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Marvin Repinski

United Methodist Pastor (retired)

The hectic days have nearly ended, and the public, you and I, have concluded our prayers, wishes and dreams for a suitable president.  Some persons are in a gleeful mood, while others have tears that will not dry.  But, together in a spirit mixed with pride and humility, we must go on.   It’s a new nation-building time!

A prayer that is often a part of the liturgy of the Episcopal Church reads:

Most merciful God,

we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.  We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.  We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.  For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name.  Amen.

The prayer concludes with a possible time of silence termed the Absolution.  So be it.  In a service of worship, it is a reminder that healing has begun.  Now go forth.

A November 2020 article in the Roman Catholic publication, “St. Anthony Messenger” is entitled “The Nuns and the Nones.”  I like that; and I appreciate the nuns — some are even relatives!  Referenced in the article is the name of Trischler, a 33 year-old who meets monthly with Sister Ann, 71, a sister of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana.

She is wearing a palette of warm oranges and browns.  The young adult with a trendy pixie haircut and bright smile, “moves her tote bag so that Sister Ann could sit next to her.”  In this setting in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, we are informed that this gathering is just one of the branches of a national movement called “Nuns and Nones.”

The young adult woman stated, “I think what has maybe surprised me is that I feel we have friends on the journey.” She also adds her feelings of others, as she calls herself, a millennium, and says of her meetings.  “There are times to ask questions and share questions.”  Like what?  “How do we live with the pain and the joy of the world?”

That is an answer that all of us at times ask ourselves and others, and we may say the example of Jesus Christ, stories in the Bible and a message shared by many churches and religious institutions point to a direction of strength, peace and clarity.