The ground shifts, sometimes slowly,
sometimes like an earthquake,
reminding us that the solidity
we often love and seek
is always an illusion.
The crumbling dust of the desert plains,
the moist fertility of farmlands,
the eroding coastline of tidal shores,
all are changing.
Committees dissolve or are created,
leaders retire or step away,
ministers come and go,
by-laws are amended.
New experiences
lead to new truths,
which foster
evolution;
the natural course of life
always pushing us
towards greater understandings
of what it means
to be human.
Everything about our existence
points towards change,
flexibility, and
dynamic re-creation.
And it’s hard because
change involves loss.
Can we hold the losses well,
while not holding ourselves back?
The ground shifts, sometimes slowly,
sometimes like an earthquake;
nothing is static.
— from Bless the Imperfect: Meditations for Congregational Leaders, edited by Kathleen Montgomery, Skinner House Books, 2014.