In Good Company
From The Pastor’s Desk—
We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. -Wendell Berry, “It Turns On Affection”
This month, as we celebrate Veteran’s Day, I wanted to share a unique way that my life has been shaped by the service of our veterans. I’ve had numerous family members who have served, and I myself worked as a Mental Health chaplain for the VA. Yet outside of that, I was shaped and formed by my education at Marlboro College (now a part of Emerson College in Boston). Marlboro was founded in 1946 by GIs returning from World War 2, who found that they had little in common with high school graduates who had not gone to war. These first Marlboro students had learned leadership and technical skills during their deployment, as well as critical thinking and problem solving. Marlboro was founded as a means to build upon those skills, and to utilize self-direction, debate, and mutual learning as principles not only of the educational experience but also town hall-style self governance. So, they pooled their GI Bill stipends, got Robert Frost to agree to be their first trustee, and established their school on Potash Hill farm in Marlboro, VT
The college closed its doors in 2020, a result of the disruptions of the COVID pandemic and shifting trends in higher education. In the decades since I graduated, I’ve come to know alumni from many different eras of the school’s tenure. Despite not always knowing the same students or professors, what I have found was a common intellectual curiosity, a desire to better understand not just the nature of something -whether art, science, history, politics, etc.- but why it came to be, and what utility it might have for individual or common life.
The same can be true for our faith as well. We worship and practice in ways that distinguish us from Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics and many other denominations. But, at core, we affirm the same values: love of God, a deep commitment to forgiveness, care for the sick, hungry, and vulnerable, welcome of the stranger. Living these core values can also draw us into deeper relationships with those of other faith traditions, or those of no faith at all. They are a common culture, and fidelity to that culture can generate new relationships and partnerships, as we find ourselves aligned with others who share those values.
This month, in addition to Veterans Day, we will celebrate Thanksgiving: a time when, as a nation, we pause to offer our thanks for the blessings we have received. This year, as you offer thanks for family, friends, and abundance, I encourage you to take a moment to consider your thanks for those who share your values and your struggles. Together, we reflect the values that unite us, and we continue to learn and live with those who bring us new ideas, new challenges, and new ways of responding to God’s call in our lives.
—Pastor Jon
