Embracing the Grace of Beginning

Rev. Dr. DeWayne L. Davis

This Week at Plymouth, September 6, 2024

“Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.”

—John O’Donohue, “For A New Beginning”

It’s hard to escape the experience of new beginnings during September. Earlier this week, the first day after Labor Day, the yellow school buses started rolling again, greeting hesitant first-time bus riders going to a new school as their families looked on with pride and nervousness. Parents have been filling their social media feeds with pictures of children transitioning to middle or high school or settling into college dorms. Even the weather seems to sense a turning of the page, clocking in at cooler temperatures when meteorologists offered excessive heat warnings only days ago. The feeling of new beginnings is flooding Plymouth Church, too. We opened our beloved community to welcome three new staff members, and the church is abuzz with activity, preparing for our Rally Sunday celebration when we welcome everyone back for the official start of the program year.

The priest and poet John O’Donohue, in his blessing for a new beginning, prayed that we would awaken to the spirit of adventure within us and that we would hold nothing back in pursuing the promise of our future when we find ourselves at the start of some new opportunity, experience, or adventure. I share this sentiment and his optimism about the grace of beginnings. He helps us reimagine what a new beginning can be for us, describing it as grace. What a comforting thought to see a new beginning as kindness or benevolence, a gift that seems to extend beyond this moment of starting to include promise and possibility. Of course, the promise of a new beginning doesn’t mean we don’t feel the fear, anxiety, or insecurity that comes with starting a new job, moving to a new city, or attending a new school. Yet, there is no denying a little excitement in starting anew.

I’m feeling the excitement about a new season at Plymouth Church. Life in a beloved community, in which graced people embrace the power and blessing of covenant, means we do not let an unclear destination cause us to doubt the promise of the grace of beginning. We remain alert and watchful, looking for the signs of Divine action and presence as a harbinger of a new, exciting time that anticipates a new reality for us and the world. It is a life lived in anticipation and excitement at the opportunities to enact our hopes and dreams. Though our destination remains unclear, this moment in our life together has been ordained, and we “can trust the promise of this opening.” Let us unfurl into the grace of beginning. May it be so.