15 Hours, 4 Minutes, 54 Seconds

What will you do with all the luxurious amounts of daylight afforded by these, the longest days of the new season? Will you go, go, go from the rising of the sun until the setting of the same? Will you take advantage of the light and heat to accomplish a task? Will you put a fresh coat of paint on the shutters, or install pavers to make a walkway near your rose bushes, or clean out and hose down the garage? Will you make the most of those 15 hours, 4 minutes, and 54 seconds? Will you make the most of the solstice?

Astronomically speaking, solstice means that the sun has reached the northernmost point on our celestial sphere. Astronomically speaking, solstice ushers in summer, bringing with it sultry temperatures and increased cravings for iced tea and Popsicles.

Lexically, though, solstice has another interesting meaning altogether: turning point.

Since the end of May and continuing through June, with all of the tumultuous events touched off by the death of George Floyd, we can hardly have helped but to have grown in awareness of inequities and injustices practically hardwired into the culture. We can hardly have helped but to have noticed the calls to disassemble what is broken and to rebuild with intentionality a society that better meets the needs of all its citizens.  It seems to me that we are at a turning point. We are at a solstice. It is time.

There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:

A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 ( The Message Bible)

If it is true that we are on the cusp of something extraordinary, we may want to ask ourselves how we might make the most of this particular solstice. If we had a full, sun-shiny day to concentrate on listening or learning or growing or serving or doing some beautiful thing for God in the scheme of dismantling racism, how could we make the most of that time? If we had 15 hours, 4 minutes, and 54 seconds in which to focus attention on a new vision for an improved existence, who would delve in wholeheartedly?

We could read a book like Waking Up White by Debby Irving, or listen to a podcast from the list at https://bellocollective.com/16-podcasts-that-confront-racism-in-america-f8f69baf529d.  We could watch Just Mercy , or Selma , or 12 Years a Slave , or any other title that increases understanding of the backstory and cultivates empathy for anyone ever diminished by it. With interest and respect, we could search out conversations with people whose skin tones are different from our own. We could truly try to see the world through the eyes of someone whose situation is very different from our own. We could remind ourselves with every fiber of our being that every human being is beloved by God.

And for a surprisingly good collection of information on the associated issues, we could visit (of all places!) the Ben & Jerry’s website, www.benjerry.com. Since it is the summer solstice, after all, we might all have an ice cream cone now that we’re thinking about it.

Purposefully,

Pastor Chris

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Sunday Opportunities

Here’s how to find our online events for Sunday, June 21.

1 0:15 a.m. Virtual Fellowship Time

If you’ll be joining via computer, tablet, or smart phone, please use the link: 
  https://zoom.us/j/91671628972

To join by phone only, please dial +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) and use the meeting ID: 916 7162 8972

11:00 a.m. Moravian Church Without Walls Worship

 Zoom Link:      https://us02web.zoom.us/j/310492867

Tip 1: If you are a Facebook user, many of your friends are likely to be hosting “Watch Parties.” (Pastor Chris tries to do this when she can from her page: Christine Sobania Johnson.) This is an alternative way to wander into the same MCWW worship service and does not require the Zoom link.

Tip 2: To discover even further Moravian worship opportunities, please consult the updated list at  https://www.moravian.org/2020/04/online-worship-opportunities/  .

6:30 p.m. Zoom Prayers  — Praying together for one another, our community, our nation, and our world.

If you’ll be joining via computer, table, or laptop, use this link:   https://zoom.us/j/91961743369

To join by phone only, dial +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) and use Meeting ID 919 6174 3369