Will You Choose Hope With Me?

“We are not saints, we are not heroes. Our lives are lived in the quiet corners of the ordinary. We build tiny hearth fires, sometimes barely strong enough to give off warmth. But to the person lost in the darkness, our tiny flame may be the road to safety.” - Kent Nerburn

In our faith communities, and especially in the work of nurturing children and youth, it’s easy to imagine that hope must look grand or heroic. But so often, hope is built in the smallest, gentlest moments: a warm greeting in the hallway, a youth helping a younger child tie a shoe, a shared laugh at coffee hour, a parent lingering to talk with a volunteer, a moment of learning that sparks a new question.

These tiny flames matter. They are how we build the kind of community where people truly see one another; across ages, stages, and life experiences. They are how our children learn that this church is a place where they belong.  Not because we create perfect programs, but because we create authentic relationships.

As I look toward the upcoming year, this is my hope for our faith formation program: to nurture deeper connections across generations, and to strengthen our relationships not only within our congregation but with our larger community as well. To do that, we will be experimenting with some new approaches to faith formation; opportunities that invite adults, elders, youth, and children to learn, serve, play and create together.

You may notice fewer traditional classroom-style Sundays and more community building experiences such as collaborative projects, multigenerational gatherings, and hands-on learning. These changes aren’t meant to replace what we love, but to expand it; to kindle new small hearth fires in new corners of our shared life.

My invitation to you this month is simple:
Choose hope with me.
Choose to believe that small moments matter.
Choose to show up; warmly, imperfectly, and wholeheartedly for everyone who needs your tiny flame.

Together, our quiet sparks can become a guiding light.