25 Oct Go Round and Round

Dear Westwood Community,

I’m still a little teary this morning, remembering what a sweet gift it was to be with my parents, as a part of the sold-out crowd at the Hollywood Bowl last Sunday night for the Joni Jam. It was Joni Mitchell’s return to the Hollywood Bowl, twenty some years after she last played a show in LA, and 9 years after a brain aneurysm left her unable to speak or walk. Last weekend, surrounded and supported by a diverse community of musicians who have been singing her back to strength, her voice was strong and clear. For years, this community of musicians, with leadership from Brandi Carlile, has gone to her house for “Joni Jams,” first singing her songs to her, and then welcoming her voice back into the ensemble, and now letter her shine.

I am moved by the power of community and music to heal and restore. In this case, the healing is dramatic. Her 80-year-old voice is now low and beautiful, and she sang the three-hour concert sitting a regal chair, with other musicians arranged on stage as if in her living room. The arrangements and set-up were designed to accommodate what’s possible now, and it was beautiful. The folks who were a part of the music were an incredible mix of generations–folks like Annie Lennox and Jon Batiste and, somehow, Elton John and Meryl Streep, were all a part of the ensemble. An almost-ready-to-give birth Jess Wolfe of Lucius sang along, too. It was a visible and audible incarnation of the generations of community in which we stand in any moment.

The concert ended with a whole-Bowl singalong of “The Circle Game:” “We can’t return, we can only look behind from where we came / And go round and round and round in the circle game.” The lyrics of the song give voice to the inevitability of time, but on Sunday night, they also felt like hope-filled possibility emerging from the gift of community. We don’t always get to see that so clearly.

In two Sundays, on November 3rd, we will celebrate All Saints Day; in our Sanctuary worship gathering, that includes the reading of names of folks from our community who have died in the past year, as a part of a prayer litany. This is one of those days where we get to be mindful of the passing of time, of the generations who’ve preceded us, of the grief and gift of those we remember. I invite you to contribute names to our litany, if there are those in your family or circle who have died this year and who you would like for us to remember, together. You can email names and information to Sabrina Simmons before October 31.

This morning, as I got dressed, I put on a necklace that came from the collection of a bold clergywoman mentor and friend, Nan Self; she had a vast collection of bold jewelry, and folks at her memorial service were invited to take a piece home. It’s helping me remember the gifts of community, and generations, and how I’m invited to carry forward the work of love and justice.

Whether or not you have reminders you can wear (or see and hear) I invite you to reflect on your own belonging in the story of time, and hope.

grace and peace,

Pastor Molly

Also! I wanted to share this fun news: Yesterday, the Center for LGBTQ+ United Methodist Heritage had its official beginning; housed in our denominational archives at Drew University in New Jersey, it is a new and expanding collection that traces the contributions of LGBTQ+ folks to our denomination, and the legacies of advocacy for inclusion that includes allies. In photos from the event, I saw that Bishop Mel Wheatley (beloved Senior Pastor of Westwood UMC from 1954-72) was included in one of the displays. I am grateful for his connection to our church, and our interwoven and ongoing stories of work for inclusion and justice.