[In a world that seems increasingly chaotic and broken, many of us feel helpless and afraid. We may question what we can do to make a difference. To build collective courage, in this space we will share examples of how individual members of GEC are practicing the way of Jesus, in private action or in the public arena. How might you find inspiration and hope in the small steps others are taking?]

"As people of faith we know that trying times cause us to look inward and reaffirm our values. Life is never free of difficulties but all of us have, in one way or another, found ourselves in periods with more difficulties on our emotional plates than it seems we can bear. Personally I don’t know that I’ve experienced, at least in my lifetime (outside of COVID), being aware of so many people in my orbit experiencing the the trauma of ongoing emotional overload all at the same time. As Minnesotans we’d be hard pressed to find anyone in our communities unaware of this right now. It’s an understatement to say this is not easy. At the same time however, I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced witnessing so many obvious examples of people all at once acting on their values to care for their friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. Examples we’ve seen include people donating time and money to provide mutual aid and rapid response. Being at our service this past Sunday reminded me that simply showing up and being in community with our congregation and feeling the presence and support of each other is also a another way of putting our faith into action. Building community with the intention of following in the steps of Jesus is a radical act of resistance." -submitted by Joe L

Tags: Faith in action, community

Finding community at Grace Episcopal Church
by Clare Boerigter

I started attending Grace Episcopal Church in the spring of 2023 because I was curious about the kind of faith community that hangs prayer flags from its trees, offers food and books to its neighbors in sidewalk libraries, and honors those who have died with a garden. I was also searching. Like so many others, I was trying to understand what my life was meant to look like after the isolation of covid, the murder of George Floyd, the protests that followed, and the questions all these events provoked within me. What was this country all about? Who was I, a person benefiting from countless privileges, a U.S. citizen, a neighbor, a person of faith, a friend? Where was my life taking me?

I was looking for a place where I could ask big, hard questions alongside others who were asking their own – and I found that community at Grace. In the last 2.5 years, I’ve gotten to spend dark winter evenings singing alongside familiar and new faces at Taizé. As part of the team writing elder profiles, I’ve been generously welcomed into the homes – and life stories – of the Junnilas and Krakowskis. I’ve helped feed goats, tended apple trees, and prayed in the worship silo at Good Courage Farm with friends from Grace and other (or no) churches. I’ve been able to share meals with my Dinner of Seven group and at gatherings with the under-forties. And many Wednesday afternoons, I’ve sat in the quiet with the Centering Prayer group as the light fades in the sanctuary. I have felt incredibly lucky to belong to this community.

In January, I’m starting a new journey. After 7.5 years in Minneapolis, I’m moving to Missoula, Montana, to begin a graduate program in Forestry at the University of Montana. There, I’ll get to continue working on research projects that support the restoration of fire to public lands through prescribed burning. Fire has been an immense part of my life since 2012, the summer I drove across the country from Iowa to Utah to join a Forest Service crew of wildland firefighters.

As excited as I am for this next step, I’m going to miss the people and places that have filled this chapter of my life – and I want to take this moment to thank the Grace community for being such an important part of these last few years. I can’t claim to have found answers to any of the big, hard questions I came to Grace asking, but it has been deeply meaningful to me to have the support of this community while asking them.

In gratitude,
Clare

P.S. For those interested, I’ve written about my seasons as a firefighter in a memoir forthcoming from Beacon Press. My editor hasn’t set a publication date yet, but if you’re interested in hearing when that happens, you can sign up for updates here or look for them on my website at clareboerigter.com.

Tags: community, welcome