On the Interim, from the Interim

One of my favorite childhood toys was a kaleidoscope. The surprising and beautiful patterns captured in the kaleidoscope were unpredictable and stunning and captivating. I could not imagine how such beauty could be created in that little tube of glass and mirrors and colored pebbles. My childhood curiosity led me to learn that the ancient Greeks were the first to create the kaleidoscope, which is a word made up of three words meaning “an instrument with which we can see things of beautiful form.” It is constructed of a tube containing two rectangular mirrors set at an angle that run lengthwise and a chamber that contains small loose colored objects like beads. The viewer looks in one end and light enters the other end, reflecting off the mirrors. As the tube is rotated, the tumbling of the glass beads presents the viewer with varying colors and patterns. Always changing, the patterns delight the viewer with each turn of the tube.

I invite us to consider the kaleidoscope as another symbol of our transition journey. Along the way we will consult scholars, corporate development consultants, theologians, anthropologists, preachers, and teachers until our heads will feel like they are about to burst with new and exciting information. We will make lists and check them twice; we will construct timelines and adjust them; we will spend time in self study and visioning for the future; we will continue to discover the legacy of John and Alice Scannell while we mourn their absence and learn new ways to be in relationship with them in the future. At the same time our common life at St. Michael & All Angels will go on much as it has throughout history. The community will gather together to worship and study, we will continue to extend the Gospel into the community and the world, and we will continue to build community with events that include long time parishioners while welcoming new ones; we will mark life’s milestones with baptisms, marriages, confirmations, funerals, ministry to the sick, and rites of reconciliation. The foundational liturgical events that shape this vital community will not change: we are a baptismal community, nourished by the Eucharist, blessed by God. Transition, at its best, will nuance, refine, challenge, and enrich our understanding of how God is at work at St. Michael’s. Just maybe, if we keep our kaleidoscope close at hand it will remind us of the unlimited, vibrant possibilities that await us along the way.

Joan Yetter,

Interim Rector