Together
Dear friends and members of St. Matt’s,
Some years ago, I was in Paris on this day. I have a distinct memory of that evening. If I close my eyes, I can still feel it. We did what young people do on that day, something I’d done many times before. We went to the Champs de Mars with our picnic baskets to wait and see the fireworks. And then afterwards, we had to walk home because the metro was closed. Halfway across the city. And for some reason, this walk – this moment – still sticks out in my head. It wasn’t true, of course, but it felt like the whole city was heading in the same direction. All of us united by this shared experience, all of us now having to head home. And there was this camaraderie in the crowd – something like I’ve never felt before. We were all on a journey together. There was laughter and there were jokes. Strangers were having fun together. And making sure folks got home safely. There were parents carrying children. Couples holding hands. People making new friends. It was a snapshot of humanity at its best. A glimpse of humans sharing something meaningful, traveling the same road together, headed in the same direction. I wonder if you can remember a time, however different, when you’ve experienced that feeling of heading in the same direction, of sharing something meaningful, of strangers becoming friends. Certainly there are important parallels to the journey we share as Christians. To the life we share together at St. Matt’s as people of faith on a journey together, each on our own path, and yet sharing so much together.
There are two opportunities in the e-news this week that I want to briefly draw to your attention. Each of them an opportunity to go on a journey with others. First, there is information about a support group for parents of young children, an opportunity that we are co-sponsoring with WPC. If you – or someone you know – could use some support as they make their way through the wilds of parenting, this might be a great option. It helps to share the road with other people. It helps to talk about where we are, to hear from others, to laugh, and to cry together. To know that we’re not alone. And to understand the pieces of our journey that are commonly shared. Community changes everything.
And second, there is information about a grief group that is beginning again at Danbury Hospital. I know that this group has been helpful to some. And I commend it to you if there is something in your life that you are grieving. Something that you’re struggling to live with. Something where, in might be a benefit for you, to have a community gather around you, to head in the same direction.
I’d be happy to talk with you more about both of these opportunities – and I’m always here if you need to talk about anything else. Please just send me a note. I hope to see you on Sunday. Until then, God loves you. And so do I.
Faithfully,
–Marissa +