“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” This quote by writer Anaïs Nin speaks profoundly to our current theme in worship, “Emerge.” A caterpillar forms a chrysalis and stays inside for a time while the magical process of metamorphosis occurs. And a day comes when that protective shell is too constricting — the butterfly within must break free! Today we gather to encourage one another out of our comfortable places so that we may truly bloom.
Coming Out
April 23, 2023
More from
Emerge
Let Go: Leaving Behind What We Don't Need
May 21, 2023
Just as butterflies leave behind their chrysalises, baby birds break out of their shells, and snakes shed their skin, we too discard old parts of ourselves in order to keep growing. We go through changes in work, in family structures, in friendships, in our own beliefs and values, all throughout our lives. When we give ourselves permission to say ‘yes’ to new experiences and ways of being, that often means letting go of old habits and patterns, a kind of decluttering the mind, body, and spirit. Today in worship, we will ponder what it means to release what is no longer necessary so that we might make room for positive changes.
Unwrap: Waking Up
May 7, 2023
In the opening of the tomb of Lazarus, in the unwrapping of his funeral clothes, the community had to face their unknowing — and perhaps disbelief — and trust that the resurrection Jesus had facilitated was real. The range of emotions was vast. As the butterfly’s cozy environment cracks further open still, it is the effort of the process of emerging that makes change possible — waking up, rolling away the stone, unwrapping what will be.