When I joined this community several months ago, one of my areas of focus became building trust. This is, of course, common in any relational work. And trust building is not work often measured in minutes and hours, but in weeks, months, and years. Our future selves will understand our shared trust so much more than we do currently, and yet I want to share what I have noticed recently about the trust between us.
For me, a foundation of trust is routine. I know not everyone craves routine, but for my body to really lean into trust I need a solid routine. And I’ve experienced many of this church’s youngest to be people who build from a place of routine, too. Our circle time of sharing joys and sorrows on Sunday mornings has moved in a direction of being more open about what is on our hearts. Through establishing a routine space of trust we are, I believe, helping to foster emotionally intelligent children capable of understanding that what happens to someone else matters to them. We are flexing the muscles of our metaphorical hearts and trusting that what we share is respectfully held by our neighbors and friends.
And, while I don’t spend most of my time with the grownups of this church, I want to recognize the trust you share with me, our classroom assistants, and our volunteers. You trust us to provide a safe place to explore our shared values and important topics. And you trust that the work we do matters. I happen to agree.
You are also expressing more interest to me in Faith Exploration. Through wondering about volunteering, or simply asking a question about the program, I’m hearing this community develop a way of understanding the whole church in perhaps not an entirely new way, but a way that provides different invitations about belonging.
With all that is happening in this world, with all that is happening in our lives, to have a place where we can build and maintain trust is so incredibly helpful, so incredibly nourishing.
Thank you for sharing in this work of trust.
KYLE
Kyle M. Belmont (he/him)
Director of Faith Exploration