Author: Elane Johnson

By Conference Minister Diane Weible A couple years ago at Annual Gathering, I preached a sermon in which I focused on a simple statement that has become my own personal mission statement. “Anything that diminishes or destroys the humanity of any other person is what I need to fight against.”   As we draw close to a full year of sheltering in place, we are all exhausted and grieving. Five hundred thousand deaths from COVID and economic peril for the most vulnerable in our communities has risen to a degree we have never seen it. There was a job report that…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible It’s time for us to think seriously about reparations. What better time than to invite discernment and reflection then at the start of Lent.  The “Making Amends” resolution approved at Annual Gathering is something that invited me to think about reparations in a new way and look for opportunities to engage in reparations to make a difference. This would not replace the important conversation our country needs to have about reparations, but we shouldn’t wait for someone else to do our work for us.   One of our ministers, Rev. Barry Cammer, sent me an article this week for the newsletter. His article connected with my own thoughts and took…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible.  If you have spent most of COVID alone in your home, you may find yourself talking to yourself more than you used to. I know I have. (Sometimes I even listen to what I have to say!) For those who live with others, you may still be struggling with a need for the variety of voices that surrounded your pre-pandemic. Hopefully, we also are talking to God and listening to the way Spirit is speaking to us. That is fundamental to our faith and our spiritual life.   Struggling with the solitude of just one voice, or a few voices, can…

By Conference Minster Diane Weible The other day someone sent me a link to a clip, “Buffalo Soldiers and the Importance of Hidden History”.  I watched the National Park Service Ranger telling the story of the Buffalo Soldiers with fascination. The story itself was important, yes. And, what intrigued me the most was the Ranger’s telling of it. He brought the story to life and he made a connection with his own role in the National Park System in such a way that I connected and I learned.    At the very end he said something that really resonated: “History is mostly forgotten and it…

By: Conference Minister Diane Weible A year ago, we were hearing more and more about COVID-19 in the news. I remember thinking that although it sounded serious, it would not disrupt my life any more than annual flu season does. Wow, was I ever wrong.   Eleven months later, I am still, for the most part, homebound.  I miss being with friends and loved ones. While I will not go so far as a colleague who said she even misses sitting in the middle seat on an airplane, I will say that I miss being able to travel and visit my parents and my children, friends and places I’ve never been.  …

By: Conference Minister Diane Weible Hope. I agree with the newscaster who said that an Inauguration gives hope to a country in its most difficult time. No matter who you voted for. No matter how you are feeling of the events of the past weeks and months, I hope that you are feeling a sense of hope for the possibilities that lay before us. This morning I woke up to an email from our General Minister and President, The Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, that contained prayers and messages from two of our Ecumenical Partners. I want to share the words…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible “This is not us.” How many times in the past week have we heard this? It’s just not true. What happened on January 6 is very much, us. It is who we are at this moment.   I would hope that the meaning behind that statement is really, “This is not who we should be.”   That to me is a truer statement. It is not who we should be. Whatever got us to this place in our reality of what is the United States of America, the only way we can move forward is with transformative change that acknowledges the truth of…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible Yesterday was Epiphany. The day when we celebrate the star guiding the wisemen to the Christ Child. It is a day that we celebrate light coming into the world and the completion of the Nativity story. It was the 12th day of Christmas.    But it didn’t turn out as we had expected. There was little to celebrate and even less light apparent for much of the day as so many of us sat in front of our televisions and watched events unfold at the United States Capitol.   And, yet, it was Epiphany. A reminder that no matter how dark it gets; no matter how…

By; Conference Minister Diane Weible “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)   You may think it’s a bit early to be talking about New Year’s Resolutions, but I was in a couple of gatherings yesterday that got me thinking. People were talking about how eager they are for 2020 to be finished. All I could think of was that on January 1, we are still going to be in pandemic, and we are still going to have the racial and divisiveness issues we need to confront.    In a…

By Conference Minister Diane Weible This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend worship at my home church, First Church Berkeley. During the Advent Candle lighting, Rev. Kelly Colwell made a beautiful connection to this tender time and the theme of this second week in Advent, Peace, when she invited all of us to “Shelter in Peace.”   Shelter in Peace.  During this season of Advent, I have set up opportunities for spiritual connection throughout my home. I have two Advent Candle circles; two Advent Calendars; two Christmas countdown decorations; and two electronic devotionals.  Each day, as I Shelter in…