When Light Crowds Out the Darkness

by Kate Schulte

The first time I celebrated the Christmas season at Cherith Brook was in 2018. During our morning reflection, we read and reflected on the song, "The Canticle of Turning." I had never heard the song before and was struck by the powerful way Mary announced what would happen - at the end o f each stanza, she says," for the world is about to turn." At Cherith Brook, we get to witness the world turning - light crowding out the darkness, showing us a way forward. This time reminds us that a new kind of community is possible: where everyone belongs, and everyone's needs are met.

The world turns in tiny moments, like a mother and her three rambunctious kiddos coming i n for our Thursday evening community meal. Mom was stressed, had no place t o go that night, and was fleeing a violent situation. At the Worker, we have the expression that each person who comes through the door is the divine, and with this momma, it wasn't hard t o draw parallels between her story and Mary's. She was doing her best, working so hard to find support, and all she was getting was that "the shelters are all full" from every place she called. With the help of our community partners, we were able to find this momma and her kiddos a safe place for the night and help her get to a place where she could start over. This story is just one of hundreds in which Cherith Brook is the stable, a resting place for those with nowhere else to go, where w e collectively push the world to turn.

Thank you for showing up to create a better world! So many of you have come by with winter items, shown up to volunteer, given of your abundance. We are so grateful, and we could not do this without our extended Beloved Community!