I was happy to return to the altar at St. Andrew this past Sunday to continue our work together as a Beloved Community in the heart of Kokomo. I initiated a four week reflection titled “A Be-Loving Community.” Inspired by the words we read from the letter to the Church in Ephesus, “…lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

What does it mean to live a life of love? To endeavor to cultivate a community committed to loving one another, and loving our neighbors as ourselves? It means we choose to respect and listen to the other, embrace ad honor one another, forgive and uphold one another, pray for and cherish one another.

Being in church is being in community. At St. Andrew, for many, it is a family. I have returned from a restful time away to renew and pursue the bonds of affection and appreciation we are called to embody as the divine community, the church.