What’s Up with Pastor Todd 11-12-21
There was a lot of First Church related activity last weekend. A group of First Church and South Church members participated in the Habitat for Humanity Faith Build in East Hartford. Anne delCampo and Paula Modine participated in a Granby prayer walk organized by Life Church New England, Serve Team led our monthly food drive, Kerri Krough and Beth Lindsay led our weekly Grab and Go snack pack program, the Steering Committee for Granby Racial Reconciliation (GRR) met in Cook Hall with facilitator Malik Champlain for our first ever retreat, we celebrated a Veterans Day Union Service with South Church, and GUCCI–the steering committee for our collaboration/consolidation project–met to move that process forward. This in addition to all the other ways First Church folks express our Christian faith in our communities. Though choosing can be difficult, I love it when there’s more stuff happening than I personally can participate in. It’s a sign of a vital church.
The GRR retreat was particularly energizing for me. To be honest, I was feeling tired and uninspired about spending Friday evening and Saturday morning doing the difficult work of deconstructing the racial biases and blindspots that continue to affect and infect my attitudes and behavior. It is scary, uncomfortable, unending work. And yet by the end of the retreat I felt like I had witnessed a miracle. Our group of five people of color and six white folks forged even deeper, honest, and more authentic relationships under Mr. Champlain’s leadership. I left feeling energized about what is next for this group.
At First Church we have been through a lot together over the past 2.5 years. Together we have faced grief, disappointments, confusion, a global pandemic, and an uncertain future. We have also witnessed miracles. When I arrived in 2019 I didn’t imagine the level of transformation that would happen in our church and in the Town of Granby. I look forward to seeing what the coming weeks and months will bring.
Todd Grant Yonkman 