“Trevor Hudson shared about seeing a neighbor moving bricks in his driveway. Being Trevor’s only day off, he hoped the neighbor would decline his polite offer to help. Instead, Trevor went home four hours and many bricks later. That Sunday the neighbor attended Trevor’s church and went on to become a disciple of Jesus. Trevor wasn’t trying to get him to church or “seal the deal” of his salvation. He simply responded to the invitation the Holy Spirit (and the encouragement of his wife!) to show tangible love to a neighbor (Brian Morykon, Renovare Weekly Digest, July 24, 2020).

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“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves” (Carl Gustav Jung).

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“Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, that without distance closeness cannot cure. Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures. The careful balance between silence and words, withdrawal and involvement, distance and closeness, solitude and community forms the basis of the Christian life and should, therefore, be the subject of our most personal attention” (Henri Nouwen).

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“When the waves close over me, I dive down to fish for pearls” (Masha Kaleko).

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“One of my friends was in crisis. He was walking through the valley of the shadow. A small group of friends gathered and yielded the floor to him. We were in no hurry. Tears began to stream down his face. “This has easily been the most difficult year of my life,” he said. We felt the weight of his words. We did not try to positively “spin” the moment. No one tried to manipulate the moment by reminding him of all he had to be grateful for. We let our friend speak like one of Israel’s psalmists, who cried out in pain and exhaustion. After an appropriate amount of silence had settled over us, this came out of me: “You have permission to live the most difficult days of your life in the safety of our presence.”

What I told him is a pretty good description of what a Christian community can be when things are working as they should: a safe place. A Christian community should be a place that grants permission to feel the loss, permission to grieve, permission to be where we are, and permission to tap into the pathos of the God who feel” (Daniel Grother in Chasing Wisdom).

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“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace, and a soul generated by love” (Coretta Scott King).