.covenant.

For those of you who don't know, I recently accepted a field education position at Community Congregational Church of Belvedere-Tiburon. This means that during the next school year, I will intern with this church as a "Minister-in-training" (which sounds ridiculous, but that's the legit term) for 15 hours a week... in addition to taking three other classes and a seminar class in which we process our experience.

This past Sunday I went to CCC so the pastor/my mentor, Rev. Dr. Curran Reichert, could introduce me to the congregation. I was welcomed with so many open arms, it brought me to tears. They are so excited to have me and I cannot express how mutual that feeling is.

On top of this introduction, they were also welcoming three new members into the fold. As part of this ritual, the congregation recited together the covenant, which might be the most eloquent/poetic covenant I've ever read. It says this:

To live out the questions together hand in hand,

supporting the fragile,

protecting the wounded,

giving the angered space and time,

dancing with the freed,

celebrating moments of balance and 

not fearing the unfolding of imbalance. 

Believing in the power of God's revelation

we share a living awareness

that faith and hope and love

are the inhaling and exhaling of life...

...as necessary and real as the air we breathe. 

Therefore, while praying, studying, working

and celebrating together

we shall experience the moments

of our lives in the spontaneous response

to the call of God. 

This was written sometime in the 1960s or 70s but is still incredibly present and visible in the community today. I am thrilled to be embarking on this internship experience with this church. Here's to a year of growth, change, transformation, and joy!