“In the first few months of this year I’ve seen plenty of good things being done around the Church,” writes Moderator Rev David Fotheringham.
As a teenager, I recall being deeply moved by a sermon about how the love of God in Jesus transforms us, and how we can embody that kind of love as we seek to change the world for good.
At that time, there were several Biblical verses that came to resonate for me. Among them was the beginning of Psalm 37: Do not fret because of the wicked.
I remember it as I was starting to make decisions about values, navigating various encounters as a youth and young adult, and learning what trusting God might mean.
I’ve recently revisited Psalm 37, which seems pertinent to the world at the moment when there is a lot that might drive us to despair.
As the Psalmist reflects on their own experiences we might not want to buy into all of their musing, but three key calls of the Psalm hold strong: do not fret, trust God, do what is good.
In the first few months of this year I’ve seen plenty of good things being done around the Church, including going to a number of openings.
I was able to share in the opening celebrations for the newly renovated building at Eltham Montmorency, which houses space for worship, an op shop and community. A new community housing project has just been opened by Uniting Vic.Tas in Wangaratta, and Uniting AgeWell has opened new wings in Bendigo and Hobart.
At one of the latter openings, I heard comments about the board of Uniting AgeWell actively deciding to invest for the future with care and courage, even through the times of Covid-19 and the many challenges for the aged care sector. Those investments are now bearing good fruit.
We live in difficult times. The political landscape of the world is changing, which is having a tremendous impact on many individuals, families and communities around the world, including adding an element of fear for the future for many people in our own communities.
Congregations are also going through changes: some with new possibilities and growth that is clear, and some with paths that are less easy to chart.
In the midst of changes and challenges, Psalm 37 contains encouragement not to fret, but to trust God and to do what is good.
Doing what is good may may be within our own families and with our neighbours, or on wider scales where we have the opportunities.
It goes along with trusting in God, as we recognise the limits of our own power in what we can do. Indeed, sometimes doing what is good even means letting go of some power, or of things to which we might cling.
Approaching Easter, we recall how Jesus let go of his very life rather than meet the world’s rejection with anything other than loving mercy.
In places like Eltham Montmorency, various things were let go of to enable new engagement with the life and needs of the community.
More widely, by the time this is published we will have had a Faithful Futures Project meeting in which presbyteries and the Synod Standing Committee will have deliberately made space to listen to each other, to work for good through the Uniting Church in Victoria and Tasmania.
As Easter approaches in an unsettled year, I find myself still resonating with the Psalm I remember from my youth. Do not fret, trust God, and do what is good.
Rev David Fotheringham
Moderator
