From Harm to Home - Report 3 from Ohio

I am part of a movement.
Some of the people involved in this movement are gathered in Huron, Ohio this weekend.
Others are in other places... on the move.
Today I learned about moving from harm to home.
As we all know, home is not perfect, but it is still home.

Rev. Amy DeLong reminded us that there is no shame in the fact that our home is not perfect. The shame belongs to those who seek to do us harm. We do not need to honor their intentions by complying with their plot.

Dr. Althea Spencer-Miller pointed us to a new space beyond the frame built by forces that do not flow from God. If we want out of that world, then we don't have to hang around debating foolish questions. If we want to get out of that world, then we can start with knowing who we are. Just begin by remembering who you are. Do that and dance to Jimmy Cliff.

Bishop Yvette Flunder encouraged us to build our homes as places that reflect the God who made us and the Spirit that moves us. She spoke about San Francisco building construction that is made "to move" with the living, moving earth. Our institutions, our lives and our homes need to have that same flexibility.

Bishop Joe Sprague showed us that our spiritual habits need to be authentic and real no matter what. If we can't believe ourselves than no one else will. And when we trust God, nothing else matters.

I am part of a movement.
Some of the people in this movement have the gifts of leadership and witness. Amy, Althea, Yvette and Joe are good in front of a mic, on a stage and in front of the crowd.
But other members in this movement, with other gifts, know the message just as well.
They know it because God's grace has lead them home already. They live in a place of integrity meant to honor God - not do harm.
Many of those people are in Huron, Ohio this weekend.
But they are also all over the world. If you are not at Sing A New Song then you get to experience some of what changed my life today via youtube clips some time in the near future. You'll love it.

We are all moving from a place of harm to a place called home. No matter where we are today, or tomorrow, there will be more pain and mistakes to come.
But home is the place where we live. Because we are already there, we don't need to react or defend or respond to everything that gets thrown at us.
We can be ourselves.
This movement is our home.