Given 12/31/00
by Robin Mitchell

When I was thinking about the topic for today's talk, the passing of time, one of the first things that came to mind was the verse from the old song Both Sides Now:

The line "something's lost, but something's gained, in living every day" really captures the way I experience the passing of time. It's a little overwhelming sometimes; things keep changing even when you aren't trying to make them change, when you're just "living every day." And sometimes the gains seem almost as unsettling as the losses, and as I get older I find that the losses keep mounting.

One of the things that keeps me going through all this is faith. Not just a simpleminded faith that the gains will always outweigh the losses - because sometimes they just don't - but a faith that the losses have a value of their own, that the dark threads are as important in the tapestry as the bright ones.

One value the losses have in my life is that they help me see what's really essential by paring away things that aren't. You've probably all heard the story about the sculptor explaining how he works: "If I'm carving a statue of an elephant, I start with a block of marble and chip away everything that doesn't look like an elephant." Well life's losses can work that way for me, by chipping away inessential things to help me see the true shape of my being.

We can see that in the life of the Fellowship as well as in our own lives. In the past few years the Fellowship has had many gains and losses - for example, we've gained many new members, who have brought us so many gifts; so much talent and enthusiasm that they're really a blessing. But we've also lost some dear people, people who were part of our history and whose gifts and faces we deeply miss. And yet we survive; in fact we're thriving! And so we see that the essence of the Fellowship is something other than being a specific group of people; there's something deeper here.

We've gained our new buildings, that serve us in so many ways, and yet we've lost the freedom that comes from not having huge mortgages hanging over our heads. And yet we go forward with confidence! So we see that the Fellowship is about something more than risk avoidance; we're not afraid to make commitments to the future.

We're about to gain a new minister, who I'm sure will lead us in new and exciting directions. But we've lost one minister who was very dear to many of us, and we'll be losing Reverend Enid soon as well. And yet we go on, and I'm sure we'll continue to grow and develop in the future. So the Fellowship is more than just a shepherd and her flock; there's something more here.

By looking at our losses like this, we can gain courage for the future by seeing that we have a core that can perhaps be shaken, but can't be destroyed by the commotion that sometimes happens on the surface. And so I hope that the coming years bring many gifts for us all, but I know that it's okay if they sometimes pare us down as well, if they lighten us a little for the journey ahead.

Thank you.