What a joy it was to have Aaron back in the room last night! A beautiful opening liturgy led us to God, through confession and assurance, and culminated with Jesus declaring “I am the bread of life.” Then Aaron guided us through a teaching and practice of examining our faith tradition.

Within our community there is a great diversity in our faith traditions. Some grew up in a mainline Protestant churches. Others came to faith in the Evangelical tradition, while others experienced a Catholic, Pentecostal, or social justice upbringing. In his teaching, Aaron helped us to understand that regardless of our tradition, there are great blessings for us to hold on to. It is good for us to name them and thank God for them. It is also true that every tradition has its limitations. How can we name those limitations so we might grow to embrace the goodness of God revealed in other traditions?

Aaron then guided us through an examination of our tradition. We reflected on our experiences, but we also made space to listen to God. What is God inviting us to hold onto, and what might the Lord be inviting us to let go of from our tradition? In a time like this when we tend to view the world through a binary lens (something is either entirely good or completely bad), making space to identify and hold the tension of the blessings and the limitations of our tradition is so helpful and necessary.

Kingdom Practices
This week, let’s continue to reflect on our experiences and listen to God. Where might we need to name the blessings, and where might God be inviting us to identify and grow beyond the limitations of our tradition?