February-March 2017 Newsletter

Late Winter Liminality

I’m not a fan of late winter. Never have been. Come about January 2 each year, I lead a quiet revolt against my least favorite month and its equally bleak successor, February.

The days are short, the sky is gray, and the Christmas lights are long gone. (Except in my parents’ house, where a stubborn, still-standing Christmas tree may explain my genetic disdain for this season.)

Late winter is that time when holiday colors have been erased, not to be repainted for another 11 months–or eight months, depending on where you shop–and signs of spring’s hues seem impossibly distant. It’s the liminal space: the in-between time, still not before, not quite after.

Liminality is a term coming from the Latin word limen, meaning “threshold.” Liminal space, then, is that threshold between two times. When changes are afoot, perhaps, but we’re not sure what they will be or when they will come.

My best friend recently reminded me of this term after hearing it in a sermon. Her pastor illustrated liminal space as driving through ruts formed by winter’s ice: you’re not sure which way your car will go, but you’re quite certain you’ll get through it even if you don’t know how.

Sometimes this time of year can feel like a rut in the church year: the weeks between the energy of Christmas and the rhythm of Lent. Liturgical liminality.

This year I find it particularly fitting, then, that the theme for this liminal season–that is, the season of Epiphany–is light. What better image for these in-between days? A light to illuminate a way through the rut, a path through the unplowed roads. The Christ child, the Light of the World, to shine light into the dark places of our lives and our world. The preacher Jesus, whose Sermon on the Mount we’re exploring these weeks, who shines the light of justice and reveals the way of faith.

I give thanks for gathering with you, people of Spirit of Joy, during these liminal weeks. Together we sing of God’s presence even and  especially in the midst of dark days and gray skies. We hear of God’s promises and we go forth with God’s call to bring light to our world.

May we see glimpses of God’s light and share it with our community, today and always.    In light, Christy

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February Calendar of Events
March Calendar of Events