The wall of bricks during Lent is a visual symbol of the nebulous walls that we create when we stop connecting with God and with one another… when we start turning ourselves inward. Walter Brueggemann, author of our Lenten study Sabbath as Resistance, talks about living in a world at "brick making speed" when we are always producing and always in this productivity mode and we don't take time to rest, which prevents us from being the neighbors that God calls us to be. So the wall was built up as a visual representation of what it looks like when walls begin to prevent us from doing the things we would normally do… such as worship in a regular way.

WALLS

What is it about a wall
That some find good….some not at all?
Deep darkness or brilliant light
Depends on what you want out of sight.

I’ve seen walls of deep despair.
Caused by those who do not care.
Leaving others far behind
Out of sight, out of mind.

I’ve seen walls of treadmill lives
Tired souls who cannot thrive.
Never stopping to embrace
The joy in God’s redeeming grace.

I’ve seen walls of persecution
Causing other’s destitution.
Hearts are hardened day by day
Until at last we lose our way.

Our instinct is to build what’s fast
But we need to build what will last.
Our energies must never cease
Until we find for all a peace.

There are alternatives to walls
Can you see them Jesus calls.
Bridges are the way you see
Bridges lead from you to me.

Jesus says to take a walk,
Find that stranger and have a talk.
While you talk make a conscious decision
Find common ground, not division.

Jesus calls us to find a way
To not separate US from THEY.
Do not build walls where hatred dwells,
Love your neighbors as yourselves.

poem by member Judith Wachter
April 3, 2017