On Sunday afternoon I was completely out of energy. This past week had been fairly intense. It’s lots of work to move in to a new office and get all the pieces in place to pull off that first worship experience. Physically I was tired from all the moving and unpacking. Emotionally I was tired from the energy poured out to meet and connect with new folks. Mentally I was tired from all the writing and planning we had done. I was worried dinner would be a disaster.
And then my family got home from their trip and began the work of setting up for the meal. I walked to the store to buy some food and by the time I got home everything was ready. When people began to arrive I felt like myself again.
This work we do can be a heavy burden, but the thing I have learned is that I do not do it alone. I can’t. This is why our proposal for the Southeast Portland Parish included 3 clergy. It takes a team to do this sort of creative, innovative work. When I am depleted and out of ideas, Jeff and Amanda are there to carry on while I recover for a minute. It’s not just times of low energy when we need the team. Every idea we have is better when the three of us collaborate and discuss the idea together. We bring our own perspectives and end up with a more complete idea than if just one of us was working alone.
It’s not just with the staff that we work as a team. The leaders of Sellwood Faith Community and now Trinity UMC are part of the collective, creative energy that helps us to follow God faithfully. Again and again it has been one of these leaders who have brought forth an idea or a gift and it has shaped our community for the better.
I am excited to see how God continues speaking through all of us and I am so grateful for this gifted, lovely people that I get to walk with in this season of my life.
-Eilidh
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