May this find you well. And a happy first few days of October to you! G’mar chatimah tovah to those honoring the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur. 

I missed you last weekend and look forward to being back together, whether in person or on Zoom, this Sunday (Zoomers, I hope you’ll stay on after worship ends and join me for an online coffee hour conversation!). 

In worship, though it will have ended on Thursday night, we’ll reflect on the Yom Kippur theme of atonement, repentance, and repair. Big, heavy words… I know! I was listening to a parenting podcast recently with Dr. Becky Kennedy (you are correct, I am not a parent… But I find parenting approaches to be some of the most useful frameworks for navigating relational dynamics with people of all ages). Dr. Becky explained about secure attachment in relationships (what we all want) and named that what actually develops secure attachment is NOT necessarily positive interactions from the get go. It’s how repair is done after a challenging or harmful interaction. 

This is fantastic news. Because most of us do not get it right the first go-round. We make mistakes. But if we can engage in the work of turning back to the path of our values when we stray, the path of our faith, the path of love we aspire to travel in life… we often have the chance to try again. 

I am not interested in people who don’t make mistakes. Who have never harmed anyone or anything. I am interested in building connections, relationships, community, and movements with people who are messy and authentic and real. The lotus that blooms not out of crystal-clear water but that emerges from the mud. 

So, we’ll gather in the spirit of honesty and self-reflection. And we will, together, turn back to love.