We'll build a land

Twelve of us from First Parish in Milton will leave for our first trip to be part of relief efforts on the Gulf Coast on Sunday February 18th. It's a big step for our congregation to make a trip away as part of our social action efforts, and a big step for many of us who are going to enter into unknown territory, to do work we may not feel qualified to do, and to be with fellow church members we may not know all that well. You could say it's a leap of faith.

On Sunday, we read a responsive commissioning during worship, a sign that we share the same mission whether we are at home or away, and that this in particular is a mission that takes the values we celebrate in worship on Sunday into the world far from our doors. It went like this:

All: Our faith calls us to witness by our actions the

promise of building a just, peaceful, compassionate world.

We do this as individuals in our daily lives when and where we can.

We do this as a community by sending forth those among us

who are willing and able, to bear witness to the struggles

of our brothers and sisters, and to offer solidarity

through their presence and action. Congregation:

We send you forth with our blessings and support,

eager to hear of your journey and expand our growing faith

through your action. Gulf Coast Team:

We go forth lifted up by the support of this community,

mindful of the fact that we represent First Parish in Milton

and our free faith as we make this journey.

We commit to returning to share our journey with you,

and extending our new understandings to the work we do in this community.

The twelve of us have been preparing to make this journey slowly over the last several months. I think it's just setting in for most of us that we will actually be in Kiln, Mississippi at this time next week. This blog will be a place where we can post our reflections as we make the trip, and share photos with the congregation during the week we are away. We hope this can be an interactive experience, with readers posting questions and responses to our posts -- either during or after our trip.