This article was originally printed in our Advent and Christmas Bellringer.
At a recent gathering of clergy, we were asked the following question: What time of day is it for your community? One person said that it felt like it was five minutes before midnight. Another said it was five minutes after midnight. One person said it was high noon. My response was dawn. Here’s why.
At dawn, there are people who are not only up, but they have already hit the trails, running full speed. In our congregation and elsewhere in my life, I see these people. They are operating at full speed, signing up for most everything, pitching in to volunteer to make things happen.
There are also people still sound asleep at dawn. I see these folks, too, though only by their absence. They haven’t entered the church doors (physical or virtual ones) since before Covid.
In between are those who are in various levels of grogginess. This is probably where most of us are. We might still be in bed having hit the alarm a few times or are scrolling through the news on our phone. We might be out of bed taking a shower or brewing our morning coffee. We might be farther along: doing the morning chores, making breakfast, packing lunches, walking the dog. In our metaphorical grogginess, we attend things, but maybe less frequently. Maybe we come, but aren’t quite awake enough to pitch in to make something happen.
I find this metaphor of dawn to be helpful. The pandemic is over, except that it is not. We are at this in between place where the sun is starting to rise. We are between night and day, between what was and what will be. For our ministry, it means that we currently have large portions of it back, but not all of it, and it isn’t quite as full as it once was or as it will be.
This metaphor also helps remind me that each of us approaches this transitional time differently. It is okay that we are in different places. We cannot force the sun to rise any faster nor can we make people wake up more quickly. Keep taking the next step in whatever your wake-up routine is.
Finally, this metaphor draws me to the future. I love dawn because it means the day is coming. The sun will fully rise and we will be awake and back at it. I have no idea how long this metaphorical sunrise will take, but I have never been more excited and hopeful about the future of St. Mary’s.
Bingham+
