I’m Not Finished!
“I’m not finished!”
How often we hear that in our most heated conversations! But what if we started our conversations with that phrase. “I’m not finished” no longer has the sound of a demand, but takes on the sense of a confession. If I acknowledge that I’m not finished, I take time to listen to you so that together, as we converse, we help draw one another to a fuller understanding. Gretta Vosper introduces the writing of Meg Wheatley, in particular, her book titled Turning to One Another, and the work of creative communication. This anticipates an endeavor which the West Hill church community will be undertaking next weekend – a three-day conference to develop a plan which will take us, as a community, into the future.
Transforming our World View (for the world)
This meditation follows on a day-long event focusing upon environmental issues. Gretta speaks to our responsibility to challenge our world view, encapsulated in this statement: “We’ve been operating with the world view that once our basic needs are met, we get to get more.” But we must turn that view on its head: “Once we have what we need, we don’t need to have more; we need to be more.” It is unhelpful to rely on a supernatural solution to do our being for us. We need to grow up and assume responsibility for ourselves. Throughout her talk, Gretta refers to the Earth Charter. Note: this recording ends abruptly because we concluded the service by viewing the final scene from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Our homework was to write down one thing within our power that we can do to effect meaningful change in our relationship to the environment. This anticipates Earth Day which we mark on April 22nd.
Easter Sunday
This is the fourth and final installment of the Easter week dramatization. Gretta introduces it by telling a story which distinguishes Good Friday people and Easter people. Good Friday people suffer as they agitate for a better world. But by far the greater number of us are Easter people. We pick up the threads of Good Friday tapestries and work to complete them. Dreams of change for a better world cannot be realized unless they are supported by the efforts of everyday people like you and me. Gretta summarizes what each of the players in this drama has presented, then we move on as they speak for themselves.
Good Friday
This is the third installment of the Easter week dramatization. The Enthusiast wonders why people will not change. The Prudent longs for a community united in its obedience but wonders if there isn’t more than the law. The Doubtful feels lost, caught between the Prudent’s need for the law and the demands of his mind. The Afraid wonders how she can speak honestly and yet still be considered rude and inconsiderate. After these four from the ancient world have finished speaking, we hear from four woman in our own time who continue to work at puzzling out the challenges which Jesus first posed for us so long ago.