One of the wonderful things about traveling to other congregations is that I get to hear colleagues preach. On my recent trip to Fairbanks, Alaska to participate in the installation of the minister there, I was able to attend worship on Sunday morning. The Rev. Sarah Schurr, one of several Congregational Life Staff for the Pacific Western Region, was the preacher. The title of her sermon was, “Three Drops.” She talked about being an idealistic 23-year-old social worker who was going to save the world. But it wasn’t long before she realized that all she could do was be three drops.
Sarah went on to explain that drops of water can wear away stone. But only if they drop in the same place, consistently over time. She could offer three drips on one rock or one issue as opposed to saving the whole world. That got me to thinking about WUUC taking on the identity of being three drops of water in our world. That we would either focus on three areas of ministry for the year and drop away at it or that we would focus all our energies on one justice issue and drop away at it together for that year. Imagine what could be worn away…
Even if WUUC doesn’t adopt this identity, I find the three drop metaphor one that any of us can individually incorporate into our lives. Can we focus our lives and our living on three areas we want to affect and apply our “drops” there consistently over time? Would we be more effective at bringing about change if we narrowed our focus and channeled our energy? The choice of where to drip one’s drops is completely up to the individual. But drip and drop we must…
As the singer-songwriter Holly Near invites us:
“Can we be like drops of water falling on the stone
Splashing, breaking, dispersing in air
Weaker than the stone by far but be aware
That as time goes by the rock will wear away…”
Rev. Lo