By Cindy Laprade Lattimer
Walk in light. I love this invitation. Walk in the light NYC. It’s a call that you have lived into this week…as you have engaged with one another, taken risks, grown.
And it is a call that does not end with NYC.
We started here. We sparked something here. But we cannot leave it here.
The point has always been for your light to shine beyond this place. For you to take time to listen and learn. Time for you to connect with new people and the beautiful diversity of this world. Time for you to experiment and slow down and sense God’s love in powerful ways.
And then for you to take it all with you. And let it keep swirling, let it keep working on you and encouraging you and calling you into more and more and more.
To let it help you walk in light. To help you shine.
I hope and pray that you have sensed God’s presence – and God’s call – stirring within you this week. That there are whispers of how you might respond, rumblings in your belly of how you may make an impact, determination in your steps for where you may go.
I wonder what those movements of the Spirit are for you. Are there new people you are ready to love? Is there study you want to do? Or the first sparkles of a calling into ministry that are trying to ignite?
Do you keep feeling pulled toward service with FaithX or BVS? Or advocacy? Or just toward being more present and committed to your home congregation? Or your friends…or family?
In just a moment, we are going to have a service of anointing. In the Church of the Brethren we anoint in times of sickness – but also in times of commitment. It is a moment of blessing, of spiritual encouragement, of connection with God and also the community sharing alongside you.
I want to encourage you to not keep this moment just between you and God. We need one another to shine. We anoint in pairs and within communities, because we need one another to live into what God calls us to.
And so if you can put words around what the Spirit is speaking within you, after the service, share that call with someone else. Even if it isn’t full of clarity and vision – tell a friend or your pastor or advisor, say: I think I am sensing this, or I think God might be calling me, or this doesn’t make sense yet, but this is the thought that keeps circling my mind and heart.
Speaking those words aloud can sometimes help us discern – but they always give us a place of connection, accountability, and support.
As we move into our anointing service:
Pairs are moving right now into place throughout our worship space. As you feel ready and led, you are invited to approach one of the pairs – they will ask you what you would like to be anointed for. Then they will place oil on your head and speak a blessing to empower you to claim your light.
If you are someone who would like to receive the blessing, but would prefer not to be touched, you can approach the pair with your arms crossed like this [show them] or simply ask for just a blessing.
If you choose not to be anointed – or after you have already received your anointing – you are still an important part of this moment. You can participate by holding your siblings in faith in silent prayer. You can honor this sacred space with your own reflection and listening.
Resist the urge to step away from the power of the silence and the beauty being created around you. Let it fill you – breathe it in.
This is a time of commitment – a time of hope – a time when we allow the light to break us open. It is holy and it can be hard. May you embrace the vulnerability and also the empowerment of anointing.