A WING AND A PRAYER "Live Long and Prosper"

There will come times in our relationships when some will be convinced that some of the rest are aliens, foreigners, strangers, or even just plain weird. There will be times filled with common rejoicing. And there will be lots of other times when our work and our lives feel pretty ordinary, as we just keep on keeping on. The times of rejoicing may not seem like they need a good deal of courage or boldness, but the other times will. - p. 86

So I hoped that this would be a sermon about STAR TREK, and it started out that way. I was a BIG Trekkie growing up. While the rest of the world seemed so different from myself (being a rather un-talented youth when it came to sports), I found in the entertainment of the science fiction series, and in others, that there was a kind of solace. You see, being different wasn't a curse when it came to "other worlds and new civilizations" in outer space. It was the status quo.

Why do we imagine that we can somehow determine what is "normal" by looking at what is "average"? Isn't there a kind of diversity every time we gather together as a people of faith? You look around the congregation, and you will see multiple expressions of belief and worship...we are NOT all the same. We do not all hold the same beliefs, attitudes and values when it comes to our response to the world.

Not one of us holds all of the answers to where we are headed. We may very well each have some piece of the puzzle as we determine as households, as congregations, as national churches, and even as worldwide communions what God has in store for us. It takes energy, patience, and a great deal of empathy to sit at the table and respectfully disagree, with one another, with those in authority, with those who are marginalized, with those whom we distrust. But that is what God is calling us to do when we are called to "boldly go where no (wo/)man has gone before."