Happy Lutheran

On Tuesday in chapel, we prayed a really lovely petition for small gratitudes–giving thanks for God showing up in small ways in our everyday lives. It struck me at the time, and I have continued to think about it.

This prayer has stayed with me because I realize that I am feeling overwhelmed by so many big things in the world that are discouraging and frightening–sweeping and consequential decisions that continually and repeatedly imperil the most vulnerable (include the climate), and penalize those organizations and individuals who are trying to stabilize funding/policies/our entire judicial system. It’s alot.

These feelings can be paralyzing: I don’t always know how to respond; and I don’t know what to say or do that might make a positive difference. But, this prayer reminds me that while the macro feels overwhelming, the micro I can do.

And, when I keep my eye on what is right in front of me, I am reminded that leaning in with gratitude is always constructive: it always makes me feel more hopeful about the world, and actually empowers me to act–to seek to foster more good in the world, even just in my little corner of it.

So, to that end, I wanted to lift up a word of gratitude for an experience I had this afternoon. The Wartburg Seminary faculty had a wonderful Anti-racism pedagogy workshop with a fellow seminary professor, Dr. Mary Hess, who teaches at Luther Seminary. She led us through a series of exercises that fostered really rich conversation, and we came away with some concrete tools to use going forward. One of my favorite exercises was an intentional listening practice: we divided up into groups of four, where one person told a brief story [following a specific prompt], and one person listened for facts, one person listened for feelings, and another person listened for values. Each listener then reported back what they heard, and the storyteller responded with additional clarification or affirmation. I love any opportunity to practice listening, and it was very illuminating to nuance the stories we heard and told, and to affirm each other in our experiences.

But, while the workshop itself was great, my overwhelming feeling was of gratitude for this fantastic faculty that we have at Warburg Seminary. Our faculty is a genuinely lovely group of people–not always in agreement, not always on our best behavior–but foundationally, humans who all have an honest and deep respect and care for each other. At an afternoon workshop in the middle of a busy week, folks might be excused for not bringing their best–but not our folks; they showed up fully, engaged fully and were fully present for the material and for each other. That is just how this faculty rolls.

So, as I continue to keep watch on the metaphorical flames shooting up across the larger landscape, I also plan to keep my eye on my little corner of the world, and do my best to both notice, and then manifest and magnify the good I experience. In this way, the light around us will come not only from things on fire, but from the beauty of the sun.