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Dear St. Lukers,
This week, Pastor Jayde and I had a chance to visit our Circles program as the new cohort, Leaders and Allies, were matched after completing their training. (If you don’t know much about Circles, you can learn more about it and our partner nonprofit, Poverty Solutions Group, here.) We heard from both Leaders and Allies from the current cohort about how they formed their relationships with one another as they began the program. One thing I heard that stood out was the word “trust.” Leaders said that the most significant barrier their pairs had to overcome was choosing to trust one another. Once they did that, the relationships formed in powerful and transformational ways that have allowed them to move toward and accomplish their goals, with their Allies supporting them all along.
Often, we encounter narratives that are designed to foster distrust, especially between those we consider to be most like us, and those who are different. These narratives tell us that difference is dangerous, that we should protect ourselves by keeping distance, by staying in our own circles (ironically), by drawing boundaries, and by deciding who is worthy and who is not.
And yet, Jesus shows us...
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