There was a time when it was easier to know who you were. In those days when people were born, raised, and lived out their days in one geography, it was impossible to avoid knowing who you were. I expect too that it was rather impossible to reinvent oneself following some failure or other. Who would ever forger, in a small town, that you were the one who betrayed a lover or squandered your inheritance? I wonder if people were curious about their true identity when their tight knit community was so ready to tell them who they were?

You know how they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same? Truth is, there are countless voices ready to tell us who we are in the world today. These days the voices come not just from our closest people but from the media, advertising, anonymous voices on social media and more.

This Sunday we’ll explore how our identity is shaped amidst the myriad of voices. Our tradition says that, in baptism, we are named children of God/Beloved ones of the Heart of the Universe. Our identity is first and foremost about whose we are, not who we are. Remember that the next time you’re meeting someone new and go to the age old question: “what do you do?” Can you imagine asking a stranger instead: whose are you? I have a hunch that when Dylan told us “you’re gonna have to serve somebody,” he was asking at this very idea.

Join us this Sunday, bring your whole self and an intention to loosen your grip on the things the world insists are true about you! Coffee is on at 9:30. Service at 10:00.