Rev. Lori on the The Wayside Pulpit in our Modern Age
A version of this reflection was originally published in the previous week’s Friday Flyer.
Hello wonderful people,
I am feeling the manic wonder of the returning light and warmth and activity in our church. The atmosphere both inside and out is widening and inviting us into the spring “rebirth” time. While the outside news is hard, this blossoming and vibrant community reminds us that our values as UUs give us the tools for navigating the darkness and a container and incubator for joy and healthy community! That is the light for me right now. Ultimately you are all the light for me right now.
From Reading: Beyond These Walls Ojeikpo Elijah
Once, our voices traveled only as far as our footsteps.
Now they travel farther—through wires and signals, across towns and oceans.
A message shared online may reach someone we will never meet:
a person searching for hope late at night,
a stranger wondering if they belong.
Digital spaces, too, can be gathering places.
Places where kindness travels farther,
where community stretches wider,
where a single word of welcome can light the way.
May the light we kindle here travel outward—
beyond these walls, across every screen—
until someone, somewhere, feels less alone.
This is the essence of our service this weekend. To explore the need and depth of this ministry as outreach and in reach for our import message of love so that we can serve our community(s) and work for justice and peace. Social media amplifies spiritual community and care. It brings it to places, both dark and light, where our message is needed now more than ever. It brings it to you when you can’t get here, or reminds you when the community is mobilizing in one way or another. You relay messages of encouragement and connection through our posts and emails.
I invite you to think about how and where and how much you tap into social media. What do you look at? Consider how it impacts you. Consider how it impacts people younger than you. Consider how it impacts kids. Positive messages promoting love and right relationship must be sent out into the webosphere. It is a pulpit. Another version of a wayside pulpit. It is a pulpit that can serve you when you need encouragement and I do hear from you all that it does. People have come to service to check us out upon finding our web presence. More and more even. Please consider how you use our ministry in the digital commons and how you can expand and explore how to do that in ways that expand your spiritual journey and our message in the world. Please explore our website prior to church Sunday and our facebook page. Come ready to meet our web chaplain, Rev. Morgan Rowe and help commission her to this important ministry along with Elisha Cicio and Ryun Grivois!
Peace and Blessings!
Rev Lori Whittemore
(she, her, hers)
Unitarian Universalist Church of Saco Biddeford