By Elizabeth Corbett, Programs & Membership Coordinator
Last month I wrote about all the energy at church and all the good work we were doing with that energy. So much! But after work and projects and stress, rest is needed; a time to recharge, sleep, regroup, and replenish. And I WILL get to that, but first I have to just comment a bit on last Sunday’s service with Nathan Higdon from Knox Pride.
Wow, now he is inspirational. I was impressed after my visit to Knox Pride at the end of May with Kari Keeling—so many ways they do good and support the LGBTQIA+ community. If you weren’t at last Sunday’s service, I highly encourage you to visit Westside's YouTube page to view the service. And I’m so happy we at Westside are involved with this organization. I’m going to look into other ways we can support them and their work–Nathan listed quite a few volunteer opportunities. You can look at the Knox Pride website if you want more information, and of course, there’s more about Knox Pride and the food pantry in the article in the newsletter. A box is in the foyer for your donations. It’s been really full, so good work on that! If you keep forgetting to bring in your food donation, making a monetary contribution through Share the Plate is helpful also. So much good energy!
But how do we rest? How do we recharge, both as an institution and personally? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately because two out of three weeks this summer and early fall it’s what I have to do. Many of you know I have cancer, and I found out in early May that I had to start treatments again. It’s a taxing schedule, with two Fridays in a row of treatment and then a rest week. And I am really fine the day of treatment and the day after, but on Sunday and Monday, I am forced to rest. I am tired. I sleep and sleep and sleep. By Tuesday I’m about 50% physically and a bit more mentally (chemo brain fog is a real thing), and I gain strength as the week goes on, and then I do it all over again. It’s a forced rest, but it's a rest. And it helps. Many of us at Westside take vacations and time away from Westside. Maybe we go somewhere or just hang out at home on a beautiful day. But we rest and connect with people who treat us well and settle our energy. It’s a necessary process before we head back to work. I’m hoping you find ways in these next few months to refill and replenish your energy stores. Westside will be looking for you to contribute your ideas and love to our projects as the fall gets underway.