The Pete Seeger song, taken from Ecclesiastes 3, is one that I am hearing as more and more relevant these days.  Pete, still singing and busy at nearly 90, is one of my greatest teachers, of banjo, guitar, and singing, but most importantly of life.  He captures so well in his song “Turn, Turn, Turn, Turn,” the Spirituality of Ecclesiastes, a spirituality that calls for us as human beings to “tune” ourselves to the rhythm of the Holy blowing through Creation.  Pete is my model in this; he has tuned his songs and his actions to address the times and to address the human community in these times.  By this I do not mean that he hasn’t challenged the powers and principalities, as St. Paul names them, which too often shape our world for destruction and tyranny.  Pete has always challenged these forces, but he has done so on behalf of the “Holy rhythm” of the dance of well being that Ecclesiastes calls us towards.

I mention Pete because I think he offers a model for us as a church.  He is able to play a joyful banjo jig as well as a sad ballad, but he always has his eye on the well being—the Holy rhythm—of all Creation. He has always tried to address the times he finds himself in by speaking the truth.  It’s not that he has always been right, but he has never hesitated to think critically about the world around him and he has tried to find words and songs to address the times.  On his banjo head is a motto that echoes the mission of the church, “this machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender.”

In the past year, we have become painfully aware of the challenges and difficulties we face in our community.  We see an increase in homelessness and signs of climate change, and we are uneasy about the fast pace of change in our community.  We feel stretched in so many ways, too little time, too little money and too few people to carry the load. Maybe we need to hear the joy of a banjo tune that knows the reality we face, but offers a vision beyond the confines of our pews.

The next year in our life is filled with promise.  We have opportunities that may bring us into a new and exciting time in the life of the church.  There no doubt will be times of loss and times of worry, but through it all we can sing and be a part of the ongoing song of creation itself.  So let’s tune up the instruments and start playing that new song.  Let the banjo ring, the choir sing and the people dance, for our time is now! Joy will find a Way!

In the Sacred Dance,