Dear Church Community,
Tuesday was the Fall Equinox, the day when darkness and light get equal time. Wouldn’t it be lovely if everything in our lives was this balanced?
But alas, both the earth and our lives move in rhythms and cycles. There’s no such thing as stasis. Even death brings change.
This is the time of year when darkness increases a bit more each day. Some of us see this as a lovely invitation to settle in with books and tea. Others gird our loins as the light wanes and darkness encroaches. We may even experience SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) when the diminishing daylight affects the biochemistry that helps us stay positive and awake.
This fall, as we move toward the midterm elections, many of us already feel stressed by the conflicts in our country and world. Thus, the annual slide into darkness may hit us harder than usual. If you could use some pastoral support, please don’t hesitate to email me at gro.hcruhccpc@rotsap. I’d be happy to meet with you.
I also encourage you to:
- Consider purchasing a light therapy lamp, proven to help with symptoms of SAD. This article provides an up-to-date overview of the best ones, at various prices, available.
- Turn up the brightness on your phone and computer screens.
- Keep exercising! It’s key to keep up our activity level, even when it’s dark.
- Continue engaging in preferred events and activities that get you out of the house.
- Choose some cozy, at-home activities that make you feel good. Read the novel sitting by your bed, get a jigsaw puzzle from the cupboard, and/or stream music that uplifts you.
- If all else fails, allow yourself to go to sleep early (sometimes it’s easier just to finish the day and start fresh in the morning).
Experts tell us to begin these seasonal strategies before we start feeling SAD. This means today!
If you’re experiencing depression with thoughts of harming yourself,
please call 988, the suicide and crisis hotline, and ask for help.
Getting involved with community and reaching out to others are tried-and-true ways of feeling better in any season. Our church offers ample opportunities for both!
Here are a few:
Host Coffee Hour: Every week we need someone to host our time of food and fellowship after worship. It needn’t be fancy, just some crackers, cheese, and fruit. The Fellowship Committee will provide all the information you need. You can sign up here.
Provide Worship Support: Each Sunday we need someone to greet folks as they come in, take attendance, and collect and count the offering. We also need a scripture reader. If you’d like to help with Sunday morning worship, please sign up here. Our Worship Committee will support you.
Drive Someone Who Needs a Ride: We have a few church members who no longer drive and would be grateful for a ride to church. If you’re available, please sign up here. Our Congregation Care Committee will be in touch.
Join a Committee: We have committees for every area of interest: Music, Worship, Children & Youth, Building & Grounds, Fellowship, Congregation Care, and more. What appeals to you? Joining a committee is a great way to meet people and contribute to the life of our community. Please email Melissa at gro.hcruhccpc@rotaredom with questions and areas of interest.
Donate to our Food Pantry and Assistance Fund: Each month our Sunday School students pack up donations for St. Paul’s Food Pantry. Your contributions of non-perishable food items are much needed and gratefully received! We also encourage donations to our church’s Assistance Fund, which helps DC residents facing eviction and/or utility cut-off. This financial assistance can change a family’s life. You can make your tax-deductible donation here. Thank You!
At last Saturday’s Fall Equinox Retreat, we meditated on Mary Oliver’s poem, Wild Geese. This time I was struck by the line, “Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.”
Right now it can be easy to fall into despair, and sometimes I do. But then I remember there’s both darkness and light in this world. And blessings to be found in each. Thus, I leave you with this poem by the pastor/poet Laura Martin:
If you have not give up feeling,
despite all consumerist attempts
to anesthetize you,
honor that.
If you have felt your chest tighten
for the pain someone else holds,
honor that.
If you have kept your humanity
that threads you to the person
who bags your groceries,
the woman sitting across from you
in the doctor’s office,
the child stomping their boots in the rain,
honor that.
If you have known the heaviness of compassion,
and carried it anyway,
honor that.
The world is remade by those who risk
feeling,
by those who will not be placated by
a few pieces of shining silver,
by those who know we are created
to learn what together means.
We’re in this together,
Pastor Ellen