Over the past few weeks, my wife Joy and I have been processing our family’s move back to Salem with our kids. While we are all very excited to be moving home, there is still a measure of sadness. Part of the sadness comes from leaving some familiar routines. Part of the sadness comes from not being able to move sooner. We are waiting to return to Salem with expectant hope … while experiencing the pain of the not yet.
Many of us recently experienced this tension on Silent (Holy) Saturday – the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. While Good Friday reminds us of the agony endured by our Suffering Savior, and Easter celebrates our Risen Lord, Silent Saturday invites us to wait with expectant hope while experiencing the pain of the not yet. Silent Saturday reminds us God is present and working even when it seems all hope has been lost.
Recently our team at SLF has been discerning ways to mobilize people-of-faith and people-of-goodwill to respond to the continued violence plaguing our community, including several recent shootings in our parks. (Thank you for your prayers and financial support, which help SLF engage these efforts!) At our most recent Churches as Neighborhood (CaN) Centers lunch, Pastor Efrain Perdomo-Lopez from Salem Alliance Church led a group of nearly 60 in lament, a critical practice which can sustain us as we seek shalom together. Then Irma Coleman, the Neighborhood Program Coordinator for the City of Salem, invited us to become active participants in both our neighborhood associations, and the Community Violence Reduction Initiative (CVRI), recently launched by the City of Salem and the Salem Police Department.
The CVRI is a series of conversations in 2024 which will lead to strategies that reduce violence and create greater connection in our community. www.cityofsalem.net/community/safety/police/building-trust-with-the-community/community-violence-reduction-initiative
Participation in the CVRI process will have that awkward combination of waiting with expectant hope while experiencing the pain of the not yet. There will be more town halls and smaller gatherings to build the scaffolding for solutions. I am participating in it because I believe God is present and working even when it seems that all hope is lost.What are the Silent Saturdays in your life? In what ways are you waiting with expectant hope while experiencing the pain of the not yet? My prayer is that you will remember and be comforted by a God who is present and working even when all hope seems lost.
Grace and Peace,
Kyle Dickinson