If you have been in worship this past month of August, you may have seen various poems around the Sanctuary and Narthex. We wanted to provide a spot where we can feature this longer, and for those who worship with us online, which is right here on our website. Earlier this year at our leadership retreat, we began a discipline of sharing more intimately and vulnerably. That practice has helped us know one another in new and deeper ways. By using a “mad lib”esque, fill in the blank template, many of our leadership have written their own personal, “Where I’m From” poems. Several shared them at our retreat and since then we’ve shared them at the start of Admin Council and elders meetings. Tears have been shared together. New connections have been made. We are knowing one another beyond “everyday associations” (to use Bonhoeffer’s words.) So, you are asking, what’s a “Where I’m From” poem? What does that even mean? Well, here are some of the ones we gathered from our retreat and are currently featuring in Community. Read some, gather insight and inspiration, and we invite you to join and write your own. If you scroll to the end of this column, you’ll find the template to create your own. As always, we gather in Community to seek the radical, inclusive love of God. Writing and sharing these poems has become one of the many ways we are able to do so.
Where I'm From