Happenings Lead Article for December 2nd

On Slime Mold Sunday last week, I said something that triggered my brain, I said we have accomplished all we have because you all show up. Showing up is important, because any given Sunday you could be doing anything else but joining us for the morning.

There’s a lot of pressure this time of year. Pressure to be joyful, to be organized, to be present for everyone in your life, to hold things together even when you’re tired or stretched thin. I want to name something gently: nobody shows up to church by accident. Whether you come every Sunday or wander in once during Advent, every act of showing up is a small act of courage, hope, and trust.

Because when we walk through the doors, we’re taking a risk. A risk that we might be met with silence when what we need is connection. A risk that the words or music might not land the way we hope. A risk that we’ll bring our questions or grief or weariness and not know how they’ll be held.

And yet we come.

We come because something in us knows that being with one another does something to us we cannot do alone. Scientists discovered this years ago in that funny little organism I love to talk about: slime mold. A single cell can’t do much on its own. It’s basically the biological equivalent of me before I’ve had my morning shower. But when conditions are right, when enough cells simply show up, they gather, connect, and organize into something wiser, more capable, and more alive than any one cell could ever be solo. Slime mold is, strangely enough, a sign of hope: what we cannot be alone, we can become together.

Church community works the same way, give or take fewer spores. We don’t come because every Sunday is perfect. We come because gathering, even with our doubts, our busy schedules, our “I can’t believe I forgot about this event” moments, creates something living among us. Something that can nourish and steady us. Something we didn’t know we needed until we found ourselves breathing easier in a pew.

And let’s be honest: half the time we show up not because we’re spiritually poised and ready, but because it’s the one place in the week where we don’t have to pretend we’re doing great. The choir hits a note that vibrates our ribs, someone hands us a bulletin, we hear a name in the prayers that reminds us to check on a friend and all of a sudden we realize we’re not alone in this wild, beautiful mess of life.

Your presence is part of what makes St. Edward’s a living community. When you show up, you help create the very conditions in which belonging becomes possible. When you show up, others feel less alone. When you show up, you make it easier for someone else to take that same courageous step.

So if this season feels full, or heavy, or uncertain, please know this: your presence matters. Not because we're keeping attendance charts (although that might be a good idea…). And not because we need to be busier. Your presence matters because you matter, and community only becomes itself when we gather and trust that something holy can emerge among us.

Thank you for showing up. Thank you for helping St. Edward’s be a place where hope gathers, courage grows, and just like our beloved slime mold, something wiser and more beautiful emerges when we come together.

Love you all,

Aron