“Last Saturday I travelled to Ann Arbor for a baby shower: my niece is expecting, and this will be the first baby in this part of the family. It’s a delightful moment to pause before the baby arrives, to receive the good wishes of family and friends; to receive gifts both practical and beautiful. The new parents can never, of course, know what life will truly be like when a baby arrives. This truth is as old as humanity. We who have been there before can only offer love and support, baby books and diapers, onesies and toys…” Last Saturday I travelled to Ann Arbor for a baby shower: my niece is expecting, and this will be the first baby in this part of the family. It’s a delightful moment to pause before the baby arrives, to receive the good wishes of family and friends; to receive gifts both practical and beautiful. The new parents can never, of course, know what life will truly be like when a baby arrives. This truth is as old as humanity. We who have been there before can only offer love and support, baby books and diapers, onesies and toys. The writer Barbara Kingsolver has her own thoughts about parenting, expressed in her poem “How to Have a Child:” Begin on the day you decide you are fit to carry on. Begin with a quailing heart for here you stand on the fault line. Begin if you can at the beginning. Begin with your mother, with her grandfather, the ones before him. Think of their hands, all of them: firm on the plow, the cradle, the rifle butt, the razor strop; trembling on the telegram, the cheek of a lover, the fact of a door. Everything that can wreck a life has been done before, done to you, even. That’s all inside you now. Half of it you won’t think of. The rest you wouldn’t dream of. Go on. Kingsolver names both the resolution and the doubt that comes with becoming a parent. I know both were present for me, 27 years ago: both the determination to do my best as a parent, and the fear of not being good enough to give the child all that they deserve. And the poet also encourages the parent-to-be to connect to the generations past. Our mothers, fathers, grandparents and on back: they all did the things they could, and none of them were perfect. We are not meant to repeat what our parents did: the promise of new baby is the promise that the next generation will different even as it is connected to the past. We are connected to our ancestors before us: their blood in our bodies; their instincts rooted in our DNA. And we are connected to the generations to come. Every child born is ours to protect, to love; for every child born we work for a safer and greener planet, a more just and loving community. May it be so. PRAYER: May every pregnant mother in every corner of this Earth be safe, be cared for, and be loved. May every child born be blessed with love. May every family member, every neighbor, every community member; may every king and president, and every waitress and farmer vow solemnly to create a world fit for the baby born today. Amen. Rev. Andrew Frantz |
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Rev. Andrew FrantzUUFCM Minister Office hours:
In-person and via Zoom: Tuesday 10-noon Wednesday 1-3 & 8-9pm Office Hours Zoom Link Outside of Office Hours, Drew is reachable at any time via text, phone, or email. Day off: Monday Contact for emergencies only minister@uufcm.org Phone/text: 440-935-0129 Pastoral Care Concerns
For support with life’s challenges, please contact Drew during his office hours or make an appointment with him. For specific needs such as rides to medical appointments or meals for people recovering from illness or surgery, please contact the Caring Team (formerly Arms Around) via Jen Prout at 989-400-3130 or poutyprouty66@gmail.com. Every effort will be made to lessen the burden on the individual or family who is dealing with a difficult circumstance. Archives
April 2024
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