“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and God will say: Here am I.
If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”
Isaiah 58:9-10
Dear church,
As this hits your inboxes, I am flying back from nearly a week in Memphis at the United Church of Christ’s Next Generation Leadership Initiative, or NGLI. I have been blessed to learn alongside a cohort of 13 other ministers in their 20s and 30s this week. We’ve spent time talking about ministry that accesses our whole brains (dreaming, planning, data-driven, and relationship-centered); we’ve shared wisdom from across the country and across different ministry settings; and we made a pilgrimage to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
We began our sacred conversations on race and racism with this scripture, and it grounded us into an experience of truth-telling, accountability, and trust-building. In reflecting on the museum as a whole and individual lives of leaders and activists whose experiences inspired us, facilitators led us through a journey of lament, confession, and hope for the future. We recognized the need for individual, communal, and spiritual transformation.
We were all incredibly moved by the experience, and I’m certain I’ll be bringing more reflections to you in the weeks to come. What’s more, I will spend two weeks a year with this cohort engaging in professional development for the next four years. I am grateful for the congregation’s and staff’s support for this vital learning time, and am excited to continue to learn, grow, and share with you all as I do so.
Peace,
Megan
Past Posts
- From Our PastorsRev. Megan Berkowitz
May 9, 2025 I had a lot of interest in the prayer structure I shared during last Sunday’s worship, so I wanted to write it out for you here. If you’re feeling like you’re not sure how to pray or what to say, sometimes a little scaffolding can help get you started. Don’t think that this is the ‘right’ way to pray though — any way to pray that leads you to open your heart to God is the right way! Learn More - From Our Pastors: May 2, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
May 2, 2025 There is very little in the Gospels that tells of Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension. This period gets 5 weeks in the liturgical calendar, but only one or two stories in each Gospel at most. As Pastor Amy shared in her sermon last Sunday, after the Resurrection, Jesus spends some time eating with his disciples, even sharing a grilled fish breakfast on the beach with them one morning. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 25, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 25, 2025 On Easter morning, we sang the hymn “Now the Green Blade Rises,” with its refrain: “Love is come again like wheat that rises green.” While it raises questions for me every year about how much pronunciation has changed in the last hundred years (did been/green and again/lain really rhyme?), it so beautifully captures the confluence of Easter and the coming of Spring in the Northern hemisphere. Learn More - From Our Pastors: April 18, 2025Rev. Megan Berkowitz
April 18, 2025 Throughout Lent, we have been Making Space: for compassion, humility, discernment, generosity, and prayer. As we move from yesterday evening’s Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service, sharing around the table and recognizing the coming darkness, to Sunday morning’s joyful worship, we are given one last, sacred opportunity to reflect in this year’s Lenten season. Learn More