I didn’t spend much time at the library when I was a kid. I knew it as the quiet place and I wasn’t very good at being quiet. Too many times, I was given “The Look” or scolded with a “Shhhhh!” (The “shhhhh” was often louder than my activity, by the way.)
When I became a college student, I discovered that the quiet of the Thomas Library at Wittenberg University often provided refuge from the chaos of dorm life. If I needed to focus, I could slide into a study carrel, huddle in a small enclosed room for a group study session, or sprawl on a couch for a snooze.
When our children were young, we burned countless hours exploring books, story times, creative opportunities, and spaces at the Bexley, Davenport, and Andover Library systems as we moved from town to town. Each one offered thrilling places to learn and grow.
The Midpointe Library here in West Chester, is one of our favorites and loaded with so many options for discovery. I’m constantly surprised. I go in searching for a certain little something and come out with a stack of children’s books, graphic novels, CDs, travel guides, a few poetry books, and maybe even a memoir or two.
Have you heard about the Human Library? “The Human Library is, in the true sense of the word, a library of people. [Readers] can borrow human beings serving as open books and have conversations they would not normally have access to. Every human book from [the] bookshelf represents a group in our society that is often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization, or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin, etc.” Learn more here: https://humanlibrary.org/
Churches remind me of The Human Library. Although many think that church is only one certain thing (whatever that may be in their mind), thriving congregations like Lord of Life offer opportunities where a variety of people across different ages, interests, and skills intersect and interact through a spectrum of serving, learning, and worship moments. We even center our time together around a banned book!
When we gather, there are unique occasions to meet people from all walks of life with unexpected journeys. Grounded in Jesus, we are led to wrestle with tough issues of faith like suffering, isolation, and fear. God’s mandate to “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God” spurs us to confront racism, sexism, ableism, poverty, and other issues of injustice. We grow in hope and compassion as we hear about life from different perspectives, asking questions like, “When have you encountered the Holy Spirit? What does forgiveness look like in your life? How do you see God at work right now?”
Even more, as we read the Bible together, we meet our ancestors in the faith and hear them asking many of these same questions. “Where is God? Who am I? What does the future hold?” Watching them wrestle and explore, wander, and wonder, we discover deeper truths about God and ourselves.
During this season of Thanksgiving, I am grateful for your voice that helps me learn and grow. I give thanks for your unique journey of faith that expands our understanding of God in new and beautiful ways. I am grateful for the many ways you love Jesus and how that spills out into the ways you love people and the world.
If you haven’t been around lately, come and be surprised by what God is up to in our community of faith. Jump into conversations and ask questions. Invite someone to come with you and discover the power and peace of God. We all have something to share. We all have something to learn.
Surprised by Grace,
Pastor Lowell