Lighthouse Letters

A Message from Brooke

Hi Lighthouse Grown-Ups,

I hope the start to school is off and running and you’re enjoying a little more summerish weather!  I just returned from my first week of in-person classes at Iliff School of Theology (in Denver…which is near mountains 😊) and so enjoyed it.  My program is considered “hybrid” which translates into a lot of online learning and one week of in-person learning in the fall and again in the spring.  It was so fun to be “on campus” (I did the math and it’s been exactly 30 years since I was last “on campus” LOL!).  I met a bunch of diverse, wonderful humans and am looking even more forward to my continued learning!

One of the things that drew me to Iliff was the diversity of cultures, beliefs and religions.  When I had to write my statement about why I wanted to go to seminary (and to Iliff in particular), I landed on, “I want to learn to love more people better.”  One of my favorite colleagues is Hindu, another Buddhist and one of my favorite professors is Jewish.  I’m learning so much in so many directions and am deeply grateful for a more expansive lens.

I’ve been at Village for seven years now and the people here have encouraged and challenged me to look at religion differently.  In the past, I have been surrounded by an evangelical culture.  My experience felt like trying to learn and do a lot of what is “right” and trying not to do a lot of what is “wrong.”  Often times, it felt like I was checking boxes rather than leaning into love.  Village has taught me to look at faith differently. And I couldn’t be more grateful.  Rodger talks often about our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters as if we’re “on the same team.”  Did you know Christianity is one of the only world religions that tries to “convert people” to our way of thinking?  In the Jewish faith, if you go to a rabbi and ask to convert, they send you away three times.  More than anything, they encourage you to just be a good person – as a Christian or whatever you currently are.

What an ABSOLUTE GIFT to name the people around us our BROTHERS and SISTERS…regardless of our differences.  I don’t know about you, but politics is doing me in these days.  My personal practice has become “only watch news on Sundays” (mostly because I felt like I was drowning).

It’s an honor and a privilege to hang with your kiddos on Sunday mornings.  My hope and prayer is that we can teach them to LOVE MORE PEOPLE BETTER!

Onward and upward!
Brooke

Mark Your Calendars!

Advent Family Workshop, 2-3:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6: Don’t miss our traditional family activity to prepare for the birth of Jesus. There will be craft stations for all ages, cookie decorating, popcorn and more. Stay tuned for information about registration.

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