October 2025
Click to access October Steeple
Dear Church Family,
I’m slowly making my way back from maternity leave, ever so grateful for this loving community of people who know how to reflect the love of Christ, and don’t really need me to tell them how! The last couple months have been a whirlwind - personally I’ve been adjusting to having 4 kids (haven’t left anyone behind just yet), transitioning our schedules from summer into the rhythms of the school year, and finding the balance of serving others while taking care of myself.
In this region, the transition from summer to fall also happens to be fire and smoke season. Some years are clearer than others, and this year has been bad. I live in Cashmere, and there have been 2 prominent fires which have prompted evacuation for many friends. The Labor Mountain Fire shut down Blewett Pass, and we ended up cancelling our Pastor Retreat scheduled for that last week of September out at Ingalls Creek Enrichment Center. The Sugarloaf Fire is just northeast of our house, and caused evacuation of dear friends living along one of the canyons nearby. On days when the wind is strong, our skies get cleared but the fire is fed and spreads. On days the wind blows soft, fire crews have more access and the fire doesn’t spread as quickly, but the smoke sinks into our valley and it rests so thick I can’t see further than the trees across the road. The picture above I took from my front yard - the winds coming from the north brought clarity to the haze but fed the fires and pushed the smoke south to Wenatchee.
I see a hazy sun in the sky which seems ominous, and resonates with my prayers - Lord have mercy, bring the rain and calm the fires. As I look out my window and ponder this longing on my heart, I realize it is also the longing I have for our nation and our world. There are fires burning - the fires of division, escalated by acts of violence, fed by narrow vision when we only listen to those who agree with us already. The fires in Gaza - the disastrous reality of a people facing genocide amidst the politics being played by those who do not risk the consequences. These fires get fed by placing blame, by isolation, by greed and by ignorance. The big difference I see between the wildfires and these metaphorical fires brewing in our culture, is the human response.
While the wildfires around us have been devastating, causing anxiety and some panic for those whose homes and livelihood are threatened, we find an outpouring of generosity and resources. Fire fighters from all over the state are rushing to work together in fighting these complex fires. Neighbors have offered shelter, businesses offering support for evacuees, strangers offering to transport and temporarily house livestock and animals for folks in the evacuation zones. There aren’t any lines being drawn regarding where you stand politically, if you agree with the war in the middle east, or what you think about vaccinations. It is people helping people, neighbors helping neighbors.
So why don’t we see this same response in the crisis facing our country? Because it feels like an emergency. We’d rather have a hot opinion than act to love our neighbors. We’d rather blame someone else or some system than be a part of the solution. Sometimes it feels like we’d rather divide than unite. Yet it is in the midst of this we are also invited to try and walk in the way of Christ… so are we? The scripture we recite each Sunday morning invites us always, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you shall love your neighbors as yourself.” Scripture reminds us that there is no commandment greater than this.
The model for this love of neighbor that is inextricably linked to our love for God is lived out in the ministry and words of Jesus Christ - who used what he had: his privilege, his time, his resources, his attention, to bring healing and restoration. His death and resurrection lead to the gift of the Spirit so that we too may walk with this power of resurrection and hope into a world that desperately needs it. So how might we use what we have to do the same? Some of the grievances of this world seem insurmountable, yet it is in small acts of kindness, in doing what we can with what we have on the pathway of Christ’s justice, love, and peace that makes the difference.
I pray you may not be distracted by the spirit of division, but instead seek understanding. May God’s Spirit cover you with wisdom, patience, and compassion as you step into the roles of peacemaker where you may be tempted into conflict. May your eyes see each person you meet as image bearers of God - each person beloved, even if they don’t agree with you on politics. Find out where fear is driving more than faith, for yourself as well as in the hearts of your neighbors. May you build connection so that isolation and loneliness doesn’t escalate to bitterness and depression. May you go forward in the power of the Spirit to know God’s hope and healing in this world, to put out the fires and see the clear skies of resurrection. Amen!
Blessings,
Pastor Becca
