Created to Be ... Disruptive

“We are created to be disruptive, to work for justice for all our siblings.”

Did you ever think you were created to be disruptive? It sounds weird, right? We tell our children NOT to be disruptive in school and to try and get along with their peers. We do our best to remember to put our phones on mute or silent, so they don’t ring in the middle of the symphony and disrupt the musicians. And you always see things on movies or tv about not disrupting the peace, or sometimes even people getting arrested for doing just that. How are we created to be disruptive? Well, I hope you’ll read on.

This is one of the theme statements for the ELCA National Youth Gathering which will be held in July of 2024. It has been three years since our last Gathering and so many youth have missed so much – missed the chance for these gatherings, to be together, to be sometimes physically in the same space as others. We’re still dealing with the global pandemic; cases seem to be on the rise again (at least in my circles). So, there is an attempt from the Gathering coordinators to figure out who we are as youth, or young adults, or even the church these days.

Part of who we are is upsetters of the status quo. Think back to different movements in history that have done the same thing, but we aren’t talking about riots or protests necessarily. We’re talking about being disruptive so that we can work for justice for all our siblings – and in the church, we take that to mean everyone. Sometimes we need to call things out – to call a spade a spade, to call things as they are. That’s being disruptive.

One of the big ways we are called to be disruptive is through our God’s Work, Our Hands Day of Service which we will celebrate on Sunday, September 10 after worship. Our whole denomination is working toward coming together as congregations scattered all over the country to serve our neighbors and to love the world. That isn’t always what the status quo calls us to do, but it is who we are.

Join us on Sunday as we disrupt things to work for the good of our siblings. You can bring in some blankets that you have bought or made that will go to migrant workers in our area. You can come and spend some time here with folks in our congregation – even some people you may not know – and to check in with them, to see and offer prayer for them, to hold a smiling (or crying baby), or to be a part of the lives of our children and youth who are figuring out who they are called to be for this time and this moment.

God is using your hands for God’s work – never forget that; because together, we can do amazing, disruptive things for love and for God.