Sometimes I feel like I'm a character in a Stephen King novel or a David Lynch film. I've been doing lay ministry in my hometown, about 20 miles away from where I currently reside. I love my hometown. It's nestled down inside the Allegehany Mountains, which means it's pretty scenic no matter the season. But I just can't shake the feeling that a black cloud is hanging over the whole town. The shadows all seem deeper than I remember them. The chill seems to have more of an edge to it.
Lamont and I thought that our ministry in Jamestown had pretty much prepared us for anything, but we're amazed at the depths and complexity of the needs with which we're now faced. It just seems that everyone we meet is "at-risk" with either poverty, abuse, or mental health issues... or sometimes all three!
I worry about the kids growing up viewing these problems as "just the way life is" and not seeking an alternative, because they've never seen a viable one. It doesn't help that in the weekend paper that a local government employee was quoted as stating that "only 1 in 4 jobs require a college education." Now that's a great message to pass along to these kids!
When faced with such overwhelming problems, how do we know where to even start?
The first thing I do everyday -- even before I step out of bed -- is pick up the book Celtic Daily Prayer, a devotional/prayer guide compiled by the Northumbia Community at Lindisfarne. Today's reading said:
"Lord show us the things that are binding the work
You have called forth on Holy Island.
Help us to loose YOUR work,
and let it go
in resurrection power."
May that be the prayer in my little corner of the world, too.
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