Everyone tied to the turnin’ wheel,

Everyone hidin’ from the things they feel

Well the truth’s so hard it just don’t seem real

The shadow across this land…

It’s the bitter end we’ve come down to

The eye of the needle that we gotta get through

But the end could be the start of something new

When the great correction comes

                                                                        (from Eliza Gilkyson’s “The Great Correction”)

Perhaps only Eliza Gilkyson could make a spiritual anthem out of an economic term for a “necessary downturn” in the market.  As the leaves fall from the trees in their great and mesmerizing beauty, the paper wealth of the stock market floats down and down, and becomes as ephemeral as the color on the forest floor.  I must admit, I am no economist, and I never fully understand the ups and downs of Wall Street.  But I know that many, many people are facing new financial hardship.  And our nation is facing some big questions about what direction we will take as we go forward.

What can we do, as individuals and as a church community?  Do our values have anything to say about our economy?  Eliza’s song came out of a monthly gathering in Austin, Texas, in which people would get together to face with honesty the deepening economic, political, cultural, and ecological crises.  “We wanted to provide a place to discuss, grieve, and mull over our future without having a need for an immediate solution other than the comfort of each other’s presence.”  (This info is from on-line Yes! Magazine.)

That is something we can do as a church—we can be a place to discuss, grieve, mull over, and dream.  It can happen is in our Spiritual Enrichment Groups.  It can happen in our Social Action Groups.  Anyone who wants to start a new group can do that, too.  In fact, any place we gather, we can go deeper than small talk.  We need lots of big talk—real talk—about what is most important in our lives, what is going on in our world.  What struggles are we facing in our own families’ finances?  What help might we offer each other?  What kind of economy do we hope to live in?  What kind of world do we want to create for our children? 

There are many things that we cannot control—but we can choose to take action in whatever ways we can.  We can vote on November 4th.  We can campaign for candidates who share our values and hopes.  We can live our lives in ways that reflect our values.  Live as if it were possible.  This month, our town started doing pay-per-bag trash pick-up, and curbside recycling.  No towns would recycle if a few people hadn’t started recycling on their own, and connecting with other people who believed in recycling.  Change starts from the bottom up—from new ideas and old ideas and people talking about it and starting some small action together.

Eliza Gilkyson sings: Poets and sages all throughout history say the light burns brightest in the darkest times.  Let our little lights shine!