Looking back at this photo, I am reminded of those beautiful fall days in Michigan. I used to love raking those leaves with Aaron. I would tie Buckshot's leash around the tree and we would spend those cool days in our sweatshirts together.

While emailing my from Kathleen, we reminisced about our love of fall -- of curling up in front of the fireplace with a cozy sweater and a good book. What could be better than that?

Last winter was so mild, I wondered if winter came at all. I got a Snowman Kit for Christmas and didn't get the chance to use it. We had accumulation of snow twice. The first time was before Christmas and the second was gone the night it snowed.

But isn't the fall and winter so wonderful! This chance to get cozy in our homes, to enjoy playing games around the dining room table, to watch the fire cracking in the fireplace, watch the snow falling from the sky.

Isn't is wonderful to go out with our neighbors and shovel snow? To tromp through the crunchy snow on the walk and enjoy sledding down the hill!

Let the fall begin!

Gathered at the Table

During the last couple months I have been working a little more with the Oromoo fellowship which shares facilities with us at Bethany Presbyterian Church. I very much enjoy my relationship with the congregation as well as their pastor Rev. Gemechisa Guja. I consider Oromoo and Bethany one family worshipping together occasationally and always supporting one another in ministry.

Recently I have become aware that sometimes our immigrant congregations are not always welcomed to the same table, that they are not asked to join in conversation, that they are not always consulted on issues even those affecting their congregation.

It reminded me of the ideas of Eric Law, an Episcopal priest, who talks about mutual invitation. Regarding this idea:

Mutual Invitation was developed by Eric Law while he worked in a variety of multicultural settings. Mutual Invitation is based on the premise that people carry different perceptions of their personal power. In groups, those who view themselves as having high personal power (able to influence change) will tend to dominate the conversation and set a quick pace of interaction. Those who see themselves as having less power in relation to others in the group tend to need to be invited directly for their input. They may also come from a culture that emphasizes the collective over the individual, so it is harder for them to speak as an individual.An essential dimension of this approach is that each person has the opportunity to invite who speaks next. This tool helps balance input between the talkative and the quieter participants.

Maybe what we need to do in our wider work both inside and outside our local congregations is to make sure everyone has a voice whether the immigrant, woman, minority, child or youth, disabled or those with a different economic status.

Isn't it our call as a Christian to welcome all and listen to all people? Isn't it our task to make sure we make a place for all and a place at the table isn't welcoming others to do it like us, but accept their differences, understanding when they join us the way we do things may change as well.

I believe when we only like it how its always been done, when we only want it our way, we are shorting not only those who are not fully welcomed but also ourselves who are getting in the way of a full inclusion of all at the table. Let us, as we gather together ask, who is here and who is not here, who is talking and who is silent, who is making decisions and who is caring out the decisions of others. May we each stand up and look for moments when we can be an advocates for our brothers and sisters. May we be people who look for the inequality and seek ways to right it in our own lives, our church and our world.

Eric H. F. Law is an Asian-American Episcopal priest who wrote The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community, (Chalice Press, 1993).