermons on FaceBook or YouTube are finding those sermons are listened to by people who never came into the building on a Sunday morning. Perhaps some permanent change is in the air there as well.

My hope for all of society is that we will be able to take the lessons learned in 2020 and refined in 2021 and make them a real part of our going forward into a newly-imagined tomorrow.

Comments

  1. Judy ImrieDecember 30, 2020 at 4:29 PM

    Our one and only granddaughter, a natural leader and oldest of the clan, made this resolution for all of us when she was quite little and trying to deal with a household of brawling brothers and male cousins...it was that "we all get along." That lasted for about 10 minutes and we haven't made one since, Lynn. Although the boys are over pulling each other's hair out, they have moved on as young men into very different political views which they are all banned from airing during gatherings. I guess that is a resolution after all!!

    At least the changing minds of scientists and politicians has opened a door in which I can suggest to these university wizards, that as wonderful as all of that is, God alone knows in the end, and science is not absolute but evolves as new discoveries are made.

    Thanks for your blogging and all the best in 2021!!

    judyimrie247@gmail,com

    ReplyDelete

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