It was Sunday morning. A mother with twin first graders, new visitors, walked through the doors. I secretly worried they’d be disappointed, but I pushed the thought aside, and worship began. During our moment with the children, we talked about how God made each of the kids in God’s image. We read a book about different situations kids experience. One of the characters had diabetes, one was blind, one had autism. When we got to a page about a girl with dyslexia, one of the little girls who grew up in the church pointed to the picture and announced that she has dyslexia. I thanked her for sharing and asked her what it feels like to know she’s made in God’s image. She said that she knows God made her, and she likes herself the way she is. Her mom teared up as she watched her daughter share with complete trust. It was a holy moment.

Later the kids left for Sunday school, and after a sermon and a song it was prayer time—a time when the congregation is invited to share joys and concerns. After a few of the usual requests to pray for people who are sick, a man in our small choir stood up. With a shaky voice, he told us he was grateful for the little girl who shared about her medical condition with confidence that she was an image of God. He had just been diagnosed with a mood disorder and was struggling very much. He didn’t want to tell anyone, but listening to her share helped him. She was the voice of God for him.

After the service, the visiting mom of the twins hugged this young man and told him she was grateful to find a place where people could be real. The mom of the little girl who shared hugged me, thanking me for a space where her daughter could be held with love. Our lay reader thanked the younger generations for navigating our human situations with honesty in a way that his generation avoided.

I went home that day stunned by the Holy Spirit. God shows up. God ministered to all of us that morning, not because we did anything to earn it through relevant worship or innovative programs, but simply because God is God. My job was to hold the space for people to encounter God and each other, and affirm how these connections are at the core of Christian faith and practice. In uncertainty and heartache we meet each other, and Christ meets us, and something new unfolds full of glimmering melody for others to witness and join in.

Prayer

God of Isaiah,

you are our God, too.

You spoke to the prophets,

but your message did not end with them.

There is still work to be done,

and we pray to hear your call afresh.

Help us joyfully claim our role

as your beloved servants,

knowing that you provide all that we need

to do our work.

You walked with us before we were even born,

and you continue to hold us by the hand

each and every day of our lives.

We pray with the confidence of those

who have been filled with your light.

We pray with the assurance of those

who have been called into fellowship

with your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.[1]

[1] https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/4601/worship-elements-january-19-2020