The everyday business of earning a living, raising children and grandchildren, and looking after the myriad of issues that come across our screens consumes most of our waking hours. But every now and again, we pause, we close our eyes, and we dream a little. What are your dreams for the new year? As Bethesda searches for a new rector, what are our congregation’s dreams for 2022 and beyond?
Perhaps one of the greatest dreamers in the mid-20th century was Martin Luther King, Jr. His “I Have a Dream” speech of August 1963 will be recited over and over again during the coming days. His dream, of course, was to cultivate a society built on the principles and values of our founding forebears.
In our case, to dream is to be connected with God’s dream. In this, as always, we take guidance from the Bible, a record of hope and promise, but also an honest accounting of human set-back and perseverance. To dream means performing the not-so-simple trick of putting the truly important before the merely urgent and convenient.
It’s time to dream again right where we live. To seek God’s dream for each of us and to discern God’s dream for our congregation.
Bob Dannals
Interim Rector